New Prince, New Problems
by SigmaFang
Summary: Sequel to "Power Struggle." With LaCroix dead, Strauss takes over as the Prince of Los Angeles. Big focus on new clans and other WoD lore (Nagaraja, Tzimisce, Followers of Set, Assamites, to name a few). New Camarilla! New Anarchs! New Sabbat! New Kuei-Jin! New Society of Leopold! Collab with pishathenagaraja. (M for every reason imaginable-drugs, sex, violence, etc).
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Here's chapter one! {~streamers~} No hesitation whatsoever when it came to starting this one. Things absolutely needed to be addressed, (as mentioned by the wonderful review left by Sagnus), and so they are! (Kinda. Sorta. You can really only fit so much in one chapter without making your head explode.) So if anyone is absent-mindedly picking this fic to read, make sure to read the precursor, Power Struggle, or none of this will make any sense. Because we already published a 100 chapter fic about this, we're a bit more likely to take a break now and again and work on separate things, but we will not leave it in the dust. Enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs. Also, there is some sauciness. (It's a sequel, don't rip our hearts out for having a bang in chapter one. Technically this is chapter 101, okay? Get over yourselves.)

* * *

It was quite the installment, the new tower. _His_ new tower, to be precise. For the most part, it was decorated similarly to his Chantry, that being an absurdly deep shade of red, both on the exterior and interior, fireplaces abound, bookshelves, and glorious paintings and candelabras. His office, as LaCroix's was previously, was situated at the highest floor in the building. He slowly, and, apprehensively almost, sat at his desk, looking around at the night, at the darkness of Los Angeles, was this the same weight of the world that LaCroix had to feel on a nightly basis.

"You don't look well, sir. Please, relax, a display such as this is unbecoming of you." Strauss heard Victor's voice as he two most trusted Tremere associates entered.

Iphigenia's smile was wide as she looked around, "This is like some sort of dream…"

"Ah, yes, a fantastic dream, that will never end." Victor smiled, "I've already pinched myself, many times, in fact."

Strauss stood up and held his arms out, "And I have you two to thank, in terms of being faithful to the Tremere Clan in this time of need. We will lead the Camarilla through these dark times."

"Of course." Iphigenia nodded, "I've found myself with much more time on my hands to focus on training."

Strauss walked over to Iphigenia, handing her a talisman that looked as if it was made entirely out of solidified blood. "Here, take this gift as a show of my…appreciation…to your services to me." He said, "It increases the duration of the Kindred's ability to power their blood into their bodies."

"I cannot thank you enough, sir…" Iphigenia gently took the talisman, then slipped it into a pocket where it would be safe. She bowed, "It will be treasured."

Strauss smiled, "If you continue your…Thaumaturgical pursuits…might I suggest the Path of Mars? It is a path dedicated to physical strength and power, one you may enjoy."

Her eyes lit up with interest, "I will…thank you, sir." She grinned, "I'll look into it only when the time calls."

"As for you, Mister Madison, I'm afraid I do not have a talisman that will help you with your strength any further, though…" Strauss smiled, "You may take that as a compliment."

"Ah, sir…I did have a question…however…" Victor fell to a knee, "I came across a…potential candidate…for our causes…a…new addition…to the Tremere forces…"

"You have?" Strauss asked, "This is most wonderful news, Mister Madison, I would like to speak with this…individual, and we will see if we can accept them into our fold."

"Yes, sir. I'm glad to hear it, I'm sure…she'll be happy as well." Victor said, standing tall again, "So, what happens next? Do the Tremere move here, are we the tower's forces?"

Strauss shook his head, "No. You will all stay at the Chantry, to keep it safe. I must stay here, now that I am Prince of the Los Angeles Camarilla, I will rely on what little Ventrue we have left and any other free agents for the time being to protect the tower."

Iphigenia nodded, "Does that make Victor the Regent?"

"A…substitute…for now, perhaps. I need to make such decisions at a later time." He said, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to see what sort of cabinet I can…sculpt from LaCroix's remnants…"

"Yes, sir." Victor said, exiting the office with Iphigenia, "You know what this means, don't you?"

"What?" She asked with a smirk on her dark lips.

"There may be a promotion…for both of us…if things go the way I believe…"

"Really?" Her eyes widened, "How exciting. I don't know if I trust myself as anything other than an apprentice…"

"Well…I suppose a Magister isn't needed in every Chantry…but…" He thought about it, "If we _had_ to make someone a Magister…I don't see why it wouldn't be you…and…if I was a Regent…" His eyes glowed with pride.

"Delilah has been around longer than I, hasn't she? A few months more? Wouldn't she get it?"

"Mmm, I'm not sure she would know what to do with the position…"

She raised a hand to her chin, "No, that can't be right…" She mused, "I recall showing her around the Chantry." She put the hand down, "I suppose it would go to me, unless she wanted it."

"Well, in other news, I've started to read some of the ancient Thaumaturgical texts." He said, "Might I say, they are _very_ interesting. I'm already able to use one of them, albeit a basic one."

"Really?" Her golden orbs widened, "Which?"

"The Lure of Flames." He said, holding up a finger, a fire lit up on his entire finger, "Not very useful aside from lightning candles…but…there's always room for improvement."

She chuckled, "That much could really be fatal to our kind, with the right precision."

"Ah, yes, you make a fair point." He said, then his smile faded, as he heard one of the occupants of the building hollering his name about a phone call, "Hmm…that's peculiar…I suppose I shall take this call." He gave a small bow to Iphigenia, "Have a good evening, Iphigenia."

"Good night, Mister Madison." She said, "I look forward to seeing you again." She waved and walked off, taking out her cell phone and dialing the number of someone she longed to call for ages.

Victor entered the nearby office and picked up the landline, "Hello, Victor Madison, Tremere Magister?"

"Hello dear." He heard his ghoul's voice, "Hearing your voice is nice after all that news. I thought you might be dead."

"Venus." His eyes widened, "I…wow…I didn't expect get a call from you here…you must have been transferred half a-dozen times before you got to this building." He said, then he gave a chuckle, "Do I really have a nice voice? I think yours is far nicer."

"You should come over. Sounds nicer in person."

"Yes…I…you'll have to forgive me for that. I'm going to take the first taxi to Confessions and I'll meet you there."

"I'll see you there, sweetheart. You have time to make it back to my apartment to catch up?"

"Of course, dear, all the time in the world. It…it's the least I can do, what, with my absence."

"See you there. Kisses."

"Later, darling." He hung up, nearly speed-walking to exit the building to hail a cab.

* * *

"Well, it looks like the Anarchs and Camarilla _can_ work together in a pinch, if they need to." Cadmus took a seat on one of the second-floor tables of the Last Round.

Anastasia's eye twitched, "Don't push it, you realize the _only_ reason we're letting you in here is because of the generosity from LaCroix's death, right? But, yes, make yourself at home, why don't you?" She raised her arms in annoyance.

He snickered for a while, "Come on, _dear sister_ , you wouldn't kick your brother out, now would you?"

She shuddered, "Don't ever say dear sister again…it just…it just reminds me of Jeanette…"

"Mmm-hmm…I figured everything a person would say would remind you of one of your seven-hundred lovers." His smile faded, "Didn't I warn you that something like this was going to happen? That you'd end up breaking a bunch of people's hearts? Oh well, I guess I can only save your ass from _so many_ things."

"Tch." She crossed her arms, "So how was LaCroix?"

"You mean how was the Sheriff?" His smile returned, "There was no fight against LaCroix, he just yapped a lot and blew himself up. His Sheriff on the other hand…" He shook his head, "That buster sword was the least of our problems…he turned into this pterodactyl thing and nearly destroyed the city…"

"A flying monster?" It was Anastasia's turn to smile, "It's a good thing my brother has such wonderful aim."

He rolled his eyes, "Dragomir put a spotlight on the bastard and it grounded him, so there." He said, "How was Xiao?"

"Ugh…she turned into this…giant…octopus…squid…jellyfish monster with tentacles…it was as gross as it was a pain in the ass…"

"Jeez…well, it's a good thing she's dead, never really cared for her." He said, "God, the Kuei-Jin are weird…they have all sorts of bullshit hidden away in their sleeves." He thought about it, "Miranda and I fought one in a Santa Monica warehouse once…but…it must have been weak…because it just used ordinary weapons…oh, and there were those brothers Dragomir and I faced…they can just…conjure up fire…easily…"

"They can?"

He nodded, "Makes you wonder why we're not all dead yet." He shrugged, "Well, I'm pretty sure they can't Embrace, so that must be it."

"Thank god."

"So we both fought giant monsters." Cadmus said, "Hmm…I guess our ultimate troubles were pretty even, then."

"Hell yeah, it was. I've got the strength to show for it, too." She said, "Now I can go full-on beast mode and tear you to shreds, next time you feel like trying to snatch me up."

He looked unamused, resting his head on his fist, "And now instead of just being able to Dominate you into licking crumbs or whatever, I can _possess_ you into using your new powers on your friends." He smirked, "I never really focused on Dominate much, but…it has some neat tricks once you look into it for a bit."

She rolled her eyes, "Pfft, whatever…"

"That reminds me. I thought I should tell you. Slade, that Toreador fledgling. He's in the Camarilla now. Like, _officially_."

"Seriously?" She asked, "After LaCroix tried to execute him, he just joins them? Does he not have a spine?"

Cadmus chuckled, "I wouldn't underestimate him." He said, "Besides, I'm pretty sure his allegiance has to do with a certain _someone_ practically kicking him through the doors to the Camarilla. Point is, he isn't really a friend of the Anarchs."

They heard the doors opening and closing downstairs, a bit of loud chatter, (which was mostly Damsel yelling about how much she was fed up with the entire Camarilla,) before Nines and Skelter came upstairs. Nines looked at Cadmus quickly, at first he didn't recognize him, but as soon as he did, he didn't seem to mind his presence at all. Damsel could still be heard talking to herself from downstairs. "Good to see everyone pulled through." Nines said.

"Not LaCroix." Skelter muttered as he leaned against the railing, "Not Xiao either. Hallelujah to that. I've had enough of her bullshit, maybe now the Kuei-Jin'll find something better to do."

Nines lit a cigarette and shook it off before he put it in his mouth, "Everything alright, Vanderbilt?"

"I was just telling Anastasia that Slade joined the Camarilla almost exclusively due to his hatred of Killian." Cadmus shrugged, "Where is that blonde gorilla, anyway?"

"No clue." Skelter shook his head.

"Last time I saw him was when you did." Nines said, "Not even sure he's in the city anymore." He sighed and rested his head back against the wall, "If Slade's gonna try and kill Killian, that's gonna be a problem."

"What makes you say that?" Skelter asked.

He blew smoke out through his nose, "Just cause he's an idiot doesn't mean he's not an ally."

"You weren't there." Skelter said, "He was with us when we killed Xiao. He's…" He shook his head, "He's lost it."

"He'll get back on track eventually. We just have to give him some time." He said firmly, "We can't just let go of his hand all of a sudden, especially after he helped us out with all this shit. If he was a real coward, he would have run off days ago."

Skelter didn't seem pleased with that answer, but he took it nonetheless.

Cadmus seemed to think about it for a minute or two as well, "I guess I'll go…before Jack comes in and pats himself on the back a million times for planting all those explosions in the sarcophagus…" He stood up, "Bastard…"

"Wait, what did he do?" Anastasia asked.

"The whole damn time, that sarcophagus had nothing but bombs in it." He said, "Tch…now I feel like a freaking moron for hunting it down for…months…but…whatever…it killed LaCroix…" He said, then he snickered, "Can't say I'm not happy."

"What's with you?" She asked, "You're even gigglier than Jack, awfully happy even though you guys have to leave now."

"We're not leaving."

"What?"

He took an exasperated breath, "There's a new Prince."

"Don't tell me it's—"

"Strauss."

"Shit." Nines's cigarette fell to the floor.

She swallowed hard, "Is Victor his Sheriff?"

He shrugged, "If I was a betting man, I'd put money on it."

She looked like she was going to be sick at the suggestion of endlessly being hunted down by Victor, then she snarled, "Did you know about this?"

He rolled his eyes, "Nice to see that you still blame me for every little problem that occurs within the space time continuum, but no. All I cared about was killing LaCroix and Xiao. Look, I may be a fierce warrior of the Camarilla, but I'm not one of the higher-ups. I leave that headache to Strauss and Victor."

"Wait a minute." Skelter interrupted, "Jack put bombs in the sarcophagus? _When?_ "

Cadmus looked at him, "Beats the hell outta me. But that's why Venture Tower blew up. LaCroix opened it, and there was a shit-ton of bombs, and a little note that said 'boom, love Jack.'" He said, then growled, "Shit, I barely know the asshole, and I could see him doing that…"

Nines snickered, "It doesn't surprise me at all…" He said, before he sighed, "When I was up in Griffith Park, before the werewolf." He pointed to the head mounted on the wall, above the windows, "I had a visitor. It was Victor. Told me he was gonna make Strauss the new Prince."

Skelter looked over at Nines, "Guess he got his damn wish. But…still…s'only a matter a' time before we take him down too."

"That's the thing." Nines smothered the cigarette into the floor, "LaCroix's focus was the Sabbat. Occasionally it was us, but it was mostly them. Victor told me if he makes Strauss Primogen, the first plan of action is going to be killing us. All of us."

"All the Anarchs?" Skelter asked, "Pfft, that's like going down in the sewers and killing all the rats. It ain't possible."

"It is with enough poison." Nines said, "And enough brainpower. Which…" He briefly cocked his head to the side, "The Tremere have access to. Easily."

Skelter looked down at the ground, nervous for once before Nines added, "And we all know who he's gonna go after first."

Anastasia hugged herself, shivering as she took a seat, seemingly inches away from a nervous breakdown. Then she looked up, "Hey, where do you think you're going?" She said to Cadmus, who was nearly on his way out.

Cadmus turned around, "To Strauss's tower, why? Did you need me for something else?"

"Listen…" She seethed, "Don't _ever_ , try to steal me, do anything to me again, you got that? If you try the shit you did again, we'll—"

"What reason would I even have to steal you now? You belong with the Anarchs."

She stopped out of pure shock.

He shrugged, "I don't really want to leave the state anymore. Why would I leave all my friends behind? I also have no business interfering with any of you, so I won't. I'll just…stick to my work now. Whatever I'm given. Caesar's dead, so I don't have to care about that. And, we'll just, keep going as we are. You're an Anarch…and I…" He looked frustrated with himself, "I don't know what the hell I am, but you've got my word."

"…this is a trick, isn't it?"

He rolled his eyes and started chuckling.

"There's a punchline?"

More laughing.

"A backlash? A drawback?" She asked, "Cadmus!" She screamed.

Cadmus just laughed and left, walking past Damsel as he slammed the front door behind him.

As a replacement for Cadmus, Jack walked in, his hands in his pockets, whistling blissfully.

Damsel watched Cadmus leave, then stood out a bit and put a hand on Jack's chest, "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Slow your roll, there pal. Where have you been? Ugh, and what's that terrible smell?"

Jack looked down at Damsel, "Step aside there, girlie. I gotta go talk to the big boys upstairs, got it?"

"Hey, I'm not five, you know!" She put her hands on her hips as he brushed past and went upstairs, "Hey, you jackass! Get back here!"

Nines looked over as Jack came upstairs, "Jack."

"Yo." Jack walked in, "'Sup?"

"We heard about the sarcophagus." Skelter said dryly.

"Oh, did ya?" He laughed, "Ah, ha, ha, what'd ya think?"

Nines tried his best not to laugh, but it was pretty hard. He had to look away to hide his snickering. Skelter still looked furious, "The hell were you thinking? You made us all go through hell and back, for what?" He snapped, "What if we got our hands on it? What if we cracked it open? You'd kill all of us!"

"I guess so." He crossed his arms.

"Why didn't you tell us about it? Or at least tell us not to get involved? To let nature take its course?"

"It ain't any fun that way. 'Sides, LaCroix wouldn't bother with it if no one else wanted it. Ever hear of Romeo and Juliet? Wants something he can't get, made it a lot more fun."

"You're a sick, twisted, son of a bitch."

"You got it."

"I'm trying to picture Jack reading Romeo and Juliet now…" Anastasia muttered.

"Eh, that's what plays are for." Nines smiled.

Jack seemed to have enough of Skelter's arguments, "Well, I mean, you guys weren't gonna do shit about it. Drivin' me crazy, figured I'd get it over with already. I thought it'd take another four years, but…actually happened pretty quickly."

"I guess you have a point." Anastasia conceded.

"You guys should be thanking me, really." Jack said, "Jeez, what a letdown you guys are…" He crossed his arms, "Guess I won't feel bad 'bout leaving."

"Leaving?" Skelter asked.

"Where?" Nines crossed his arms.

"I dunno." He shrugged, "Didn't even mean to end up here, honestly. I'm just gonna go sail around again and see where it takes me."

"So…" Nines looked at the floor, "You're scared of Strauss."

"What? Aw, c'mon, man, you crazy? He don't scare me. None a' them do."

"Nah, it's cause the Prince is a Tremere. Jack's not obligated to care none unless they're Ventrue." Skelter said with a smile.

"Ah. Right." Nines nodded, "Well, best of wishes, Jack."

"You'd better come back and visit." Anastasia said.

He shrugged, "I will if I can. But we all know how that worked out for Kent."

Nines looked up, "Where is Kent, anyway?"

"Last I heard, he was in the doghouse." Skelter said.

"…shit." Nines looked back down, "Guess we lost one…"

"Nah, he's…probably fine." Skelter said, "Just…got his hands full."

Nines looked back up at Jack, "We'll look forward to seeing you around, Jack…I might call if we really need help."

"I'll make sure not to pick up." Jack said as he headed for the stairwell.

"Wonder who we're gonna find to tell us pointless stories all day long." Skelter looked up at the ceiling.

"Nah." Jack swatted a hand, "There are plenty a' old geezers like me. Anarchs've been around as long as the Camarilla. See ya."

"Thanks, Jack." Nines called.

"He picked like…the worst time to leave…" Anastasia said quietly.

"Yeah, cause he doesn't care about any of this…" Skelter muttered, "He never cared about any of this to begin with. He heard about LaCroix, settled in to our movement a bit, set up a bomb to kill him, then left."

"He's certainly not the…perfect Anarch." Nines said.

"I'm gonna go for a walk…" Anastasia stood up, going to leave, as she went to walk out, she pulled on Skelter's sleeve for a brief moment, brief enough so that Nines wouldn't pick it up, then she left.

Skelter waited a minute, at least, then stood up, "Guess I'll go help the others clear the shit out of the roads."

Nines snickered, "Have fun with her."

Skelter paused, "Shut up."

Nines laughed and got out another cigarette, "Don't keep her waiting." He started lighting it.

Skelter grumbled something under his breath and left as well, catching her in the alleyway, "Yo. What's up?"

"I wanted to show you something." Anastasia said, an adventurous smile on her face. She first made sure no one was around to see, then she transformed into a gracious war form. Talons replaced feet, full dark green feathers covered the areas that were once covered with hairy down, and a sharp, hooked beak was where her mouth once was.

Skelter's eyes widened, then he laughed, "Look at that! I knew you'd be able to do it soon…that's gonna be great with all these Tremere running around. Who knew you'd take up an avian form like that…it's badass…" He chuckled, "Now I guess all I gotta help you with is Animalism."

She turned back to normal, "It all paid off! All that training we did!" She ran up and hugged him, then she added quietly, "Now I'll be safe…from him…"

He hugged her back, stiffening a bit as he heard that last line. No elaboration was needed. His mind was made. "Guess all that down turned to feathers, huh? It was just a matter of time." He decided to brush it to the side for now. She wouldn't want to talk about it. Instead, he pat her back, then paused, "So…uh…you mind helping me out with something?"

"Uh-huh." She smiled.

He thought for a moment, "We gotta go somewhere…somewhere where we'll be alone. Like a bathroom or something…but…I don't want anyone to think we're crazy…"

She bit her lip, "Okay…"

"And we can't drive to my place." He broke the hug, "Cause it's too damn uncomfortable. We have to walk somewhere. Maybe somewhere closed…a diner or something that we can slip into. The Last Round would be perfect if Damsel wasn't there…"

She nodded quickly, "Lead the way…"

He snooped his head around, then started walking down the sidewalk. He scoped around a bit before they went down an alley to the back of a closed restaurant. He got out a dagger and slid it underneath the frame of the window until the lock busted, then he popped the window open and crawled through. Anastasia followed him in, then shut the window. They went into a bathroom, then he handed her the knife, "You're gonna need this."

"What? A knife?" She asked, completely confused.

"When your brother came and took you….I frenzied." He muttered, pulling his pants down a bit, before he pulled out a tail from the back, "I need you to cut it off."

"Holy fuck…" Her eyes widened, "You have a _tail?_ "

He crossed his arms, "I can't retract my fangs anymore either. So I guess kissing's off the table, unless you wanna bleed. Tryin' to talk is hard enough."

"Holy shit…Skelter…" The knife shook in her grip, "Alright…let…let's do this…"

"It…it should heal quick, so don't worry about hurting me." He said.

She swallowed hard, "Damn it…" She said, rearing back to sever his tail with one clean swipe.

He grunted, then turned back and sighed, "Thank god…" The tail turned to ash, "That was a nightmare…" He pulled his pants off and hugged her, "Do not tell a single soul about this."

"'Kay."

He kissed her cheek, "You wanna go back to my place?"

"Sure." She squeezed him.

* * *

"Well, that's all over and done with." Slade said as he left the hulking red tower, "I'm in the Camarilla now." He said as they started walking down the street, "Officially joined. Huh, only took me about five months."

Tess chuckled softly, "I suppose we get to go to work together then."

"Did you get to talk to Strauss yet?"

"Not yet. But…I will express my desire to…turn over a new leaf."

"I'm not gonna lie…" He said, pausing to hail a cab, "It isn't going to be easy."

"I know….if I can't do it…I suppose I'll have to be Independent. But I'll do anything I can to help you two."

He nodded, piling into the taxi with her. As Slade gave the man his request, he said, "Everyone probably knows who you are at this point. All of us. We're way more well-known now. Well…I guess in my case, I was well-known the second I was Embraced."

She nodded and rested her head back against the seat, "At least if I get killed…I'll die knowing my heart was in the right place…"

"I'm not going to let that happen to you."

She looked over to him, "I…I honestly have no clue why you're being so sweet to me all of a sudden…"

"I don't know." He kept looking ahead, "Cause we're friends, aren't we?"

She chuckled softly, "Friends, hmm? So hasty to friend-zone me? Was the kiss that bad?"

"I…uh…no…" He said, "I…I just figured…you'll move on and forget me…once you set your sights on someone else…"

"Move on?" She asked, "Who else would there be to set my eyes on? I have a perfectly handsome boy who has his heart set on me…" She took his hand and squeezed it, "And is the best possible thing for me in my time of need. You're…you're everything to me, now, at this time. There will be no moving on."

A part of his Toreador-self wanted to wrap her into a hug and smother her with kisses, but he was still unsure, "I've just…seen how you work…Tess…I don't know…I'm just…a little cautious…I guess…"

"Then glue a baby-monitor to my forehead. I've never felt as attached to someone as I have with you. This isn't a fling. I don't want you for sex. I want you because you've always been there for me…even when you think you haven't."

Poetic? Or another trick? "Thanks Tess…" He stifled a chuckle, "I guess, clearly you've been on my mind too…I mean…sometimes it felt like I was the only one who got mad when you were with another guy…too bad no one bothered to tell me it was jealousy…" The car stopped at their apartment complex in Hollywood.

She shook her head, "After Ash…I'm done…done with wanting…pretty-boys…I just…" She took his hand, "I want someone I can trust, and that's you."

Slade stepped out of the car with her, giving her hand a little squeeze as they went up the stairs to the apartment, "Some of the furniture might be a little new…"

"Oh, that's alright, we were in need of new furniture." She walked inside, "I'd offer to make you something to eat…but…" She turned around and smiled, then hugged him again.

He squeezed her back, walking towards his bedroom and sitting on the bed, "I should warn you…we might have to…spot Dragomir and Genevieve money…for that apartment downtown…they…typically they're pretty broke. I'm just about convinced that they don't believe in money…"

She chuckled, "I think the two of us will manage quite well." She sat next to him.

"Yeah, especially if I do jobs for Strauss every now and then. He's probably as rich as they come."

"I wonder how old he is…"

He shrugged, looking out the window, "Uh…Tess…this might be awkward…but…he offered me a room…in the tower…it's nice as hell…"

"I suppose I can't live there…" She muttered, "Very well. You take it. I'll stay here…and if I get a chance to join, I'll accompany you."

"I'm not just going to _abandon_ you here by yourself." He said, "We'll see if you can get in Strauss's Camarilla first…maybe I'll come along, to convince him. Then we can share it."

She giggled, "If you insist." She kissed his cheek.

He looked at the floor, "So when did you get a katana?"

She sighed, "When LaCroix told me to get the key and…it was already gone. I got a katana…I didn't want him to think I was useless."

He stifled a chuckle, "That's badass." He said, "I can train you to use it."

"That would be lovely." She brushed a lock of her hair out of her face, "I can't wait."

"Yeah, and maybe in return, you can teach me how to shoot stuff other than the broad side of barns…"

"Of course. Though I can't say my aim is much better. I think Genevieve's is very good."

He nodded, loosening his tie, "Her and Dragomir both."

Her eyes drew to his hands, "Mmm hmm, they both have Auspex."

"So do we." He said with a smile, once his tie was unfastened, he threw it at her so it partially wrapped itself around her collar.

She smirked, then took the tie and slung it back around his neck, pulling him in closer to kiss his lips. He kissed her back, rubbing her back with one hand and running his fingers through her hair with another. "You like my hair, don't you?" She asked as her arms snaked around his waist.

"…maybe…" He said, in between kisses.

She sat in his lap again and kept up with her kisses, "I won't take this any further unless you'd like to. It's…only day one, really…"

"You're right…" He held his forehead, disappointed in himself, "What was I thinking?"

"Slade, I don't care if you do want to…I just didn't want you to feel pressured because of how I acted in the past with this sort of thing."

"Well…I am a virgin…so I probably just wanted to rush into it, just so I'm not one anymore…but…maybe waiting is better…"

She held his face and kissed his lips, "You have all the time in the world to decide."

"I want to sleep next to you, at least. Unless you don't want to."

"I would love to." She smiled and stood up, "Just let me get changed." He nodded, taking off his tie and pants, then he started futzing around with his bedsheets. She took everything off, besides a pair of lacy black panties. She was facing away from him, thankfully, when she turned her head over her shoulder, "You have a tee shirt I could borrow? All my clothes are back in my apartment."

She didn't hear a response, full about a full minute, all she saw was that his jaw dropped.

She gave a little smile, "What's the matter?" She turned around and walked towards him, her long hair just covering her nipples, "Too soon? Sorry. I just _had_ to get out of those clothes, they were _so_ uncomfortable. Especially the heels."

He snickered and shook his head, "You always like foot rubs. I remember when you and Dragomir were dating for like… _a day_ …and you wanted one from him."

"Because of the heels." She sat next to him, "He wouldn't give me them…" She muttered as she crossed her arms, "That was crossing the line, I suppose."

"I could give you one." He said, "If you ask real nicely."

She scooted back and placed her feet in his lap, "How's this for real nice?"

"We're going to work on those manners of yours." He said, massaging her feet, "Luckily, your feet are beautiful, so I'll overlook it this time."

She closed her eyes and laid back, letting out a shameless sigh, "Ah…that's so much better…"

"You made that noise when Dragomir did it too." He said, "Trying to wake the neighbors?"

"Oh, of course…what else?" She asked as she propped herself up on her elbows, "Well, I didn't tell you to stop, either…"

He kept rubbing her feet, hearing her ankles crack now and again, "I…I think I _like_ it…"

"Like what?"

"Hearing you…be horny…aw…damn it…this is too soon!" He held his forehead.

"I'm fine with whatever you want…if you just…want me to give you a blow job…or…you want to just…get me off…I don't know, it doesn't have to be entirely black and white…"

"…the latter, I guess…"

"You can do whatever you'd like. I'm not going to stop you."

"I'm sure if I rub your feet for another few minutes, you'll pop anyway." He said as he carried on.

"Oh…it'll do something…but…" She sighed and leaned her head back again, "I'd love a little more attention to…other places…"

"Yeah, remember, I have no idea what the hell I'm doing, so you'll need to be a little more specific…"

"Why don't you…explore me?" She asked with a smirk, "You can tell how you're doing by how loud I get…"

"I'm not sure how much I'm going to like this game…" He unbuttoned his shirt and flung it aside, "But what the hell…" He adjusted her so she was laying on a pillow, then he started giving her kisses, rubbing her sides gently. She let out a gentle sigh, combing her fingers through his hair and wrapping her legs around his. He moved back a little and kissed her neck next, sucking on it a little bit. Her sighs got a bit louder and she moved her head out of the way, her fingertips slowly trailing down his spine and around to his sides.

He went back further even and kissed her stomach, anchoring each hand onto her sides. A moan from her filled the air, every time he shifted, she'd adjust her legs for him and squeeze him again, either rubbing his hair or shoulders. "There. Done exploring." He said, sucking on her stomach with a bit more vigor.

She looked down at him, "You've…got to be kidding…" She opened her legs a bit wider, "I can get _so_ much louder, Slade…"

"I bet you can."

"Slade…" She moaned, "You didn't explore the mountains _or_ the valleys…"

"Eh, that takes a lot of walking…I'm pretty beat…that meeting with Strauss took hours…"

" _Slade_ …"

"…and yet I did like that…"

"Yes…yes you did…"

"So what you're telling me is your boobs hurt?"

"No…but…they could…if that will get some attention…" She sat up a bit, "They haven't hurt much since I was Embraced…"

"Shh." He gave her a gentle push so she would lay back again, and he started massaging her breasts, "Just relax. Alright? Take it easy and settle down…you got me…"

She closed her eyes and let out a much louder moan, one hand gripping onto one of his shoulders. For a moment, he wondered where the other hand went, until she saw it was down in her panties.

He face palmed, "Alright, we're done here."

She stopped, grabbing the sheets, "No, please…I'm…I'm sorry…I just couldn't…handle the suspense…"

"If you were going to just masturbate yourself anyway, then I don't really see why you even needed me."

"Because…I can never…get there on my own. It's not the same…"

"I'm not…I'm not even in the mood anymore…" He plopped his head on the pillow next to her, "Look…I'm sorry, but I don't think we're on the same…wavelength…with this…I don't know…it's my own fault for staring at you naked…if I just looked away, we'd both be sleeping by now…"

"It's alright, sweetheart…" She slowly wrapped an arm around him and hugged him, "I'll…always be here…" She muttered, "I'm sorry my libido is…approximately the size of Venture Tower…"

He slipped away, sitting on the edge of the bed, she could see his shoulders shaking.

The moonlight slid in the room as a breeze jolted the curtains aside. It poured out onto Tess's body, casting shadows over her face as she sat up on the opposite side of the bed, facing away from him, "I'll…" She stood up and grabbed her clothes, starting to put them back on, "I'll be going now."

"No, you stay…I'll sleep on the couch…"

She ignored him, folding her blazar over her arm after she finished buttoning up her shirt, "I'll see you tomorrow, yes?"

He gave a nod, his face buried in his hands, "I…I can't even do something simple enough for _Killian_ …"

"What?" She moved her hand away from the doorknob.

"Nothing…" He said, "I just…knew that Killian and VV had a relationship at some point…and he always rubbed it in my face…he was always one step ahead of me that way…I guess, part of me got excited for tonight, because I thought I'd finally be better than him at _everything_."

She turned to him, an unreadable look on her face, "Is that what I am to you then? Just…part of a contest?"

He growled, "Yeah, while LaCroix was barking orders at me left and right, I had plenty of time to set up little contests with Killian."

"Goodnight, Slade." She grabbed the doorknob again, "Clearly…this isn't what I thought it would be. I thought I was done with people who hurt me for their own self-justification. Clearly I was wrong."

"What _did_ you think this was going to be, dare I ask?"

"I…thought you would be someone who would want to change with me."

"And why can't we change together?"

"Because you aren't changing at all."

He froze, his mouth opened a few times then shut again, "I'm not changing?" He asked quietly, then he repeated it a few more times a bit louder, "So…I have something that needs changing, then? I have this…horrendous flaw…that inhibits me from getting shit done. I'd like to hear it Tess. What's _so_ wrong with me that needs to be changed so badly?"

"Your attitude."

He raised a brow, "Go on…"

"You're…so resentful and negative…you'll bark at people who…hold a different opinion than you." Her ankle buckled as she turned on her heels, she caught her balance quickly, "You're stubborn…close-minded. You don't let yourself see into the lives of others…you just…shut them out and say they're wrong." She crossed her arms, "You give up on people who frustrate you…you don't accept anything different, you don't accept change. But…" She sighed, "I suppose you've always been that way. Even when I started sitting at your lunch table, you looked like you wanted to kill me."

"If you want me to be completely honest, you never started _really_ bothering me until we became Kindred."

"That can't be true."

"I don't remember saying anything _that bad_ to you at school. Why would I? We were all friends. I mean, when you started…being a Kindred, I was upset with you at times, obviously, but I can't name a time at school where I really blasted you."

She looked to the floor, "What about college?"

He shrugged, "I was mad when you started a relationship with Dragomir, because I thought you'd hurt him." He said, "And I was right." He added, "Sometimes being a stubborn, close-minded asshole, has its perks."

"Does it?" She asked, "So you were _right_. So what? Do you want a badge? A gold medal? What does being right have to do with anything?"

"You asked me if I was mad at you during college and I was answering the question."

"But why does being right justify being close-minded?"

"I don't know…" He sighed, "What do you want from me, Tess? One second, I'm the nicest man ever, the next second, I have all these weaknesses and I'm close-minded, and angry, and vicious…which is it?"

"You are nice…you're incredibly kind and sweet…but…you're also angry and close-minded. I wanted to help you…I wanted to help you become someone better, but I'm not sure I can. It…it clearly didn't work for Ash…"

"Come on, I feel like me on my worst day is better than Ash." He said, "I've probably spoken more words to you in one night than he has…ever…"

She giggled a bit, "He…he was just quiet…that had nothing to do with his…anger."

"Look…what I said about Killian and I pissed you off, right? I'm sorry…okay…it's just…emasculating…having to deal with him…he's bigger than me…stronger than me…I'm always worried one day that he'll get stronger and then kill Dragomir, even though I swore to protect him." He said, "And…then when I failed to pleasure you…I don't know…all of that weight just came…crashing down…I don't see this as a contest…I don't see any women as a contest." He said, "I just…wanted to make love you right…"

Her shoulders fell a bit, "I suppose I have a habit of making things more dramatic than they really are…"

"No…it just…came out wrong, I can't really blame you for coming up with conclusion that you did. I…uh…I don't know…I shouldn't let the things Killian say bother me so much, it's my fault."

"It's fine, sweetheart. I understand now. Maybe…you and I should look into…getting rid of him." She walked closer.

"If we have time." He shrugged, "Careful though, he wants you dead just as much as he wants Dragomir and I dead."

"I know…but…he isn't very powerful. We'll be fine."

He smiled, "Especially when I help you with a sword." He said, "Then we'll be unstoppable together."

She smiled and leaned in, kissing his lips. He kissed her back, "Did you want to…?" He pulled the covers back.

"Only if you _really_ want to."

"We'll see. I'm at least giving you a massage."

"Okay." She giggled a bit, taking her heels off and dropping her blazar to the floor again, "Just give me another moment…"

He watched her undress, his smile growing as he took his underwear off. She slid off her dress shirt and skirt, crawling onto the bed beside him before she grabbed onto his shoulders and pulled him up on top of her. He kissed her hungrily, squeezing both breasts for a good while. She sighed and wrapped her legs around him, her hands travelling down his shoulders, arms and sides.

He couldn't take it anymore, he _needed_ to feel it. So he pumped his blood around his body, having an erection at this moment felt so right. He brushed his length against her hips and humped her as he kissed a bit harder.

Her eyes widened and she let out a wanton moan, her hands darting down around his rear and squeezing as he grinded against her. She started suckling on his collarbone and neck, completely enthralled in every move he made. "Yeah…makes those noises…" He bit his lip and grinded a little harder, she felt it grow on her hip, waistline, and stomach. He also began to playfully pull her hair.

She moaned a bit louder, her back arching as she longed for deeper contact. One hand strayed higher, grabbing onto a shoulder and pushing it down so he could feel her full chest up against his. He grunted, "I…I'm ready to go…what about you…?" She let her open legs to serve as her answer.

He gave another grunt, completely giving into his desires. Tess always knew Slade was an angry person, but to feel his passion in this form, while it would likely scare off those with weaker constitutions, the raw strength behind his penetration felt wonderful to Tess. Her nails left marks down his back as he filled her, her hands stopping at his hips to guide him into a fast-paced rhythm that left her nearly breathless.

He let out a volley of unending screams that, if Tess's sighs didn't awake them before, his voice would shock the neighbors awake now. Occasionally, he would yank her up by her butt to go inside a bit deeper. She complied by bringing one leg up higher, allowing him much more leverage, and allowing her a deeper feel.

Her voice nearly went hoarse with all the grunts of his name, the cries when he'd hit a certain spot inside that never failed to make her insides melt. As he slowed the pace, she kissed his lips sweetly, combing her fingers through his hair.

"So…" He panted as he collapsed on top of her, "Why do you wear heels…if you hate them so damn much?"

"They look sexy…"

He rolled his eyes, "Okay." He kissed one of her breasts, "Should I get off?"

"If you'd like."

He moved off of her, "I'm assuming you had fun…"

"Oh yes…" She asked, tracing a finger across his jawline, "How was losing your virginity, hmm? Everything you'd hope it'd be?"

"I'm glad I lost it to you…" He closed his eyes.

She smiled and kissed his lips, "How sweet…" She closed her eyes and held his arm tightly in hers, "You're mine now…all mine…"

He chuckled for a while, "Sleep well, Tess…"

"You too, sweetheart."

* * *

 **A/N:** Ah, the mind off the Toreador…a dangerous and, yet, colorful place. Thanks for reading! Hope you liked it!


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Here's chapter two! And, since this is us we're talking about, you know these earlier chapters are going to include a ton of new characters…like twenty-five wasn't enough…So, enjoy them! There are certainly more to come… :)

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs. Also, yeah, there's also some sensual stuff going down, if you're not a fan, you can skim over it.

* * *

Poor girl seemed like she wanted to be left alone. At least, that's what Venus decided, the way she was sitting at the counter. Her thin form was slumped over the counter, long black hair with bright red highlights covered her face like a curtain. She was nursing a drink, but hadn't taken a sip of it yet. A sure cue to her about the girl's _condition_.

She was clad in a black leather biker's jacket, complete with little spiked studs on the shoulders, and spiked biker's gloves as well. Tough girl look. Red tank top underneath, and black leather pants. Her boots were a statement, in Venus's opinion, but really, who was she to judge? Bright red, high heels, they went all the way up to her knees. Looked like they weighed a ton.

She had a machine gun strapped to her back, and a roll of ammo around her shoulder. If Venus needed another reason to leave her alone, that was it.

But, then the girl looked up. She looked over at Venus and rested her face in the palm of her hand, her elbow resting against the counter. Her nails were alternating, red and black. Venus was sensing a theme.

Her eyes were bright red. Colored contacts? Her lips were dark as well, her eyes coated with eyeshadow. "Hey." She called out, her voice had a light graze to it, maybe a smoker.

"Yes, love?" Venus walked over, "What can I get you?"

"How late does this place stay open?"

"Four. Least, that's when I lock the place up." She said with a smirk, "If you want to stay later, you can."

"Funny." She rolled her eyes, "Your name's Venus, right? I heard about you."

"Have you? Hopefully nothing too shameful."

"Not particularly." She muttered, stirring her drink around with frustration.

Venus's eyes darted around, before she leaned in, "I know what you are, love. I can get you a special drink. On the house."

The girl's eyes widened. She hardly looked over eighteen, in Venus's opinion. "…really?"

Venus smiled, "I'll get you one right away."

"How…how'd you know?" She asked, piercings on her lips glittered in the flashing red lights. Venus spotted one on her tongue as well.

"Let's call it women's intuition."

She sat back, "Well, that's a load of horseshit." She muttered, "It's not…as bad as it sounds."

"Mmm hmm." Venus handed her a wine glass full of blood, "One Bloody Mary." She winked.

"You're a saint." She took the glass and drank all of it, sighing. "Ugh, this shit's great…"

Venus chuckled softly, "What was your name?"

"You won't tell? I'm not gonna be here long. 'Least I don't plan to hang around. This place sucks ass."

"Your secret's safe with me."

She leaned in, "It's Cissy…but…" Her eyes grazed over Venus, "You can call me Cyradora."

"Cissy? Cute." Venus said, "Anything else the beat priestess can get for you, love?"

"Another one of these."

"Mmm hmm. But it won't be on the house this time."

Cissy reached into her top and pulled out a wad of crinkled up cash, "Here, take it."

Venus chuckled before she took the cash and unwrinkled it, preparing another glass for her before the doors opened and a familiar figure came in. "Victor. Hello dear." She handed Cissy the glass.

Cissy's eyes flashed over to Victor, she looked him over, then downed her drink.

"Venus." Victor smiled, "It has been much too many moons since I've last seen you. It is my fault, and my fault alone."

"Nonsense." She insisted, "I've heard all about the…event, at Venture Tower. I'm sure you were involved, somehow." She started preparing him a drink as well.

"Oh, yes, center of the storm, giving all sorts of naughty little children their karmic retribution, shall we call it?" He chuckled.

He saw her shift her weight onto the other leg and nearly spill his drink over before she handed it to him, "Careful what you say in a holy place like this, Mister Madison."

"Ah, yes, forgive my manners…" He said, flickered a glance at the rowdy teenagers in the corner.

Venus met his gaze, "Oh, please."

Cissy raised a brow, very confused about the entire conversation.

He reached out and held her chin, "I'm sure the curtain call for this place will happening shortly, no?"

Her smile grew, "The curtain call could happen right now, if it's convenient…"

"Seriously?" Cissy asked, "Can I at least watch? I'll pay you."

Venus looked over at Cissy, "I was unaware you were still here…"

"I never left." She said, "Cuz, I don't exactly have a place to stay. I was…gonna stake it out until four, like you _said_ , but…I guess I'll go…sleep in a dumpster…"

"You…could stay the night in my office, upstairs, if you need to. Are you unable to afford a room somewhere?"

She looked at her nails, "I don't know. I haven't bothered looking around. This is honestly the first time in months I've been _sober_."

"Well, you're more than welcome to…stay the night in my office. I can show you the way there…"

"You really gotta fuck your boyfriend that bad? Can't I just…stay down here a bit longer? Enjoy the place? Better yet, you fuck him up in your office, I'll watch the place for you."

"…no."

"Yes, why don't you find another streetlamp to fly over towards?" Victor swatted a hand.

She raised a brow, "The fuck crawled up your asshole, pal?" She snarled, not bothering to show her fangs, "Don't fuck with me."

"Enough." Venus's eyes darted back and forth between both of them, "Cissy, was it? Follow me. I'll show you upstairs."

Cissy reached over and took the drink Victor hadn't touched, downing it, "Who the hell are you again? Someone who…maybe doesn't want me to fill them with lead?"

"I'm sure a peasant such as yourself didn't _buy_ those weapons, now did they?"

She sneered, "What, is that a money joke? Cause you're loaded or something? Compensating for something, honey? Oh, Venus, you poor thing, you could do _so_ much better."

Venus started looking upset, "I said, _enough_. Both of you." Her accent started to go a bit. "Cissy, it's time for you to leave."

"Really? Cause, I think it's two thirty." She said, "Unless you _want_ me to get mad…"

"Darling, you're not very intimidating." Venus said bluntly.

"Really? You…want to be turned into a vampire? Cause I'll do it. You piss me off and I'll make you into a monster."

"I'm trembling."

Victor held a hand out, a blue glow came from it, "You will sleep in a dumpster tonight." He said. With clouded eyes, Cissy began to leave.

Venus sighed, blowing her bangs out of her face, "Good riddance." She said before she looked back over at Victor, "Let's go back to my place."

"She reminded me of Patty." He sighed.

"Mmm. Yes, I could see that. I don't think she knows very much about what she is. She seemed rather depressed earlier, before you came in."

"Ah…so she _was_ Kindred…"

"Drank three glasses of blood. Paid for one."

"I knew she was a petty thief. Probably a freshly Embraced Anarch or the like." He said, "Did she…mention a clan?"

"No. I'm…not even sure if she knows about them."

"Hmm…intriguing…well, I'm certain that's that last of her. If not…well, I'll wipe her mind next time…"

"Yes…so…are we heading back to my apartment?"

"Of course we are, lead the way, dear."

"Give me one moment." She ran around the back to go upstairs and power the place down, before she ran back and grabbed her purse. "Let's go."

The ride back was silent. Victor didn't need to be a psychic to know what was on Venus's mind, especially when they entered her apartment. She turned a few lamps on, just enough to keep the place slightly lit, with an enchanting amount of darkness. She lit a candle, "I understand you've been busy, but…seems I've formed quite the addiction to that blood of yours. This withdrawal has been driving me absolutely mad…"

"Has it really been that long already?" He asked, pulling a knife out, he slit his wrist, "Well, that fool drained me of some of my blood already, but…there should still be plenty for you."

"I can't thank you enough." She walked over and took his wrist, gently drinking from it. Once she started, she seemed so intent, it didn't seem as if she was ever going to stop. She was like some sort of leech.

"Alright, alright, I can't have you _drain_ me, or else I won't have enough blood to do the _second_ activity that's on your mind."

She gently let him go, "Yes…that…that does sound quite heavenly…did I tell you about the dream I had the other night?"

"Dream?"

"Well…I suppose with the withdrawal, I've been having a lot of dreams…rather, enticing dreams about you." She said, "I dreamt the other night we were in a hot tub…it was to die for…"

"Ah, so one could call it a sexual fantasy."

"Mmm hmm…" She wrapped her arms around his waist, "Tell me again…" She quickly unfastened her shorts, "About what you did in the tower…"

"I killed many people…hundreds…at least…" He kissed her, tossing his scarf aside and starting to massage her waistline with two fingers.

She groaned loudly, closing her eyes as she hung most of her weight on him, "Take me…take me somewhere…please…"

"Of course." He scooped her up and took her to her bedroom, once he laid her on her bed, he started taking off all his clothes as quickly as possible.

She pulled off her top and then her shorts, "I'll do everything I can to…to relax and be slow about this…but it has been a while…" She shut her nightstand that was peeped open, Victor was sure he saw something odd in there.

"Now, now, take it at whatever speed you'd like." He said, completely naked, "I certainly won't mind if you feel the need to soil yourself early."

She laid back and positioned herself so that he could rest on top of her, "So then what are you waiting for?"

"Oh, nothing." He got on top quickly and started kissing her, feeling up her rear and exploring the inside of her mouth.

She wrapped her legs around him, kissing him back and rubbing his shoulders, letting out a little sigh before she asked, "So how has everything been…? I've been in the dark for a while now…"

"Shall I tell you, after we finish?" His hands moved up and clamped onto her breasts, "Then perhaps we could go a second time?"

She smiled and held his face, "You know me too well, darling."

"Mmm-hmm." He had one hand rub and massage her lower abdomen, and he had the other massage one of her inner thighs. Her eyes closed as she let out a deep moan, spreading her legs a bit wider and clawing at the bedsheets, panting his name occasionally. He licked behind his two fangs, going back a bit and kissing the spot on her stomach where he was rubbing, trying to stick as much of her lower abdomen inside his jaws as possible. He playfully bit her occasionally.

Her eyes closed tightly and she cried out in bliss, holding his head in place. This time she wasn't pushing him down anywhere, she was simply securing him in place. He felt her legs wrap around his torso, her hips move in a rhythm beneath him. He licked the spots where he had lightly bitten, using one hand to hold her steady and the other to go back to rubbing her inner thigh.

She gasped his name, spreading her legs a bit wider, "Victor…Victor…ahh…I…I need…" He smiled and complied with her request, spreading his blood through his system and plunging deep into her. She cried out his name and mashed her lips onto his, her nails dug into his shoulders as the mattress creaked and the entire bed shook considerably.

She would _kill_ for the neighbors to come bash on her door and tell them to shut up.

And then, her mind ran back to all the things her lover had ever done for her. About Boris, about those rowdy teenagers, all the other stories of him boiling people, of him sending people to their knees. Maybe it was just the blood bond, but it made her insides burn in a way they never had.

He gave a soft sigh, originally he was holding her butt, but then he moved both hands up and pressed both thumbs on her nipples, kissing her ferociously, and occasionally giving her room to cry out and breathe. And cry and breathe she did, practically begging his name and panting whenever she wasn't biting on his shoulder or kissing his lips.

She panted a lot once he pulled away, gently rubbing her fingertips down his spine, "You're my rock…"

"I would think that I'm more than that at this point." He kissed her cheek, "I spoke to my Regent about you."

"Have you?" She combed her fingers through his hair, "Well, I'm assume at least he doesn't want me dead, if you came in here and gave me one of the best fucks of my life…"

"Well…he doesn't know that you're _already_ a ghoul…" He said, "He also doesn't know about our…romantic…connection…and I fear we'll have to keep it that way, to those in the Chantry, or else he'd kill us both…"

"I'm alright with that…I'm sure I'll be able to manage…" She kissed his cheek, "We will have any time to ourselves?"

"Of course." He said, "How else would I be here right now?"

"I suppose that was a silly question…" She rested her head back on the pillow, "So…is there an interview or something?"

"Yes. In a day or two, at the rate he was speaking." He said, "I'm going to be straightforward, I'm worried…your…typical Confessions outfit might send the wrong message…to him at least…he's _very_ old-fashioned…if you think _I'm_ old…" He trailed off and chuckled, "Do you have anything conservative? To at least wear around him and the Chantry?"

"Yes, yes, I…I have a few nice dresses…I've been to a few funerals before, dear, my outfits aren't always like this…if it were my choice, I'd wear dresses everywhere, but as it is, I need to attract as much attention to the club as possible…"

"I see." He smiled, "Excellent…this seems to all be going smoothly…and then you'll be able to meet my coworkers…how interesting…"

"They sound quite nice, from the likes of things…"

"Yes, well, being Tremere…they act a little like me, so I'm sure you'll get along just fine with them."

"They sound lovely…"

He looked a little distracted, "Would you…would you mind if…if we went again…?"

She smiled, then traced a finger along his jawline, "I want you to do it between my breasts again."

"Well, that's frighteningly accurate, because I was just about to beg for that."

"Well, I certainly wouldn't mind hearing you beg anyway."

"Maybe another day, darling." He kissed her and pressed his thumbs against her nipples again. She closed her eyes tightly and gave a shaky sigh, kissing him back and threading her fingers in his hair.

Quickly, or impatiently perhaps, he sent blood through his system, starting to grind against her hip with his erection. She closed her eyes and rolled her head over to the side, letting out little moans and grunts, holding onto the bedsheets to ground herself.

"I'm not hurting you, am I?"

"No…no not at all…" She panted out, "Please…more…"

"Oh, you _like_ it." He grinned, sighing loudly as he continued his hump. She sighed his name and reached her hands down, holding his rear and supporting him as she left kisses on his neck. "Do you mind if I move up a little?"

"Not at all…"

He moved up so his erection was in between both breasts, letting out a loud groan, "Venus…" He begged.

She pressed her breasts together a bit to cause more friction, "That's right…" She sighed, "You like that, don't you?" Her smirk was sinful.

"…yes…a…lot…"

"Show me…show me how much…"

He fumbled to grab onto something as he let loose, slamming a bit of pressure into her as they both sank into the bed a bit. She bit her bottom lip and kept her boobs together for him, letting him move to and fro freely.

Her eyes closed as an overwhelming feeling of calming flooded over her. It was as if the world around them was burning away, but Victor was here, holding onto her, keeping her safe. It was the opposite of the nightmares she had been having, it was as if everything had settled into place at last. She couldn't have been any happier that she was going to get a shot at living in the Chantry with him.

He let a relieved sigh out, followed by a few more, as he drew to a close. She let go of her breasts, clawing at the sheets a bit and letting out a final sigh as he finished, "I love you so much, Victor…"

"I love you too." He smiled, "I'm glad we can make love together so well."

She wrapped her arms around him and kissed his cheek, "Yes…we're both quite talented, aren't we?" She smiled.

He kissed her lips adoringly for a while, "Just…be prepared…Strauss is going to come in a day or so." He said, "And remember…you're not a ghoul yet." He winked, "And we're not lovers."

"Then where have we met?"

"I'll have to whip up a story for him."

"Alright…I'll do my best to play along…"

"Lovely." He kissed her, "Goodnight, dear."

"Mmm hmm, night love."

* * *

This was her favorite sort of weather. Warm but dry, a chilling breeze occasionally sent her dark curls bouncing on her back, the sounds of insects humming, and camels snorting at the insects distances off.

If it were up to her, Egypt would be her birthplace. The weather, the creatures, the ancient stories that could be unearthed, it all sang to her. So many chances to get so wonderfully distracted.

She heard a pair of heels behind her. She was certain they were heels, not sandals or bare feet like she usually heard on the stone pathway she travelled every night like her private midnight highway home.

Home, being subjective. The concept of home had been scuttled what, just shy of fifty years ago? Was it wrong of her to lose track of how many years it had been?

Those footsteps didn't go away. They didn't bother her, either, but they sent a nagging feeling in the back of her head. There were plenty of tourists in Egypt, kine who took pictures of the grand pyramids and wondered what sort of pharaohs lived inside. It made her laugh, at least.

But what sort of kine walked the streets late at night? Hours before midnight? Most of the time, they prowled about during the day and hid in their little hotels as soon as the moon crawled in the sky. Kindred, she supposed. No need to engage.

That was the first lesson she learned from her sire. Do not engage other Kindred. Well, in all honesty, she was told not to engage with _anyone_. But she had indeed engaged with many people and non-people on a daily basis, then again she could really only think of a handful that actually resulted in calm conversation.

At least she knew one archeologist who was human, and didn't seem to mind. For now.

Taking a right turn at an intersection was merely a way to get the high-heeled figure away from her, but they also took a right. Why was this bothering her so much? Little things like this never were so irritating. Big things weren't even irritating. But this? Maddening. She looked up at the warm glowing lanterns, the small panes of glass around the flickering candles. In the reflection of the glass, she vaguely saw the figure behind her. A hooded figure.

Was she being followed? Surprisingly, she had never even seen hunters in Egypt. They crawled all over North America, like flies. Europe too, or at least, England. South America didn't have as many, and Egypt, she never really had a problem. Well, until now. It was bound to bite her in the ass at some point.

She slowed down, then turned around, "Pardon?"

The figure stopped, glanced up at her quickly, then pulled a one-eighty and walked off at a much faster pace.

As the figure turned, she was shocked, "…Pisha?"

Faster. The person started running. _Sprinting_.

"Pisha!" She gave chase, "Pisha, why are you running? It's me!"

'Pisha' stopped suddenly and turned, the momentum knocking her hood back, "…Phaedra?"

Her dark lips revealed a wide grin, her teeth all pointed like little daggers, "Oh, how good it is to see you again, in the flesh!" She gave a laugh.

Pisha scowled, "What are you doing here?" She hissed.

"Hmm…I'm not sure. Quite the fascinating question, you ask. See, I have a distant memory in the back of my mind…" Phaedra walked forward, "Of this woman…gorgeous thing, really, holding my hips and whispering such erotic words in my ear…before she bit into my neck and told me to go to Egypt to do her grocery shopping."

Pisha's eyes narrowed, before they darted around. Out in the open, she looked so small and exposed, so fragile. She acted like it too, the way she carried herself. Like she was a rabbit being constantly followed by hounds, "You should not be out on these streets."

"Oh, and where should I be? I'm hungry."

"Quiet!" She hissed, snatching up Phaedra's arm in her hand and pulling her along.

Phaedra looked down at Pisha's hand, "So thin…have you lost weight? When was the last time you fed?"

Pisha didn't offer a response, tugging her along to a more secluded location along a dock. Her white eyes seemed to offer their own light, Phaedra could see them even without the glow of the lanterns, "Speaking openly in such a manner is an invitation for disaster."

"Mmm hmm." Phaedra combed her fingers through her hair, she was quite content with the length, it just about reached her hips, it looked like a style her mother would wear, "I remember similar words after my Embrace. But you see, I've had many conversations with kine and Kindred alike…and I'm still here, aren't I?"

Pisha seemed beyond frustrated. She reached up and held Phaedra's chin like a disappointed mother, "Then your death will not be blood on my hands."

Phaedra closed her eyes, clearly loving every bit of the attention, "Mmm, no, I certainly wouldn't have blamed you for the warning…" She reached out and held Pisha's hand as she moved it away, "I can act on my own accord, you know. I'm not helpless."

"That is what frightens me the most." Pisha mused, trying to pull her hand back.

"Let's go hunting together." Phaedra grinned and held her hand tighter.

"Enough." Pisha swatted her hand away, "This…this obsession with me, it must end. Symbiosis is manageable, tolerable…but I will accept nothing more."

Phaedra put a hand to her chest, "I think that was the most devastating rejection I've heard in my entire life."

Pisha gazed seaward, "The artifact. I assume you were unable to locate it."

"Now, now, now, must we jump into business so quickly?" Phaedra asked, "I've grown rather fond of you, dear, I'd like to sit over a cup of remains and catch up."

"You grasp onto your humanity yet…" Pisha sighed through her nose, "A shame. I thought with this curse, you might…at least see the line of reality a bit clearer."

Phaedra chuckled, "It's not even been a century. I'm not even half your age. Relax."

Pisha folded her arms, "One moment."

Phaedra's lips curled into a smirk, "What are you doing here?"

"Running."

"Yes, I see that." Phaedra chuckled, her voice just as deep as Pisha's, with a touch of femininity in it, and the slightest Italian accent, "From who?"

"Gehenna."

"You're…kidding me?" Phaedra asked, "You believe in Gehenna? Oh, here I thought you were some wise mentor—"

Pisha bared her teeth, this display far more effective for her clan, "I've been a devout adherent of the Tal'Mahe'Ra since the very day of my Embrace."

"The True Black Hand?" Phaedra asked, "I had no idea they accepted our clan."

"Accepted? No. Sects were not as they are now. Acceptance was not a creed of the time. It was survival. The Nagaraja, Tzimisce, Assamites…" She seemed to drift off into her memories, but quickly back to reality, "I was not alive during the time of its creation. I am not ancient." Pisha said, which caused Phaedra to smirk, "But I was alive long enough to affiliate myself before the Week of Nightmares."

"So…what is it then? I've heard a bit about the Week of Nightmares, not so much that sect…"

"The True Black Hand?" She asked, before looking over the horizon, "For me, or my predecessors?"

"The history intrigues me, but your tale more so."

"Nothing more than a form of survival and penance."

"Penance?" Phaedra asked, "For what?" She paused, "Existing?"

Pisha put a hand on her hip, "I am unsure if our clan weakness might have come across as strange to you…in many ways I am unsure of _what_ comes across strange to you. It seems as if nothing does."

Phaedra laughed, "Oh, you sweet little thing. So you feel bad about eating people…well, you have always been a bit…raw with your performance."

"Hmm?"

"You eat them live." Phaedra said as she raised a brow, "A bit strange, even in our society…"

Pisha rolled her eyes, "From whom did you learn our _standard_ predatory habits?"

"I find that I'm able to make myself a wonderful Ventrue for the Prince of whichever city I'm not in, so long as I carry myself so. A lovely archeologist a handful of years ago, her name escapes me. She did intense research on the…'hidden' clans, she called them. Mentioned Nagaraja and their flesh preserving rituals…so, we don't have to eat them _live_." She clarified, "It's as if you've raised me to go out and kill a cow every time I'd like a steak."

"…then how is it you obtain flesh at all?"

"Have you ever heard of a morgue?"

"I've heard of a Masquerade Violation."

Phaedra laughed and rolled her eyes again, before embracing Pisha, "I've missed you so dearly…you've no idea how much…"

Pisha grunted as Phaedra suddenly made full body contact, "Simply a blood bond."

"Oh, come now…" Phaedra smiled, "Pisha has completely stolen your heart, hmm?"

"Have I told you the impact your Embrace has made on my livelihood?"

Phaedra pulled away from the hug, "Hmm? Oh, you worry about me?"

"No." Pisha said dryly, "I wish I had not Embraced you at all. Every moment you live, every time you flash those teeth, you bite into a morsel of flesh, my life is slighted, piece by piece…"

Phaedra raised a brow, "Is it?"

"After the Week of Nightmares, over ninety-percent of Nagaraja had died. Those that had not fled to Korea."

"Korea?" Phaedra had asked, "I thought…the Kuei-Jin…?"

"Yes. Kuei-Jin domain…the Green Court, specifically." She said, "They were kind enough to offer our clan recluse…" She chuckled briefly to herself, "They've…shown more acceptance to our clan than our own species." She looked at Phaedra, "There was one condition, and that was that we do not sire any childer."

"But…you had sired me _before_ the Week of Nightmares…" Phaedra said, "I don't see what this has to do with a thing. Neither of us went to Korea either, during this time, certainly that can't apply?"

"Risks are best left unchallenged, for the full potential of life to be achieved."

"You really are a skittish little thing, aren't you?" Phaedra asked, "Longevity means nothing when your life is managed by fear…"

"You're young yet. With time, you will see." Pisha turned away and started walking. Something about what Phaedra said reminded her of a certain Malkavian she had met not long ago, in the basement of that hospital.

"Wait." Phaedra chased after her.

"Your minute has long since passed."

The sound of Phaedra's high heeled boots, (very high heeled,) rang out against the worn stone pathway as she followed her sire, "Where are you staying tonight?"

"You are not staying with me."

"Oh, please?" Phaedra asked with a smile, "I'd just love to see you unwind…"

"No."

Phaedra gave a disappointed sigh, but moved on, "So where were you, all this time?"

"America."

"Oh, really? I've lived there a good…many years. How is it?"

Pisha pulled her hood up as a man walked by with his camel. Phaedra smiled at him and his animal, "It has seen better nights. Perhaps nights when humankind did not yet prance atop its surface and construct pointless edifices…"

Phaedra laughed, "Yes, I…felt a similar impression from the place."

"Keep your voice low in these streets." Pisha insisted as another group of people walked by.

"Oh, please, I doubt they speak much English." She said, "What city did you find yourself in?"

"Los Angeles. I thought there was a chance for peace in a city of angels…"

"Oh, no…that's California, isn't it?" Phaedra asked, "Mmm, California sounds like a headache…"

"Yes…when I started finding myself in the company of visitors, even if I had not felt the pressure of Gehenna, I knew it was time to retreat."

"Visitors?" She asked, "Like who?"

"None in which you would see the likes of in your lifetime."

"You shouldn't say such things. After my Embrace, you told me I was never going to see you again." She smiled.

"Yes, I had hoped that would come true."

"You bitter thing." Phaedra muttered, "Pull on my heartstrings any harder and they'll snap."

"Forgive my sense of self-preservation."

"I'm not sure I can." She said, "I find it hard to even believe you're the same woman who touched me like no one ever has."

"I've never _touched_ you." Pisha looked over with a sharp glare.

"My rear begs to differ."

"You were thrashing about madly, it was merely stabilization."

"Say what you will." Phaedra smiled, "You enjoyed it."

"It was very difficult…" She muttered, "What, with your irrational movements, the amount of flesh that peeled away from your neck…I've never merely drained before, it was bizarre."

"I do hope Pisha told you that the way you speak is a turn-on."

"A…what?"

"Oh, you poor thing…" She mused, "You _are_ ancient."

Pisha rolled her eyes as they took another turn, "I trust you know the area."

"Mmm hmm. I've been staying in an archeologist's home, he's been out on an expedition. You're more than welcome to stay."

"When will he return?"

"He said another few weeks. Lovely man."

"If I am unable to find another location before the sun rises."

"Wonderful." Phaedra said, "I don't think I'll ever forget that Embrace."

"As momentous as birth…" Pisha mused with a tone of boredom in her voice, her eyes predatorily glaring at figures that walked past.

"No orgasm has ever felt as magnificent."

"Any point onward would be a ripe opportunity for you to stop speaking."

"I did gather a few artifacts you might like to investigate." She mused, "Back in the home of the archeologist."

"Very well…" Pisha mused, "What sort?"

"Many sorts. Two books, an idol of sorts, a small coffin."

"A small coffin?" She asked, "To what merit will that hold on my life?"

"Oh, you know…with all the…sarcophagus business in Los Angeles, I thought you might like one for yourself."

"I was in no way involved in the sarcophagus…" She muttered sourly, "It is that box that made me leave the city…something…chaotic resides within…"

"Mmm, you think so?" She mused, "Very well."

"You would be wise to take recluse in these final nights as well." Pisha said, then muttered, "Though your existence is enough for any Antediluvian to slay me over…"

"Oh, don't say such things…" Phaedra said, "I'm a lovely childe."

"A ponderous one."

" _Puttana…_ "

Pisha chuckled softly through her teeth, "Gather your artifacts. I will be there at midnight."

"Very well." Phaedra said, "I'm looking forward to spending time with you tonight."

"Mmm…yes…I…had an inkling…"

Phaedra met Pisha's gaze one last time for a good minute before she turned off from the path and headed towards the village.

Not many people wound their way deep into Phaedra's heart. Pisha was in there, with her mother, perhaps. She kept her connections to others loose, because trust was far too easy to lose. Pisha was different. Or maybe it was the world of darkness. She was intellectual, she was witty, and she was beautiful. As cliché as it sounded, Phaedra adored her Sire. Every cold, rough facet, she wanted to explore. She wanted to know her real name, she wanted to know where she was born, where she was raised, what her family was like, and yet, chances were, she never would. She would likely see Pisha, once, twice more in her entire life before she too, disappeared.

Phaedra didn't say goodbye. She just didn't let people like her happen often, so it wouldn't hurt as much.

Her entire life was dictated by others. Dictated by her mother, dictated by her father, dictated by her ex-husband, and now, dictated by Pisha. But she knew it wasn't going to last. She had a chance to leave. To find herself, to do something once in her unending life by herself, for herself. She had the money to leave, too, but no idea of where exactly to go.

Well, where else but L.A.?

* * *

Victor shut the door behind himself as he entered Venus's apartment, "Are you prepared?"

"What?" He heard her voice from the bathroom.

He placed his hands in his pockets and stepped towards the outside of the bathroom door, "I was just wondering if you were ready."

She opened the door, she was in a black lacy cocktail dress, her hair pinned up in an up-do, her lips bare and her nails black. She had on a nice pair of sandals as well, with dark fishnet stockings, "What do you think?" She asked, "Should I wear a little cross necklace?" She asked with a smirk.

He'd be breathless, if he wasn't dead, "You look splendid."

"Why thank you." Her cheeks turned a bit pink, "He's coming here?"

"Yes, he should be here in—" There was a polite knock on the door, and Victor rolled his eyes in annoyance, "And…he's already here…"

"This should be interesting." She said with a smile, crossing her arms as she leaned against the counter.

Victor swallowed hard. It was almost charming, seeing the esteemed, invincible Tremere Magister so terrified of something. He walked over to the door and opened it. Sure enough, Strauss was on the other side, "Greetings, Mister Madison." He gave a slight bow, "I assume this is your…candidate…Miss…?"

"Venus Dare." Victor said quickly.

"I see." Strauss said, "Greetings, Miss Dare, my name is Maximillian Strauss, and I oversee all the business in our organization. I will be conducting tonight's interview."

"Sounds lovely." She said, "Pleasure to make your acquaintance." She held a hand out to shake.

Strauss shook her hand before they all sat around the table, "Why don't you start by informing my about the path of your profession. What is it you do for a living…?" He looked her over, "Unless you are still on an educational path."

So badly, she wanted to look over at Victor to see what she should say. Owning a club didn't sound like something very typical or impressive for their sort, but if she lied and told him she was actually going to college, it would most definitely come back to haunt her. The truth would have to surface eventually. After all, what was the worst that could happen? She gets killed? She'd honestly rather that then continue this life forever, seeing Victor only once a month, tops. Her mind fluttered through these thoughts only for a moment. This wasn't her first interview, after all, "I'm in the business industry, you could say." She said, "I own a nightclub."

Strauss raised a hand to his chin, pondering, "Tell me of this nightclub."

"It's called Confessions." Victor said, "It's quite an impressive establishment, very dark, I like it." He said, "Besides, it makes very good business."

"Yes…something our organization is severely lacking…" Strauss said, "LaCroix had relied on his…LaCroix Foundation for his income, and without it, our finances may vanish quicker than I intended." He said, "Perhaps we can form a sort of…partnership, or…financial bridge, between our companies."

"Just a minute." Victor said, "We can't…suck the money away from her…she needs to provide a living for herself, no?"

"If she succeeds the interview, she will have housing in the Chantry." Strauss said, "Finances will never be a fear or worry on her mind again." He said, "And in times of need, we will return the favor to Confessions."

Victor looked nervous, his eyes flickered over to Venus.

Venus looked over to Victor, then back at Strauss, "Gladly. Sounds more than reasonable to me." She said as she smiled. Victor was almost unnerved with just how calm she seemed. Could this woman ever feel fear or nervousness? "In fact, I think I could go as far as to saying, I look forward to it. Having someone to split the bills with now and again sounds like a marvelous idea." She smirked.

Strauss gave a small smile, "An eager attitude, I'm sure you'll find the partnership most beneficial." He said, then he asked, "What is your level of political knowledge?"

She tilted her head a bit, "Well…what do you mean? Am I up to date on current politics? I really…have no care in the world about what's going on up there, but I do know how it all happens…it's a muddy understanding, but it's present." She crossed her legs, "I grew up in America for a handful of years, then moved to England for the majority of my life. I only moved back here about a year or two ago to get my hands on some sort of profit. So…more or less, I grew up under two very different political systems, but…" She shrugged, "Both of them make sense to me."

"Yes, I see…" He said, "What skills or assets do you have to give to our organization?" He asked.

"Her ability to work under an absurd amount of pressure." Victor spoke up again, "She has nerves of steel, honestly, she does. In fact…" He stood up, "The two of us were under attack…by…" He paused, not wanting to say 'Kindred' and blow it, "By one of our own…and I was incapacitated…but she held her own…quite well, despite not having the foggiest idea of what was going on. How cool she acts, well, it's almost inspiring."

Strauss smiled at Venus, "Hearing Mister Madison speak so fondly of you, it's a pleasant surprise. You see, he is quite an influential figure in our business, so to hear _him_ impressed, it's really quite an astonishing feat."

She smiled, "Well, I must say I'm flattered. I'll have to thank my mother for raising me to keep my wits about myself."

Strauss nodded, "What do you consider your weaknesses are?"

"Weaknesses?" She leaned back and thought for a moment, "I suppose I can let others use me like a doormat. The word, 'no' rarely finds itself in my vocabulary…"

"I see." He said, "And lastly, were there any questions you had for me?"

She paused, "None that come to mind."

"I see." He rose, "Well, I have to say that I am pleased by tonight's proceedings."

Victor smiled, standing up, "Does that mean she…?"

"Of course, in a few days, I'll have some of my associates set up a location in the Chantry for her."

He was so ecstatic, he nearly hugged Venus, but as it were, he grinned, "That's most excellent news."

"Of course, farewell, Mister Madison, and Miss Dare." He headed to leave.

"Pleasure to meet you, Mister Strauss." Venus called before he left, "Well, that certainly went better than my last interview."

Victor gave her a big hug, in addition to a kiss, "Wonderful…now I won't starve you and I'll be able to keep a better eye out for you…"

She closed her eyes and rested her head in his chest, "Sounds like a dream come true…"

* * *

 **A/N:** The Nagaraja are rather underrated…and, just so happens to be one of the writer's favorite clans. Can you guess what the other writer's favorite clan is? Tee hee. Thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** Here's chapter three! Skelter kinda has a taste for Brujah blood…let's see what he does about getting some more. Enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs. Ha, no bang either.

* * *

"We really are fucked."

Nines lit a cigarette and passed it to his confidant, "Yeah."

Skelter looked at the cigarette, before he took it and put it between his teeth. It had been a while since the two actually stood somewhere alone, putting everything behind them and just sharing a smoke. "What I want to know is why the hell the Tremere even give a damn."

Nines shook his head. "Cause we pissed 'em off."

"I get that." Skelter said, closing his eyes as a car drove by and flashed their headlights at them. He preferred sitting out somewhere in the woods to have these chats, but as it was, they really couldn't go that far. The sidewalks of downtown worked. Too loud to be noticed, quiet enough to hear each other just fine. "But I always took the Tremere for the more secluded kinda life. Victor I get. Cause you and your gang busted his balls when you were kids."

"I hardly even knew him." Nines insisted, "I did not bust his balls."

"Pfft. Yeah, alright." Skelter snickered, puffing a cloud of smoke in the air, "Now we're screwed, cuz' a' you."

"Yeah, then why the hell does he hate you and Anastasia so much?" Nines asked, "You two pissed him off too."

"…nah…"

Nines snickered, "You lying bastard. We're in this together at this point."

"He's gonna be a bitch and a half to get rid of." Skelter said, "Gonna have to figure something clever out…"

"We'll have a meeting about it." Nines decided, "I don't know when, but if we put all our heads together, something should come up. We shouldn't do anything alone that we'll regret."

"Yeah…good point…" He muttered, kicking a pile of gravel by his feet. He looked back up at the street. "Had to file my teeth down the other day."

Nines looked over, "Oh yeah?" He smiled, "How the hell are you supposed to feed now?"

"Blood packs, I guess. It got to the point where I was drinking more of my own blood than anyone else's."

Nines had a good laugh, "You're an idiot!"

"Shut up…" He grumbled, "Not as bad as the tail."

"Pfft, you had a tail?" Nines looked like he was going to cry with laughter.

"It was an embarrassment…" He sighed, "Thank god 'Stasia was around…"

Nines snickered, "Can…can I see it?"

"It's gone, now." He muttered, "Jeez, I had no clue you'd get such a damn kick out of it."

"You had a fucking _tail_ …"

"Knew I shouldn't have told you about it…"

"I'm not gonna tell anyone." Nines said, brushing a tear out of his eye, "So you and 'Stasia, huh?"

"Yeah."

"Guess that's one of the reasons Killian's been so upset."

"Yeah…" Skelter sighed, "Bastard's jealous as all hell."

He shook his head, "Sure he ain't a Toreador?"

"Sure as I'll ever be." He looked over at Nines as he blew smoke through his nose, "You shoulda' seen him, he damn near assaulted her before we found Xiao."

"Yeah, and I can't imagine you were too thrilled when Tristan died either. You had more time to get over it than he did."

"Sure, I was pissed…" He muttered, "But I didn't assault anyone…" He sighed, "I just went home."

"You weren't happy when you were Embraced."

"Course I wasn't." He crossed his arms and puffed another cloud of smoke in the air, "Neither were you, I'm sure."

"I never told you about that, did I?"

"No."

Nines turned back to the street. He looked up at the stars, "I woke up in the trunk of my own car. She gave me a piece of paper that told me to avoid fire and sunlight, and that I needed to drink blood."

"Then you never saw her again."

"Nope."

"You think she's dead?"

"Long gone."

Skelter looked back out at the streets, "That's good, then right?"

Nines closed his eyes and sighed, "I wish she stuck around…as dumb as it sounds." He said, "Woulda' made a lot of things easier…"

"Yeah…I would've been screwed if I hadn't met you after I was Embraced."

"You know, when I saved Killian, he really reminded me of you."

"Yeah, I know." He said in a tone that implied he really didn't want to talk about Killian.

"You were a little less angry, I guess. Better at holding it in. Killian was pissed."

"I know."

"I wish you two would get along." He got out a cigarette, "Sure as hell make my life a lot easier." He started lighting it.

"It's not like I hate the kid…" Skelter sighed, "He just gets me real pissed off. The way he's been acting…I don't know if there's a way back for him."

"There always is."

"You keep thinkin' that."

"If you can, Skelter, I want you to talk to him." He said, "Don't fight, don't argue…I just want him to see that we're still here. If he loses sight of us, he'll lose sight of everything…"

Skelter didn't respond, he just stared at the street. His cigarette was too short for his liking, so he dropped it and stepped on it. He looked down and closed his eyes, thinking back to a time years and years ago. When his brother was alive, when they both had a sliver of time to even talk to each other, _"What the hell kind of God is around to just sit by and watch this happen?"_ The bright look in Tristan's eye, the smile he always had, it was gone. _"I'm gonna write Momma and tell 'er she might as well be prayin' to the stars in the sky, cuz they're the only thing that's listenin'."_ He took off his cross necklace, Skelter's as well, throwing them in a bonfire.

Even as hopeless as he was, stuck out in an ocean where he had given up religion, given up having friends or even returning home alive, he had someone to grab onto. And then, when he discarded that, somehow, he washed up on the shore. But who was saying Killian would ever find himself washed up on shore?

Nines sighed, "I gotta go find Damsel."

"Damsel?" Skelter looked up, jolted out of his reverie.

"See you around." He started to walk off.

Skelter snorted. Just as he'd figured. He took out his phone to see if Anastasia texted him or left any calls, but there was nothing. He closed it and looked back up at the stars. He wasn't worried that she'd cheat on him, like a lot of guys would have been. He was territorial over her, sure, because he knew there were people like Killian who would do anything to get their hands on her. But he knew she would never cheat on him.

What he wondered is if they really had anything, or not. She was young, a lot younger than him. It was nothing she could control, her lack of experience. Likewise, his bitterness wasn't anything he could really subside either. He knew that set them apart considerably, the fact that they grew up in two wildly different environments.

Was it really just mutual attraction? He cared about her, but, he cared about Nines too. Hell, he even cared about Damsel. He could say he cared about a lot of people, but he didn't show it. And Anastasia was the same, but reverse. She cared about everyone, and made sure to show it. Her heart was full of love, and his of hate.

He didn't want to break up with her. Thinking about it made him scared, almost. But he did want what was best for her. And if she found someone that showed her what love really was, he knew she deserved that. Not whatever he gave her.

Maybe he couldn't love. Maybe his heart was too blackened, too scarred. Maybe letting her go would be the right thing to do. As it was, every moment he spent with her, he found himself wondering why she even bothered with him.

He was jolted out of his thoughts again as he heard a familiar voice on the phone, "Yo, Isaac. Yeah, I'm by the Last Round." A pause, "Nines can suck a cock for all I care. Look, I'll do work for you, but I'm done with these shitheads down at the Last Round. They can hardly tie their own shoes. Unless they start doing shit, I'm done with them. Especially Nines." Another pause, "Thankful? What would I have to be thankful for? That he kept me alive? That he just didn't let LaCroix execute me all those years ago? Pfft, I'd rather that! I wish I never met the son of a bitch at all!"

What did Anastasia call it, a while back, when she was talking about Cadmus? A mercy kill?

Skelter put his hands in his pockets, following his nose and ears as he tracked Killian down. He made sure he was behind Killian, getting closer and closer as his target walked down the street. Killian was just about to turn around before Skelter drew his knife and brought it to Killian's throat, the other hand over his mouth,

"Keep your mouth shut." Skelter bit out, his eyes darting around to the streets. He couldn't risk being seen. He grabbed the knife in his other hand and whacked Killian in the back of the head with the butt of it, knocking him out cold.

Killian's eyes flashed open as he felt a searing pain in his head. He went to scream, only to find his mouth was taped shut. He looked around, seeing that he was taped to a chair, which had an iron ball around the leg to hold it down. He looked around the room, what appeared to be an attic. The ceiling was pointed in, the walls and floors were unfished, and there was a little stairwell in the corner. He tried to get up, but couldn't, not with the weighted chair. He screamed into the tape and bounced up and down.

He saw a figure come up the staircase, then his eyes burned and he kept screaming, this time it sounded like he was talking.

Skelter had an iron baseball bat. "You really wanna die, huh?"

Killian just glared at him. Really, it was all he could do.

Skelter sighed and ripped the tape off his mouth, throwing it aside. Killian growled, "You son of a bitch…" He snarled, "Nines will never forgive you."

"He wouldn't forgive you either, if he heard what you had to say about him out there." He crossed his arms, "Figured I'd put you out of your misery."

"Tch. Then go ahead. Do it. I can't have Lark, I can't have VV, I can't have 'Stasia, I can't have shit, just do it! Do it!" He screamed.

The sound of police sirens filled the air, starting off soft and then getting louder, "This is the police! Open the door!"

Skelter's eyes widened, he looked downstairs, then looked back to Killian. "You called the _cops_ on me?"

"Tch, like they would help. They must've trailed you here." Killian said. "You can't even kidnap right."

Skelter ran down from the attic to the front door, grabbing his pistol on the way. The second he opened the door, he fired, knocking the cop down dead. He shot him once more in the chest to make sure he was dead, then scoped around outside a bit to ensure no one saw.

After looking at the ID tag on the man's vest, Skelter opened the car door and grabbed the radio, "Uh, yeah, this is two-fifty-six." He said, speaking a distance away from the radio so his voice would sound a little distorted, "Subject has been lost, over."

The radio spoke back, "You lost 'em? Dammit, Irving! Get back to the station at once, over!"

"Yes sir. Over." He put the radio back. How the hell was he supposed to get rid of the evidence?

Skelter ran back inside, up into the attic, only to see that Killian was gone. "Fuck." He looked around, running downstairs to see if he was there, but he wasn't. "Where the hell did you go?" He spat, but there was no response. Whatever. He didn't have time to spare.

He looked around the place to see if there was anything valuable. He grabbed a shopping bag and threw the contents of his fridge inside, a picture of his brother, and his mother's wedding band. He was about to book it to the phone after that, before he saw a something lacy on the floor. He grit his teeth and picked up the lacy pair of panties, "God damn it, 'Stasia…" He muttered, stuffing them in the bag before he grabbed the phone, "Yo. Mercurio, right? I'm gonna need some Astrolite."

* * *

Rain started tinkling against the windows outside. It wasn't the type of rain that slowly picked up, starting with a drizzle and developing into something bigger. It was instantaneous chaos, like bullets pelting the glass. It sounded that loud, at least.

She had no reason to be unhappy. Her eyes opened as she looked out the window, watching the blurred streams of clear water clatter across the clouded glass. She loved the rain more than anything, it always lifted her spirits, but not now.

She had suggested they both go to bed early, now that he was gone. Now that they were more or less disconnected from it all. And yet, here she was, sitting up, pushing the bedsheets away. She was careful not to wake him, but she knew he was a heavy sleeper. She stood up and combed her fingers through her hair, her nightgown clung to her like a second skin from all the sweating.

His death was supposed to give her freedom. It was supposed to make her happy, and yet, the second he died, she felt an ache in her chest that hardly went away, no matter how much sleep she thought would work. She left the bedroom, keeping the door slightly ajar. The clock on the wall read a few minutes after midnight.

Her footsteps were silent on the floors as she went into the kitchen, quietly flicking the lights on. She opened the fridge and took out a bottle of wine, Saran-Wrap over the top of the bottle. She peeled off the plastic and threw it away before she went into the living room.

It was instinct at this point. She told him she would need some help to kick the habit, and he understood. He still bought wine, and hard liquor, and beer. He didn't really try to stop her, not yet, at least. She could feel it coming over the horizon. But for now, she kept drinking.

She looked down at the coffee table, a little dish had the butts of joints on it, a tiny empty plastic bag lined with familiar white powder. She was going to have to help him as much as he was going to help her.

She brought the dish into the kitchen and dumped everything into the garbage. It was how he grew up, wasn't it? She drank more of the wine, trying to remember what he had told her. It was his way out, and he had got addicted. Like her.

But he was much better at managing it. He never went so far that he couldn't come back. He never really got _stoned_ , maybe dazed, or a little giggly, but then he'd stop. She envied him. For her, it wasn't something she could stop that easily. Only the bottom of the bottle would stop her.

She only really resorted to it when she was stressed. And it was the same story for him. The couch creaked a bit as she collapsed on it and watched the antique clock tick along. It was only time now, that held a grip on her. It set a sharper feeling of fear on her heart, not like the dull nagging feeling that her former regnant had. Time just kept ticking along mercilessly, watching her with big, heartless eyes.

They had about two weeks before the blood bond was over. Give or take a few hours. She wouldn't be nineteen anymore, he wouldn't be thirty one. She'd be thirty four, and he'd be sixty four. It was an age gap large enough to kill them both. The human body couldn't handle aging so quickly, she had heard stories of ghouls who lived fifteen years of un-life, then fell from their blood bond, and crashed so hard, their hearts gave out, and it ended right there an then.

It left them with two choices. Take the risk and fall, or find a new regnant. She had decided who to ask in a heartbeat, but her boyfriend didn't have many outside connections. It wasn't his fault, it was just that Santa Monica was rather barren when it came to Kindred life. She was most worried about him, too. She had a higher chance of surviving, it was only fifteen years, for her. But Mercurio had thirty three years, more than twice her un-life.

She held the bottle over her head and just drank. How did he do it for thirty three years? She snapped at fifteen. And yet, he held strong. She was so much weaker than he was, why?

"The hell you doin' up?" She heard a voice behind her, "What happened to getting' some early shut-eye?"

"I'm sorry…" She said softly.

He walked around the couch and grabbed the bottle of wine, "Am I gonna haveta' lock this stuff up?"

"Please don't…"

He put it down on the table and sat next to her, in a black tee shirt and dark gray sweatpants. She had seen this look on his face many times before. Usually when she was having some sort of meltdown, just like this, "You thinkin' about da blood bond?"

She shook her head, "No…no…I…" She sniffed, "I get that. It'll…it'll go away." She clenched a fist, pushing away the sadness in the back of her head. Why was she sad about his death? He was cruel and heartless, right? "I'm worried about you."

"Me?" He asked, "Oh, cuz' you think I'm gonna die? I'll find a regnant, sweetheart, it ain't gonna be hard."

She looked down at the cushions, "Are you sure?" She sniffed.

"Positive. I got two whole weeks ta' set things straight."

She gave a little nod, then looked back up at him, "I'm sorry I woke you…"

"Nah, it's fine, I couldn't get any shut eye neither." He smiled, "Why don't you get dressed, we can…go to dinner somewhere."

"At midnight?" She asked, then she smiled, "Okay." She went into the bedroom and pulled her nightgown off. She looked around for something nice to wear, but with the rain, decided nothing else would really work besides her overcoat.

"There ya go." Mercurio stood up as she reentered, "I'll get changed, then we can go right out."

"Okay." She nodded, sitting on the couch where he was. She grabbed the remote, resting her feet on the table as she absent-mindedly flickered through channels. A movie came on, one that she had heard quite the hullabaloo about once or twice from girls walking down the streets. It had to be years ago, though, the movie even looked at little aged.

She recognized Ash Rivers, at least. He looked much better as a human, she decided, watching him talk to a character who must have been a father or a brother, or a friend, she wasn't paying attention, really. Maybe it was just the makeup. It was amusing, at least. She wondered how many movies really had Kindred in the background, holding them together.

The scene then cut to a car on a cliff, rocking back and forth. Her cheeks turned a bit pink, then the camera went inside the car, showing Ash really having quite the time with who must have been the female protagonist. She fumbled for the remote and turned the program off, feeling her cheeks. It must have been the alcohol, right?

Mercurio came out in a purple dress shirt, with black pants and dress shoes. "This better?"

After she looked him over, she looked up at his face, and saw he styled his hair back rather nicely, "…mmm…mmm hmm…"

He snickered, "You said I looked tacky."

"You did. You…looked like you were going to mug grandmothers in the streets…"

"Hey, I would not do that…"

She smiled and stood up, then slowly stepped over to him, a smile on her lips as she kissed his lips. His fingers gently slid through her curls as he held the back of her head with one hand, and her waist with the other.

The kiss grew with intensity, to the point where Mercurio's eyes widened with surprise. Even more when Harper pushed him back against the wall, feverishly unbuttoning his shirt.

"Ay, I thought we were goin' out for dinner…" He gently broke away from the kiss, but she bumped her forehead against his, knocking his head back and kissing his lips again. She rubbed her hands across his chest and moved her lips down to his neck.

There was a knock on the door. Mercurio seemed surprised, "…the hell kinda vamp needs weapons now?" Harper wasn't letting up any time soon, "Get off, Harper…"

She held his face with both hands and started kissing his lips again, pressing herself flush against him.

The door swung open, Mercurio's bright blue eyes darted over to the figure at the door. He held up an index finger to them, putting a hand on Harper's shoulder and trying to pry her off of him. She only squished herself up against him harder and kissed his neck.

When he pushed at her with his knee, she finally backed away, then noticed the figure at the door. Her cheeks blushed and she folded her hands in front of herself, looking as if nothing happened. Mercurio combed his fingers through his hair and approached the figure, "Eh, sorry 'bout that…what can I get for ya?"

Prospero chuckled, "I see I'm interrupting something." He started, "You two work for LaCroix, right, his ghouls? Or…sorry, I should say, _worked_."

"Yes, that's right." Harper said slowly.

"Was there somethin' goin' on in the tower?" Mercurio asked, "Our names were mentioned er somethin'?"

"Well…sort of…" Prospero's eyes landed on Harper, "See…perhaps my introduction will help. I already know who both of you are. My name is Prospero Kingston. I'm the Brujah Primogen."

"Oh, of course…it is an honor to make your acquaintance, sir." Harper said, "Mister LaCroix had mentioned your name before."

"He has?"

"Yes…he had told me his plans to hire you and Mister, Chamberlain, is it?"

"That's right." He said, "See, I had asked him of what happened to my predecessor, and he lied to my face." He frowned, "I didn't like that. So…I did some digging, and I found out that you were behind the investigation, Miss, Harper Rivers."

"Yes…that's…" She blushed a bit, "That's correct."

"Lied to your face, huh?" Mercurio sat on the couch, "Jeez, I woulda' never seen it comin' if you didn't slap some sense into me." He said to Harper.

"Well, he's…lied a considerable amount to me as well." Harper said before she looked at Prospero, "I didn't…discover much about the murder, if that's what you were asking."

"Murder?" Prospero asked.

"Um…yes, it…it was a murder, from what I've gathered." She said, "The…the stain of blood on the knife…it implied a stab wound." She said, "And…with basic Kindred knowledge, one could assume a stab wound would not kill a Kindred. It…was nothing more than a theory of mine that the weapon was planted."

"Is that right?" Prospero smiled, "So it's a fake suicide then? Well, that's one of the oldest tricks in the book, isn't it?"

"One that…the Prince decided to disregard." She mused, "I told him my claim…and he believed me. It was he who…" She looked up from the floor, "Told me it was likely an Anarch."

"I mean, that would make sense." Mercurio chimed in, "Cuz' it was after Nines got put in the hot-seat."

"The Anarchs, huh?" Prospero chuckled for a long time, "I guess I owe someone a visit then."

Harper looked a little nervous, "I…I could be wrong. And so could he. I…would be careful where you tread…they can be rather…unforgiving."

"You need any weapons or anythin'?" Mercurio asked.

"Nah, I should be fine." Prospero said, "Time to thin some of their ranks." He opened the door, "You two have a nice night."

"Yeah, you too." He waved.

"Wait." Harper grabbed his arm before he left, "Please…" Her eyes were big and wide.

Mercurio sat up, "Harper…the hell are ya doin'?"

"Um…well…you see, Mister Kingston…Mister LaCroix's death has put us in a funny position…without regnants…we…" She looked up and met his gaze, he saw just how frightened she looked.

"You want new masters?" Prospero asked, "I'm sure Strauss could set something up for you, at his tower."

She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Mercurio stood up and put a hand on her shoulder, "It's alright, Harper. Don' worry about it, alright?" He looked up at Prospero, "You take care."

"Right." He nodded, leaving.

* * *

"Momma, Momma?"

"Uh huh?"

"Are we gonna find Daddy?"

"I mean, that's the goal."

"It's cold out."

"Then stop wearing your coat as a hat. It goes around your body, you know."

"Can you show me again?"

"I don't understand what's so difficult about it…" She muttered, "I got my arms full with your sister."

"Ugh…Juniper! Stop hogging all the attention!"

"Spencer, stop being so annoying." Another voice chided, "Here, this is how you put a coat on."

"Thank you, Camilla…" The mother sighed, rubbing one of her weary eyes. "I'm just about on the brink of throwing all of you at your grandma and calling it quits."

"But we can't go to Gammy's unless we find Daddy." Spencer said.

"Uh huh." The woman who was walking down the street was holding one toddler, and had four more trailing her, they all looked pretty much identical. All the same age, same height, same hair color. She looked absolutely exhausted, the light drizzle falling from the sky wasn't helping.

"Juliet." A grazing voice was called, "There you are. Figured you'd come looking for me."

The mother turned around, a very sour look on her face, "There you are, you son of a bitch." She hissed, putting the girl in her arms down to the ground, "Kids, let Mommy and Daddy talk for a minute, okay?"

Camilla took the lead, gently holding the hands of two of her siblings and stepping back out of the way.

"You brought the kids." The man asked, dressed in a thick leather jacket, a ratty white tee shirt underneath, torn up jeans.

"Yeah, I brought the kids, cause they missed you. You know, their father?" She asked, "What the fuck are you doing out here? What the hell happened? Why do you look like you got ran over by a freight train?"

He snickered a bit, she swore there was something off about those teeth, "You look good, Jules. Real good."

She didn't flinch, "You gonna come back home and shower, or what? Clearly you haven't shaved in like…a good week. You know, the week you left me alone with the kids." She said, "I thought we agreed that we'd both be working alternating shifts, and that we'd both spend enough time with them." She said, "You agreed with me on that altar that you'd take care of me 'til death do us part. What the fuck is this?" She asked, "You can't just ghost me, you're not a goddamn teenager. I don't care what the hell kind of phase you're going through—"

He put a finger over her lips, "'Til death do us part. Hmph." He snickered, "Sounds about right. It was a good run."

"…what?" Her brow fell in confusion, "What the hell are you _on?_ "

"Got a real prize cow for us tonight, boys." He called out, "So long as I get the first bite, you guys can drink 'er 'til there's nothin' left!"

Out from the alleyway they were near, a group of what appeared to be thugs crawled out, though their eyes were especially beady, their nails especially sharp looking. Juliet turned back to her husband, "The fuck is the meaning of this?" She spat.

He grabbed her by the neck and grinned, "Take the kids too. Appetizers."

Juliet's eyes widened, she let out an earsplitting scream, followed by a lot of thrashing, "Don't you put your hands on my kids!"

"They're mine too, aren't they?" He grinned, "I can do whatever I want with them."

One of the thugs lumbered over to the children, "Hey there, little guys." He grinned, "Which one of you wants to give me a hug?" He held his arms out.

They looked at their father, holding their mother by the throat. Camilla pushed them back a bit, giving the thug a fierce glare, despite the tears in her eyes, "Run…run, all of you!"

And just like that, her four siblings booked it.

"After them!" The thug screamed, before he grabbed Camilla and drained her dry, breaking her neck too.

Juliet let out a terrified scream as she watched her kids scatter, and the thugs chase after them. Gunshots were even heard. She clawed at her husband's face, kicking at him, doing anything she could, but he held her still, hardly taking any damage, "You done yet, Jules?"

One of the thugs returned, blood all over his face, "Got all of 'em, man. You almost done? Lookin' forward to the main course…" He eyed over Juliet.

"Sure thing." Her husband reared back to bite into her neck.

"Hey!" They heard an utterly baritone voice ask, turning to see a man walking towards the alleyway. He had tan skin, thick maroon hair, a single deep blue eye, and black shirt and black jeans, with black dress shoes, and a dark blue trench coat over all of that, he held his arms out, "What the hell is this?"

The thugs snarled at him. Juliet's husband's grip tightened, "Kill him!" He ordered, rearing back to bite into his wife's throat.

The thugs ran forward towards the stranger with knives and pistols. "Well that doesn't answer my question…" The one-eyed man said, a snake tongue flickered out of his mouth occasionally. He smirked and gained an orange glow, pulling a knife of his own out. He outmaneuvered them easily and killed them all, they all turned to ash, "Gonna give me the time of day now, pal?"

He dropped Juliet to the ground, she fell on her knees and grabbed her neck, trying to catch her breath. He took the time to shoot her right in the stomach, then he turned to the serpent-like man and fired at his face.

He growled, bones could be heard snapping as his flesh shaped itself into a big green serpent. The slight rain slid down his scaly skin, as he hissed and dove at the man, tearing him to ribbons in his jaws. He then turned back into his humanoid form, turning to Juliet, "Son of a bitch…" He ran to her side, "What the hell did he shoot you for? What would that even solve?"

She looked up at him with wild, terrified green eyes, her hands over the growing wound in her stomach, "Stay away from me…" She said lowly, crawling backwards painstakingly.

"Relax, I'm not gonna hurt ya." He said, "Look…you're gonna die if you don't get that patched up."

"What the hell are you?" She asked, her voice faltering, tears leaking down her cheeks. He took the opportunity to really look over her. Pale, redhead, rather mean looking face. Her figure was more…pear-like, she wasn't fat, but she wasn't exactly skinny either.

"Well, I guess the only thing left to do is let the cat outta the bag." He sighed, "I'm a vampire sweetheart. Those men? They were also vampires. All around you. They turned to ash when they died. Forever damned, I guess they call it."

"Vampires…" She shuddered, "Vampires…I married a fucking _vampire_ …? No…no I didn't…you…you can't have kids with a _vampire_ …"

"Well, then someone must have turned him recently." He shrugged, "A real nasty vampire, by the looks of it…jeez…"

She felt her heart pounding in her ears, then she turned and saw the corpses of two of her children lying in the streets. Her eyes flooded with tears as a truck drove by and splashed muddy water over their bodies. She looked up at him, "Just…kill me already… _please_ …"

His eye widened, he put two-and-two together rather quickly, regarding what had happened to her, "Well…this is a big ethical dilemma I'm faced with, isn't it…?"

She sniffed, then brought her head down to the ground, smashing her forehead against the pavement, "How the hell can you kill your own children!?" She screamed in a blind rage.

"So…so were you and your husband having…marital troubles…or something…" He looked around, "Because this sort of seems like an…extreme escalation…" He shook his head, "Screw it, you're gonna get sick if you stay out in the rain for too long…here…" He pulled his knife back out and slit his wrist, "Drink my blood."

" _What?_ "

"That hole in you will go away like that." He snapped his fingers.

"If I _drink_ your blood?"

He nodded, "Unless you want to die. Then you do nothing. But…if you want to live…" He looked around, "I don't think there's a hospital close enough. I wouldn't offer this for shits and giggles."

She felt an unnerving set of chills wrack her body, then she grabbed his arm and hesitated as she looked at the wound, "Do…do I just…suck on it…? This…this is so gross…"

"I know, I know, trust me, you'll be better in no time…"

She closed her eyes and put her mouth over it, completely disgusted with the fact that he was cold. She shuddered again before she actually drank anything. Only then did her mind feel numb as she kept drinking.

He let her drink as much as she wanted, then when she stopped, he looked around, "Alright, so…did you want to…maybe…I don't know…come back to my place? Dry off? Catch your bearings a little? Sleep?" He asked, then he added quickly, "Look, I know you don't trust me…and I know it's a shitty time to say it too, but not _all_ vampires are evil like your late husband and his cronies…"

Her wound was gone, but she hardly felt any better. The sound of the rain falling on the streets was really the only thing she took in. She heard him talking, she saw him moving his lips out of the corner of her eye, but stared blankly at the street. Only when silence took over did she look at him, "…huh…?" Her voice was soft, it didn't feel like her own.

"Do you have a place to stay, or did you want to crash at my place?" He asked slowly.

"I…I…" She felt her throat go dry. Spencer's firetruck collection was in the living room. Camilla's Barbies were in her bedroom for, whatever reason. Juniper's stuffed animals were all over their apartment, Heather's movies, Serenity's books. Her husband's pillow was next to hers on their bed. "Your…your place…p-please…"

He looked concerned. He was going to bring it up, but he really didn't want to talk to her in the miserable weather any longer than he had to, "This way." He started leading the way, "Jesus, I hope this rain goes away…" He said, at first she wondered what he meant, then she saw that he was walking towards a motorcycle, "Alright." He hopped on, "Should be enough room for you." He scooted forward a bit to give her most of the seat.

She looked down at the seat, swallowing hard, "Honey, I'm flattered, but my ass will not fit on that seat."

"Uh…right…" He slid forward a bit _more_. Now he was going to be wet _and_ uncomfortable.

She grabbed onto his shoulders and wearily got on the bike, "Motherfucking…" She grunted as she made herself comfortable, "Christ, I'm gonna…barf all over the place…"

"Try to get it down my back." He said as he revved up the engine. She, _had_ to have misheard that, right? He sped off rather quickly, zooming through downtown, it wasn't long before he exited the main portion of the city.

She quickly wrapped her arms around his waist, closing her eyes as she rested her forehead against his shoulder. Her eyes closed so she didn't have to watch the street move, but she could still feel the bike tilting and jolting over bumps in the road.

Was it wrong to just, run away? To leave everything behind? She was new to this. New to motherhood, new to the married life. When she told him she was pregnant, she didn't expect _five_. Twins, maybe. Not _five_. She said yes because she knew she'd need help with five. And when she had them, and all of them survived, it was a sign to her, that they were hers, and that she would give them the best life she could. A better life than she was given.

And yet here she was. On the bike of some, somewhat handsome yet also dead stranger, who was taking her to his house in, god knows where. She left his corpse behind. His ashes, whatever they were. She left their tiny bodies behind. She didn't have the money for six funerals, not even one. She didn't have the mentality to even look at their cold dead faces.

It was disrespectful to leave them out rotting in the street. It made her want to jump off the bike. But, what was she going to do? Call the police? Tell them it was vampires? They would have to lie there, dead, until either social services disposed of them, or the local wildlife did. She gripped her arms around his waist a bit tighter and started softly crying against his coat.

The motorcycle's engine made it impossible for him to hear the crying, but he felt her tears on his back. Sure, with the rain, it could've been hard to tell the difference, but her tears were warm with a fresh anguish. After another few minutes, he drove was completely off the road, through a field or two, and eventually a forest. Trees zoomed by him at a devastatingly quick pace. He was sort of glad her eyes were closed and she wasn't paying attention to this incredibly bumpy ride.

After what felt like forever, he said, "We're here." As the engine was cut off, and Juliet opened her eyes, seeing a large house, a mansion, by all definition of the word, in the middle of the woods, "My base of operations, I like to call it."

She sniffed, wiping her tears out of her eyes. Her nails were the color of blood, he had to appreciate that a tad, at least, "The fuck…why do you live in the middle of nowhere?" Her voice was a little hoarse from crying.

"Lot of people want me dead." He said, leading the way inside. The inside was lavish and overflowing with all sorts of pricey furniture and odds and ends to make life easier. Each room was huge, and there seemed to be halls leading to twenty or so more rooms with each new area of the house, the sensation almost made her dizzy.

She held her forehead, as he started walking forward, she chased after him and grabbed his arm, "Wait, wait…slow down…this…this place is massive…" She looked around, she almost looked scared, "Just…show me your bedroom, okay? Or…one of the…seven-hundred guest bedrooms…"

"Sure." He guided her to a bedroom. It could've been his, she had no clue. Everything looked nice and immaculate anyway, and the bed looked like the coziest thing she'd ever seen. It was all a deep blue in color, the same color as the serpent-man's eye and coat.

She shuddered again, brushing her fingers over her wet lavender button down shirt, and her white shorts that were now stained with blood and dirty street water. She looked over at him again. "I…I just want…three things…if that's alright…then I'll leave you alone."

"Sure thing, just relax and let me help you."

Her shoulders drooped a bit, "A shower…dry clothes, and food. Uh…maybe some wine. Red…red wine. I don't drink white wine…" She muttered, "Unless…that stuff…that stuff you don't have….cause…" She combed her fingers through her wet hair, "You're a vampire…"

"Tell ya what." He put a hand on her shoulder, "Why don't you go shower, and I'll get you a robe and some food…any preferences?"

Her eyes melted a bit, "Yeah…yeah…um…" She cleared her throat, "I'm a vegetarian…I don't eat fish either…just…no meat. Dairy's…okay I guess…I don't really eat a lot of cheese either, but…" She shrugged.

"Alright, it'll just be a quick ride to the store. You freshen up, I'll be back as quick as I can."

"Thanks." She couldn't resist a hug, "You're…a lifesaver…literally…"

"No problem." He smiled, hugging her back, "Be back soon."

As he left, she went in the bathroom, which was thankfully attached to the bedroom. She cranked the water on as hot as it would go, took her soaking wet clothes off, and threw them in a rather gross pile to the side.

And there she stood, in a vampire's mansion in the middle of the woods, using his shower. At least if she was going to die, she'd die in a fashion that someone in a horror movie would. It'd be kinda cool, she guessed.

The rainwater sloshed out of her hair, the little specks of dirt and gravel slid off her legs, and her makeup ran down her face in dark streams. She rarely showed her bare face to anyone, her husband only saw it a few times.

She hated her face. Even when she was little, her resting face always looked angry. Like she wanted to murder someone. Her eyebrows were low over her eyes, her lips just about naturally formed a scowl. She'd put eyeshadow on and lipstick, to make her seem at least a little more approachable, but it hardly did anything. Her employees at work still called her 'bitch-face' behind her back. She'd fire them if the new ones that came in wouldn't come up with something else.

As she got out of the shower, she looked at herself in the mirror. Her stringy strands of wet hair, the few little stretch marks on her side from when she was pregnant. She had exceeded her teenage years, sure, but still hated the way she looked. All her weight was in her hips and thighs, she couldn't wear most jeans without looking bizarre, she could hardly wear leggings. It'd be fine if her waist was a little thinner, if her legs weren't as big, if her boobs were fuller. But, as it was, she was still standing. Despite the fact that, she really didn't know why.

She heard the door close from downstairs, figuring he had come back. She had no clue what his name even was, but he had to be one of the nicest people she'd met in a long time. And he was a vampire. Made about as much sense as the Easter Bunny.

She heard a light knock on the door, "Hey…I got a bathrobe here for ya…come stick your hand out and I'll give it to ya…"

She peeked the door open, then reached a hand out, "Thanks a bunch, sweetie…"

"Yup." He handed her a white robe.

She pulled it in and looked at it in the mirror. Size large. She wasn't sure whether to be comforted that he got her size, or just very insulted. Her mind was whirling too much to care, she just put it on and went into the bedroom, "Your…bed…still stands, right? I can just…lay there for a little while?"

"Of course." He followed her in.

"Thank you…so, so much…" She got in his bed, delighted with how comfortable it was. It felt like a cloud. She let out a loud sigh as she rested her head against the pillow, "Jeez, where the hell did you get a mattress like this…?"

"Uh…details…are a little fuzzy…on that…"

"Uh huh…" She opened her eyes and spread her hands out on the sheets. She…she could get used to this. "So…uh…did you get any food?"

"Oh, right. Duh." He rolled his eyes at himself, he left the room, calling out, "What are you in the mood for?"

"Whatever you got." She called back.

After a handful of minutes, he came back with a bowl of soup for her, "There ya go."

She sat up a bit in his bed, then took the bowl, "You're an angel." She took a spoonful, then started eating it quite quickly, "This canned?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure."

"It's pretty good for something canned…" She muttered, drinking the rest of the bowl before she wiped her mouth off, "Sorry…I uh…" She handed him the bowl, "Just got off from work…then I…picked up the kids and went looking for him…I haven't eaten since lunch…so…can I have more?"

"Sure, I bought a lot of shit in case you wanted something else." He left, then he returned a few minutes later with another bowl.

"Thanks." She took the other bowl, swallowing another few spoonful's before she said, "What's your name?"

"Sirius." He said as he dragged a chair over. She had no idea why this room had a bunch of chairs and other furniture. The bedroom, like every other room in the house, was overly complicated in terms of comfort and leisure, "And you?"

"Juliet." She drank the rest of the bowl, before she set it down on the nightstand. "So you're…a vampire."

"Yeah, that's right." He smiled, "Not exactly sure how much I should tell you about all this stuff, but yeah, I'm a vampire."

"Well…I mean…I drank your blood…so…what the hell does that make me? Am I gonna turn into a vampire when the full moon comes up or something?"

"Nah, technically speaking, you're a ghoul right now."

"A ghoul?" She asked slowly.

"A ghoul is a human with vampire blood running through 'em. It heals them quicker, makes them stronger and kinda more godlike, you stop aging too." He said, "But it also binds you to the vampire that fed ya."

"Binds me?" She asked, "What do you mean, binds?"

"It's kinda like a master and servant thing. The vampire is the master and the ghoul is the servant." He said, then he added quickly, "But…I mean…I would have to feed you my blood three times, to…completely bind you. I fed you once, to save your life, and that was it."

She blinked slowly, like a confused animal, "Uh huh…" She put her hands down on her lap. "To save my life."

He slowly raised a brow, "Yeah…I mean…it was either that, or have you bleed to death…"

"Yeah…yeah…" She shook her head, "Sorry. I'm just…not over everything…"

"Hmm? Oh…you mean your…family there…" He said, there was a pause, "So…what was your husband like?" He asked, "I mean…he…he couldn't have been like _that_ …for long…"

She crossed her arms and looked away. "He…he was alright. Kinda…married to his job…guess I was his affair to the side. With his quintuplets…" She muttered, "But he could be sweet…" She rubbed one of her temples, "In all honesty…" She said softly, "And I'd go to hell for thinking this if it were real…but…I'm more upset about the kids than him…in fact, I'm…hardly upset about him." She sighed and turned back to the bedsheets, "Truth of the matter is…if we even…held ourselves together until the kids grew up and moved out…I'd either…file for a divorce or…just start looking around…"

"Name?"

"Colby." She sighed, "Colby Hart. Guess…guess that makes me Juliet Rhodes again, huh?"

"Hmm…" He thought about it, "I'll have to do some poking around, see if that name means anything, down the grapevine. Yeah, that attack had all the sloppiness of the Sabbat behind it, I tell ya what…"

"Sabbat?"

"Yeah…you know how in America, we got Republicans and Democrats?"

"Uh huh."

"Well, vampires have politics too…except we have a shit ton more sections…the Sabbat…they're uh…they're more like…terrorists…than…an actual…organized…group. They're just a bunch of monsters. It's probably why vampires get such a bad rap in the first place. I mean, I'm in no rush to say that all Kindred are _good guys_ …but…you get the point."

"So…somehow….Colby got involved with them?"

"Yeah, I guess. I'll do some digging for ya. See what the hell that's all about."

"Okay…" She seemed shocked again, numb-like, "Thanks…"

"Yeah, it's no problem. To be honest, it's got me a bit worried. I thought the Sabbat were _just_ kicked out of this city. To see them back again so soon…well, it ain't good…"

"Going to downtown was…just a bad idea…" She muttered, "I just knew Colby worked in Venture Tower…I know he was helping with the cleanup too, after all the…crap that happened…"

"Yeah…damn place blew up." He said, "Definitely Kindred related. All the weird shit that's ever happened in your life, you can bet Kindred had something to do with it."

"Kindred…that's vampires?"

He nodded, "That's what we call ourselves. Typically. Sabbat and Kuei-Jin call us 'Cainites.'"

She blinked a few times, still a bit lost, "Yeah…okay…"

"Look, you've been through a lot." He stood up, "Why don't I get lost so you can get some sleep, alright?"

She nodded, then rubbed her eyes, "Uh huh…yeah that…that sounds great…" She got under the covers, "I…I have to go to work tomorrow…" She said to herself softly, "Fucking shit…"

"Want me to call you out or something? I'm sure with a dead family, they'd understand."

"You'd call me out?" She asked.

He shrugged, "Yeah, why not? You need time to rest and heal."

She nodded, slowly closing her eyes, "If…if you're gonna drink from me or…whatever…" She nuzzled her face in his pillow, "At least do it in my sleep, okay?"

"I ain't gonna drink from you."

"Okay…" She masked a yawn, "…g'night…"

"Goodnight Juliet." He left the room.

She squeezed the pillow tightly in her arms, trying to pretend it was one of the kids. It wasn't quite as big as they were, it was too squishy, and definitely had a different smell. She didn't mean to cry herself to sleep, but she did.

* * *

 **A/N:** Hmm…wonder what clans can turn into giant snakes and also use Presence…Thanks for reading! Hope you liked it!


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** Here's chapter four! More new clans, more new characters, and of course, some constants. Hope you like it!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines or Akeem, (Final Nights Mod owns that bad boy), but I do own my OCs.

* * *

"So, a-hundred years you've been searching for this book, huh?" A redhead girl asked, "Sounds pretty serious, Akeem."

The other man looked significantly older. His skin was gray, and his eyes were black and red. He had a beard and numerous scars on his face, particularly near his right eye. He wore dark pants, a red shirt and a leather jacket over it, with a hood up. He grunted, "Save the sarcasm, Catalina. I know when you're being facetious with me." His voice was deep with a Middle Eastern accent.

"What?" She rolled her eyes, "I was actually being serious…"

He gave another grunt, looking ahead. It was unclear whether he believed her or not.

Catalina looked ahead too, albeit a bit more nervously. She was on the pale side, with red hair that went down her back, and auburn eyes that matched her hair. She wore a white button-up shirt with a red collar, over it was a black vest. She wore a red checkered skirt and black boots that nearly reached her knee. Weapons were seen all over her body, blades and knives, as well as a Desert Eagle holstered to her hip. "So…who has this book, and why? What even is the book?"

"You'll soon find out, childe." Akeem said, "I have knowledge that they're coming to this city with it."

"Knowledge? From who?"

"I have my ways." He said, "Luckily, I have arrived long before them. The book will be in my possession shortly."

"Gonna open up a can of Assamite kick-ass on them or something?"

He raised a brow, "Something like that."

Catalina sighed, stretching her arms behind her head, "So this is Los Angeles? The city of angels?"

"The city of devils is more like it." Akeem said, "The Jyhad here is particularly strong, the recent Prince, LaCroix, I believe his name was, was just ousted by a band of rebel Camarilla members and Anarchs alike."

"How do you know about all of this already?"

"Beckett told me most of it. The rest I figured out myself."

"Hmm…I haven't met Beckett yet." She said, "Jeez…you're so quick with finding out all this stuff…it's pretty impressive."

He gave one of his rare smiles, "You will get there with time, young one. Continue your studies, and soon you will be as strong as me."

"Yes, sir."

"As I have mentioned before, the circumstances of your Embrace was…unusual to say the least…"

"That's why they have you following me around right? In case I screw up?"

"No." He rolled his eyes, "Well, perhaps a little. I don't want you to end up like your sire. That's why you're being, monitored…but…not as glumly as you stated. I see great promise in you. You were a great martial artist _before_ you were Embraced."

She gave a slight nod, looking ahead.

"It's a shame you were Embraced by a Vizier." He said, "If you were Embraced into the warrior caste…" He shook his head, "That would be a sight to behold."

"I don't like how I was sired any better than you do."

"That, I'm aware of." He said, "But for the last decade and a half, you've come a long way. You could have let yourself be swallowed by the darkness, as other Kindred have. Which reminds me, stay away from the Jyhad in this city. I sense a lull in the storm at this moment, but it will not be long until war rages again. My only concerns are with the book, and once I find it, I'm leaving the city."

"Right." She nodded, "So…Beckett was coming from this city? Where was he headed?"

"I have no idea. Something about a sarcophagus…and danger equal to the end of the world, he was muttering about." Akeem said, "If that old wolf actually _believes_ in Gehenna…" He shook his head, "He'll never hear the end of it from me."

"What are your thoughts on Gehenna? Do you believe it?"

"I believe in the Antediluvians." He said, "I do not believe in Gehenna. Most of it is delusional nonsense. Over the ages, hundreds of elder Kindred and even Antediluvians have awoken from their torpor again and again, and have they eaten us?"

"But what about the Week of Nightmares?"

He paused, "That's…a special case." He said, "I do not know what the Ravnos Antediluvian was planning to do with that much power, but I doubt the Assamite Antediluvian will ever bring harm upon his fellow clan. Not after what ur-Shulgi did."

"…remind me which one that is again?"

"He is an Assamite Methuselah who awoke from Torpor five or six years ago." Akeem said, "You recall the Tremere blood curse on us, yes?"

She nodded, scowling at the thought of the Tremere.

"He broke the curse in a week."

"Seriously…a week?" She asked, "Damn…" She swallowed hard.

"See my point? Not all old Kindred in torpor are going to completely lose their minds when they awake. Therefore, I see Gehenna as pointless. Or, at least, the telling of Antediluvians rising to devour their childer."

"That makes sense."

Akeem's eyes flickered around, watching occasional gunfights here and there in the inner mechanisms of downtown, "Do you know the whereabouts of your sire?"

"I wish…" She said, "I'd love to watch you murder him…"

"He has the potential to be a very dangerous man." He said, "It's clear to me that he has none of the clan's wishes near his heart. I consider him a traitor."

"Pfft, so do I. And a few more other things too."

"If we do ever find him, we'll make his death swift."

"Of course."

He nodded, then his eyes darted around again, "I'm going to secure myself a haven. You look around, get a feel for the city. Then you may secure a haven for yourself."

"Right. Yes, sir." She said.

"Oh, and a fair warning." He said, "Kindred of the west are going to see you as nothing more than a cutthroat murderer and a diablerist." He said, "Forging an alliance in this city is easier said than done."

"Right, thanks, Akeem."

* * *

Thin fingers gripped around the corner of the wall. The streets were silent. Too quiet, perhaps. The chiming of a bell rang out as a person left a restaurant, whistling blissfully as they made their way to their apartment.

The glowing lanterns hanging in the streets seemed enchanting. The colored banners, the sounds of the wind blowing chimes around. The air smelled of oils and cooking, the sky was a fogged yellowish color that even the moonlight could not pierce.

Without a word needed, the figure left the security of the wall. They walked the open streets, the cool air billowing against their dark robes. The hood covered all of their face, save for a bit of nose and mouth that could be seen, skin the color of ivory.

Behind her, another figure, in a similar robe. Following the first, like a mother duck and her duckling. The first figure notably looked around for anything that moved, holding an arm out when someone looked at them oddly, keeping the follower in line.

They walked down the sidewalk in a strange, almost cast-away, refugee-like fashion, until they reached a building that they entered, the mother-goose letting the follower in first, casting a nervous look outside until she too, followed.

The man behind the counter watched as the pair entered, "Good evening." He said with a touch of an accent typical for the area, "How may I assist you?"  
The leader reached into their robe and put some coins down on the table, "One room, please. One night." It was a female voice, very soft and drawn back.

The man looked at the coins, "Uh…forgive me, miss…this is not…appropriate currency…"

The hooded leader snatched the money back and put dollars down, "Forgive me."

He counted the money, "Very well. I wish you a happy night." He handed her a key.

"You too." She said before she took her follower up, unlocking the door and letting the follower enter first, before she closed the door and locked it. She approached the windows and closed the curtains, ensuring that they would let no light in at all. Only then, did she put her hood down. She had long dark hair that went down an undeterminable length, and bright icy blue eyes. There was something on her forehead as well, but her hair almost covered it. "The coast is clear. For now."

The second figure took her hood off as well, owning a set of amber eyes, and shoulder length black hair, with bangs that covered her forehead, "Okay." She gave a timid nod, her voice as soft, if not softer, than that of her leader's.

The leader nervously sat on the edge of the bed, "Are you thirsty?"

She shook her head, "No." She sat next to her, shivering like mad.

"You're frightened."

She smiled and clasped her hands together, "I'm always like this…"

"I know…" She gave a soft smile. Both of them looked quite young, late twenties at most, "We're safe here, for now. I don't think there are many threats here. I know Los Angeles is dangerous, but for now, Chinatown seems safe."

"Weren't there…K-Kuei-Jin here…Raven?"

She hesitated, then nodded. "Yes. There were. I was told they were all killed."

She hugged herself, "Okay."

Raven leaned over and gave her follower a hug, "Try to relax, okay?"

She nodded, hugging her back, "Maybe I should…take a walk outside…or something…"

"Then, let's go together." Raven said, standing up, "I can't let you go alone."

"R-Right…" She led the way, Raven following her out.

There seemed to be quite a bit of commotion on the streets, men in hazmat suites, all tending to an individual on a stretcher, "Sorry, ladies, you may have to take a step or two back."

Raven made sure her hood was up, but instinct refrained her from being able to hold back, "I'm…I'm sorry sir…what seems to be the problem…?"

"Uh…jeez…" The man from the CDC said, it was hard to make his voice out through the spacesuit-like helmet, "Looks like this guy caught something…something we've never seen before…new disease…this guy must be patient zero or something…" He tried to talk over the man's moans and groans of pain.

Raven took a step closer to the patient, "May I see him?" She asked softly, "I am a medical student from India."

"Uh…sure…I guess, but you're not wearing any protective clothing…you'll get infected." The CDC worker said, "Aw, jeez…this'll be just like the plague that happened a couple months ago…"

Raven took a closer look at the man who was ill, gently brushing her hood back, just an inch. She held her hands out, a deep navy blue glow surrounded her form as the little mark on her forehead slowly peeled open. It was a bright blue eye, which looked down on the ill man. What appeared to be blue lightning came from her hands, but didn't shock the man. No, in reality, it completely healed him.

She put her hands down and pulled her hood over her face, softly telling the CDC to have a wonderful evening as she walked off with her follower.

Her follower smiled, hugging Raven, "You're so cool." She smiled.

Raven couldn't help but giggle, "Rainy, your powers will get there with time. Let's get back inside."

"Of course." Rainy followed her sire back to the motel.

She was an anxious person by nature, when she was human, but, being one of the few Salubri in the world made her feel as though there was a ten-ton weight on top of her shoulders. Hunted down nearly to extinction by the Tremere, the pair did what they could to stay hidden. Honestly, after merely five years of this, she couldn't understand how Raven had been doing this for half a century. Although her powers of Obeah were quite impressive to behold, Rainy wondered if she would ever catch up to her sire.

Her only choices seemed to be either to catch up, or to be swallowed by the darkness.

* * *

It had been a long time since he'd been in here. It made Slade wonder if he'd even be welcomed, nevertheless, he headed up to the VIP room to search for his sire.

Sure enough, she was there, a pad of paper and a pink pen in her hand. But as he entered, she put them down and looked up at him, like he was some sort of long-lost son, "Slade…?"

"I'm surprised I haven't been kicked out yet."

"Why on earth would I kick you out?" She asked, "No, we don't allow people who've acted inappropriate with any of the girls, or hurt them. You've done no such thing."

"Yeah…but…I don't know…" He said, "Every time we talk now…you say that you love me…I say that I don't love you back…we yell at each other…and then I end it with an apology and how I'm going to visit you constantly. Then usually a month or two passes by and I show up again. I thought you'd be tired of that by now."

"I understand, Slade. After just hearing about the…the tower…" She shook her head, "I can only imagine how busy you must have been. Even then, the way I've treated you was…it was inhumane. I can understand why you…wouldn't want to come here. I'd like to apologize more than anything."

"How have you been since…LaCroix's death?"

"Since his death?" She asked, "Relieved. It's always nice to know that…someone who doesn't want you around has gone away…as selfish as it sounds."

He nodded, "I went and joined the Camarilla now…officially…" He said, putting his hands in his pockets, "Strauss made it clear that my workload isn't going to be as ridiculous as it was when I was working for LaCroix." He smiled, "So I guess that makes us enemies…technically…"

She chuckled softly, "I suppose so. I'd better hide the missiles I keep under the couch." She smirked.

"Are they next to that notebook you were holding?"

"Yes, of course." She picked the notebook up and closed it, tossing it aside, "I forgot you knew so much about me."

He sighed, "Look, VV…I know this is shitty of me, but I really came for your help…I tried to bullshit up a bunch of small talk…but…I think I'm all out, and I have to be selfish now…"

"You're not selfish." She patted the spot next to herself, "Sit. I know you came to talk, I'm not upset."

He sighed again, sitting next to her, "You know that girl I hate? Tess?" He asked, "Even if I didn't mention her all the time, you've probably heard about her by now…"

"Mmm hmm…?"

"We've…become intimate…"

"I see." She said with a smile, "I assume there's something wrong then, some sort of guilt or second-guessing. You wouldn't come here to…prove yourself to me, that's not who you are."

He buried his face in his hands, "I just…I just don't know. First we made peace…which…I guess, we were both so happy that LaCroix died…that made sense. We've been friends since high school, so it's not like I _wanted_ to hate her. Then we kissed, and a few nights later we…" He looked back up, "I…I thought after all this bullshit, that I would finally feel better, Dragomir is more or less safe with his girlfriend, everything seems to be fine…but…I feel…the same…"

"Emotions aren't always as predictable as we'd like them to be." She said, "Sometimes when times are tough, our hearts can hold strong, and when the terrors are over, we fall apart. There's nothing wrong with you. In fact, what happened between you and Tess is very normal. Unfortunately, couples of that nature…rarely seem to last."

"So…what…what do I do?" He asked, "I knew something was off. We…tried to have sex, then argued, then had sex…it…it just bothered me. All of it bothers me now."

"Well…it depends." She said, "I don't know Tess very well. I'm not sure…what's happened to her, or what's happened between you and her…but, I would say, there are two things you could do. Well, there are many more things you _could_ do, but these are my suggestions. And of course, your choice is completely independent from my suggestions." She said, meeting his gaze, "I would…either talk to her about this, and tell her how you feel, or…just let her go."

"I'll have to talk to her about it." He resolved, "Be completely honest. I can't abandon her. Even if we end things romantically, she still needs help. There's a chance Strauss won't let her in his Camarilla after how loyal she was to LaCroix, I don't think she'll be able to survive Independent as it is, by herself."

"That's very kind of you." She smiled, "You really do care about her then."

He still looked a little distraught, "Maybe I'm just not meant to be…romantically connected to someone…"

"I'm sure that isn't true."

"It might be." He stood, "Thanks for all your help, VV…sorry about…telling you all about my love-life."

"Slade, I'll be here to listen to anything you have to say, alright? I'll always be here for you." She smirked, " _Especially_ if it's about your love-life. You know I specialize in romance."

He gave a chuckle, "I guess we are Toreador, after all."

"Of course. Good night, Slade. Please, take care."

* * *

 **A/N:** A shorter chapter, sorry. Bigger chapters are ahead ;) Thanks for reading!


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** Here's chapter five! Double upload :) No new characters, but revisiting some new-old ones…and some old-old ones. And some…kinda old, kinda new, old-new-old ones. You'll see. Enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs.

* * *

The night was clear. He could even hear crickets buzzing, he almost missed them. The weather warming up, even the slightest amount, certainly helped his mood. Not like it needed any help in the first place. With LaCroix gone, and Caesar gone, he almost felt _bored_. No Sabbat, Kuei-Jin, or hunters. And the Anarchs were a joke at this point, whether they wanted to admit it or not. With all the good news abound, it took every bit of him not to just burst out in his high, evil, jackal-like laugh, as un-life couldn't be better for Cadmus at this point.

"Pardon me, dear." He looked up to see a figure standing before him.

Now, L.A. wasn't exactly a normal city. Not by any means. A horde of clowns could walk by, with four giraffe's trailing them, and it would be normal. Strange, but normal. So this was another instance of strange but normal.

She was undoubtedly a woman, the red dress, the long hair, the particularly wide set of hips. But, then he looked a bit closer, and was almost unsettled.

Her dress was slightly tattered, worn, very old looking. It was such a deep red color, like old blood. Her skin, in comparison, was whiter than the moon in the sky. Her pointed cheekbones and chin made her look gaunt, slightly sickly. And those gleaming red eyes certainly didn't help. Her dark lips were curved in a smirk, a little black bag slung over her shoulder. "Phaedra." She held a hand out, her nails painted the same shade black as her little silk scarf that was draped around her neck, trailing around her dress.

Cadmus sheepishly shook her hand, "Can I help you with something?"

"Oh, that would be simply wonderful." She said, stepping forward. Her dress had a rather revealing slit that traced up her left leg and landed at the top of her hip. Beneath it, he could see that her boots went all the way up, past her knees. "You see, it's my first time in L.A. after many years…" She looked around, "The place has changed quite a bit, hasn't it?"

Cadmus's stoic resting face resembled that of a scowl. So much for his giddy behavior and smiling earlier, his voice was even less inviting, to first time listeners. Whatever she said either went right over his head or he ignored it, "What the hell is wrong is your teeth?"

She raised a brow, then smiled, "I don't see why it matters."

"You a demon?"

"A demon?" She asked, "That's a bit insulting…you and I are within the same species." Her eyes looked him over, "Or so, that is what my Auspex tells me."

"Auspex?" He repeated slowly, "What clan are you?"

"I was going to ask you the very same thing." She said, "Tell me, darling, are you involved in…what is it called, Jyhad?"

"A little bit." He narrowed his eyes, "Why don't you tell me what you needed help with?"

"I can't help but feel like I've never been in this city before." She chuckled softly, looking up at the tallest tower in the sky, "I'd like to meet the Prince. What was his name, LaCroix? That's what my sire had told me…" She mused, "But she was never very involved in Jyhad either." She looked back down at Cadmus, "I'm reinventing myself. Dear me, you look so displeased. Am I really that appalling?"

"That's…" He sighed and looked away, "It's just my face…" He said, "Look, LaCroix isn't the Prince…he died."

"Oh." She said, "How unfortunate. So what, is this a Sabbat city now?"

"No, there is no Sabbat. The city is still controlled by the Camarilla." Cadmus explained, "A new Prince took over. Strauss, he's a Tremere."

"Is he?" She asked, "Oh, I adore the Tremere. Would you mind escorting me there?"

"Sure." He said, turning around and walking side-by-side with her. He looked up at her occasionally, a bit bothered by how much taller she was than him.

She adjusted her bag over her shoulder, looking around, "This place is very different from Egypt."

"Yeah, a little bit…" He said, "So, you gonna tell me what the hell you are, or not?"

She smiled, "You really want to know?" She asked, "Nagaraja, is my clan. I'd like a name from you, too."

"Nagaraja…" He said slowly, "Huh…now that I think about it, I remember Strauss and Miranda telling me something about you guys…you really eat flesh?" He looked up at her, then he looked ahead, "Never mind, the teeth answered the questions for me."

She chuckled softly, "Let's keep this between the two of us. Apparently, I shouldn't be telling anyone what I am, because apparently, a lot Kindred would very much like our bloodline extinct."

Cadmus laughed for a while, "We've met once and you already want me to keep a secret for you, huh?" He snickered, "What beef do other Kindred have with you?" He asked a bit quieter.

"Oh, that's a lovely question." She said, "One I wish I knew the answer to. I suppose eating flesh is revolting to the creatures that…" She watched a couple stare at them down the street, "Simply _drink_ the human to death. Because _eating_ them is just so much worse." She sighed, "It wasn't something I had a choice over. I was asked if I wanted a job. When I said I would be delighted to, she found her teeth somewhere in my neck. Can't say I didn't enjoy it, it was merely surprising."

"I was Embraced against my will too." He said, "I hated it. Bastard thought he could recruit another slave…whatever, I killed my sire the other day anyway…"

"Did you?" She asked, then she looked forward again, "The other night…before I boarded the plane here…before I even thought of coming here…I wondered what I would make of my life if my sire died." She sighed, "I digress. A name?"

He crossed his arms, still somewhat disappointed at how tall she was, he felt like he was her son, and she was guiding him through the streets, even though it was the other way around, "Vanderbilt."

"Vanderbilt." She said, "A strong name. I like it." They faced the red tower. "How about you take me for a walk? Show me around."

"Tch." He looked up at her, "You'd better be careful using that tone on others. Could piss him off." He started walking another way, "Although, you could be a-billion, for all I know, so it could be warranted…"

She laughed, it was a slightly frightening tone, and it certainly carried, "What can I say, I feel lax around you. It's the way you speak." She said, "You must be part of the Camarilla."

He winced. Even her _laugh_ was as frightening, if not, better than his? "Really? What gave that away?"

"Sabbat wouldn't lead me to the Prince of the Camarilla. Neither would, what, that middle sect…what do they call themselves again?"

"The Anarchs?"

"Ah. Yes. If you were either of those, I'm sure you would have tried to kill me already. Hmm, I suppose you could be Independent. I'm not sure."

"I wouldn't try to run in and kill a Nagaraja. I know nothing about your clan, or how you work. That would just be stupid. The Kindred I'm usually tasked to kill, I like knowing about them a little."

"Mmm. Wise. Very wise." She said, "Must make you a Ventrue."

"A Ventrue?" He asked, "You make it sound like they're the only smart clan. The Tremere are pretty smart. Deadly too. A good friend of mine is a Tremere. If I've learned anything, it's not to piss them off."

"Oh, no, I adore the Tremere. No, I'm simply deducing what I can about you. If you were Tremere, you would be speaking to me very differently. And…you would be dressed differently. The way you think, the way you talk to me. It's typical for Ventrue. I find them fascinating as well." She said, "In reality…there isn't much I do not find fascinating."

He smiled for the first time in their conversation, "Yeah, yeah, you got it right, I'm Ventrue." He said, "So…uh…how long have you been around?"

"How long have I been around or how long have I been dead?"

"Either."

"I've more or less lost track." She said, "It was the fifties when I was Embraced. Maybe the forties. Maybe the sixties. You know, that era. I was all over the world, when you travel that much, when the sun rises twice in twenty four hours, you lose sense of how many years your life really has."

"Shit…that makes you older than me." He said, "Look…you're new to the Jyhad…age means a lot…in the Kindred world. You bow and respect your elders and you guide those younger than you. At least, that's how it works in the Camarilla…the Sabbat…well…I guess you diablerize first, and ask questions later…"

She laughed, "Yes, my sire taught me about the Sabbat. The Camarilla, not so much. I met a Tremere who taught me about it, I was intrigued." She said, "It sounds like a lovely way of living. I've always respected my elders, I've always helped those who needed it. I'm one for organization. To an extent." She mused, "Certain things, I'm not a fan of." She said, "I was born in Greece. Have you ever been?"

"Greece? No." He said, "How long have you lived in Italy?"

She smiled, "Ah, you recognized the accent." She said, "When I was three, I moved there from Greece. Lived there for ten years, then moved to America for, what was it, five years? Then I moved back when I turned eighteen. Ten more years I lived in Italy before I met my lovely sire." She chuckled, "Then I got rid of my husband."

His eyes slid up to her again, "I see." He looked ahead, "Well, this dump is Last Round…Anarch headquarters…don't go in there alone." He took a bit of a lead, "This is the Tremere Chantry, where Strauss _used_ to reside, but now he's in the tower, but the rest of the Tremere are in here for the time being."

She looked at the Chantry, "What lovely architecture…" She mused, "I adore the gargoyles."

He nodded, continuing his tour, "Abandoned hospital…blah, blah, blah…uh…Confessions, a local club…for…uh…blood dolls…but…uh…I imagine for your clan…it's different. In terms of housing, there's the Skyline apartments, and the Empire Arms Hotel…but…if you want to join the Camarilla, you'll probably just, live in the tower itself, unless you decide to piss Strauss off."

"I don't see why anyone would bother doing that." She mused, putting a hand on Cadmus's shoulder, "I appreciate the tour, Vanderbilt." She smiled at him, meeting his gaze, "Very polite of you. Chivalrous."

He stared back at her for a moment or two, then a small smile curved onto his lips, "Whenever you want to join up, go to the top floor of the red tower, talk to Strauss, tell him Vanderbilt sent you. That should improve your chances of getting in."

"Ah. Marvelous." She said, "What's the security like? My bag has…interesting things inside. Artifacts. I'm an archeologist."

"I'm not gonna lie, it's sort of a skeleton crew in there. Strauss insists all his followers are Kindred…so…whatever's in your bag, should be fine."

"Wonderful." She hugged him, then kissed both his cheeks, "I hope to see you again, dear." She adjusted his coat, "Wonderful tour agent." She chuckled.

"Uh…right…" He shrunk a bit, trying to wipe the kiss marks off, "Later, Phaedra."

"Mmm hmm. Good evening, darling."

* * *

Prospero's eyes flickered around as he entered the Last Round. The people on the first floor for the most part seemed to be human, so he headed for the stairs.

"Hey." He paused as he heard a little feminine bark, turning to see nothing, at first, until he looked down and saw the little redhead standing in the doorway, "Ugh, Cammie. The hell do you want?"

"Why don't you make yourself useful and tell me where all the Anarch rats are hiding?"

"Uh…" She raised a brow, "Yeah. I don't think so." She faced the stairs, "Nines, we got a kicker."

"Oh yeah?" Nines's voice said from upstairs, "Can it wait like, five minutes?"

She snarled, "Finish your damn card game later!"

He gave an annoyed sigh before he appeared in the stairwell, Desert Eagle in hand, "The hell's the problem here?"

She looked at Prospero, "Cammie here is wondering where all the Anarch rats are hiding."

"Alright. So who does that make you?" Nines turned to Prospero, surprised someone serious looking was actually there, and that Damsel wasn't just making a fuss about a stray ghoul.

Prospero smiled and crossed his arms, "I just have a message for your people. All three of them." He said, then he shrugged, "But, since most of your _elite_ forces are down here anyway, I guess I could send it down here. And I guess that makes you Rodriguez." His eyes flickered over to him, "How was the wilderness? Enjoy the werewolves and the slops? They suit you."

Nines's eyes narrowed, "Why don't I show you upstairs?"

"Nines…" Damsel looked up at him, "The hell?"

He ignored Damsel, "If you have something to say, say it to all of us." He said as he went upstairs, leaning against the wall where he always did.

Prospero laughed the second he went to the second floor, " _This_ is all of you?" He laughed and laughed, "I mean, I get that Isaac has grunts in the closet somewhere, but…pfft… _this_?" He asked.

Anastasia swallowed hard from where she was sitting, "Who the hell is this?"

"Alright, I'll make this quick, because I know how _hard at work_ you all are." He said, "My name is Prospero Kingston, the Brujah Primogen."

Anastasia could see Skelter practically stiffen up like a board, while Nines raised a brow, "The hell is a Primogen doing in here?"

"I know you guys killed my predecessor. Anarch did it." Prospero said, "A lame suicide not may have fooled LaCroix, but it sure as hell ain't fooling me."

"So you came here to point fingers." Nines said.

"What do you want us to do, fess up?" Damsel asked, "Fess up to something we didn't do? You trying to put someone else on a Blood Hunt?" She crossed her arms, "Maybe an Anarch did do it. But I'm sure as hell it wasn't anyone in this room. There are more of us, you know, who don't stick around the Last Round all the time."

"It _was_ an Anarch though." Prospero said, "Couldn't be anyone in the Kuei-Jin because LaCroix was all buddy-buddy with Xiao. Couldn't have been the Sabbat because they would've just killed him and been done with it, without bothering to cover it up. So that leaves you."

"If it was an Anarch, then we don't know about it." Nines said, after looking around at everyone in the room, then looking back at Prospero. "None of us are dumb enough to just start killing Primogen left and right. Especially after I got framed for killing Grout. It had to be someone out of state, or maybe it was just an Independent. We don't know who it was."

"So what you're telling me is that an unnamed individual did the deed and that's as best I'm going to get?" Prospero asked, "And you think I'll just clap my shoes together and be on my way with that, huh? No dice." He chuckled for a long while, "So let's play a game…"

"A game?" Damsel asked, "What, are we four?"

Nines held a hand up towards Damsel, then looked back at Prospero, "Go on."

Prospero chuckled, "You guys think you can go around killing us without any sort of punishment?" He asked, "You guys think the enemy won't strike back?" He crossed his burly arms, "Well…since you so rudely took away one of our members. I'm gonna do the same for you…" His eyes met with the four Anarchs in the room, "Only, you won't know _which_ Anarch I've made my decision on until it's too late." He said, "Of course, I could go after Isaac and his toy soldiers, but I don't think that'll be as much _fun_ …"

Anastasia shivered, hugging herself, it was bad enough having _Victor_ after them. Now it was this guy too?

Nines narrowed his eyes, then held his hand out to shake.

Damsel's eyes widened, Skelter peeled himself off the banister, "What the hell are you doing? Don't agree to that!"

Nines glared at Skelter, with a look that sent him right back to the banister. He knew, was all that look said. He looked back at Prospero, "Don't think I got much of a choice." Was he smiling?

Prospero laughed and shook his hand briefly, "Hmm…maybe it'll be you…" His eyes flickered to Damsel, "I mean…I did get such _pleasant_ service at the bottom of the stairs there…or maybe you…" He glared at Anastasia, "You're already pissing yourself. Ah, this should be fun. Oh, and if you want to kill the Brujah Primogen during his game, feel free to give it a go." He smirked, "But Nines'll tell you all about what happens when you do that."

"You kill any of these people, I'll take your head back. Blood Hunt or not." Nines said, "These people are my family, I'd gladly die for them, no matter how stupid they may be." He snickered and crossed his arms, "Best part of the deal for me is the part where I get to kill you."

Skelter wiped a hand over his face as Damsel gave a shaky sigh, "Kingston, it's time for you to go."

"You don't scare me Nines…" Prospero said as he began to leave, "From what I hear, you belong to Victor anyway."

* * *

If Egypt was the land if distractions for her, then L.A. was the land of procrastination. What had it been, an entire day since she last saw Vanderbilt? She even booked a stay in a hotel. That was a whole day longer than she had anticipated.

It would have been a bigger deal if she actually was responsible for something, but as it was, she wasn't at all. Pisha was very impressed, (despite how much she didn't show it,) with all the artifacts she had gathered, and took most of them. Phaedra wondered what she was going to do with them, but Pisha was best left alone with that sort of thing. She would start going on about either her Necromancy powers that Phaedra had yet to harness, or some moment of her past that she hoped the artifact would delve into, and at that point, Phaedra knew there was no amount of studying to unlock what was going on in Pisha's mind.

So, Pisha was content with the goods that Phaedra had given her, and more or less, let of off the hook. A simple goodbye and that was the last she was sure she'd see of her sire. And it hurt.

She didn't consider herself clingy. Maybe a touch. But she liked having some sort of human contact. Or, Kindred contact. Meeting Cadmus sent her such a rush, especially when he didn't run. It set her heart in a flurry just thinking about joining the Camarilla, joining a society where there were people, where she would be part of a team, not a little stray 'demon'.

It was ironic, wasn't it? The entire reason she became an archeologist was to escape from all the people in her life and slip into the past, and yet, now that she had slipped into the past, and was avoided like the plague, she wanted nothing more than to be part of life again.

Now, Phaedra wasn't like Pisha, in the regard that she actually felt guilt when killing people. Phaedra never killed children. Similarly, she'd never kill pregnant women, or even teenagers. Maybe an obnoxious one. When she was hungry, she hunted down the nearest morgue. Which she had done, yesterday. But, so few people brought any bodies in, and there were so many actually living people there, it was a hassle. Instead, she sought out the weak and homeless. Their flesh wasn't the most nourishing, but until she could craft herself some sort of niche in the city, it was the best she would come across.

But, it seemed she had struck the jackpot. There was one thing about L.A. that seemed unfortunate, seemed burdensome. But not for her. Gang fights, leaving fresh corpses in their wake. Like when a cheetah kills a gazelle and leaves the scraps for the jackals. She checked the streets before grabbing the arm of the poor dead man, dragging him off into the corner of the alleyway.

One thing Phaedra resented the most about her curse was the fact that she really couldn't eat with anyone besides her sire. Any guest would end up losing their lunch quite quickly.

She heard more gunshots, being pierced by a bullet, "Hey, there, you little shit." Sirius said as he sauntered into the mouth of the alley, steam coming from the barrel of his pistol, "How does that person taste?"

She looked at the hole in her shoulder, then back at Sirius, "Quite good, compared to my recent meals." She dropped the man to the ground, "Was there something I could help you with, dear?"

Sirius pulled out another pistol, an orange glow coming off of him, there must have been a rapid-fire speed on them, because he fired away with both pistols with incredible accuracy, the Presence making the bullets hurt even more, "Yeah, dying would be nice."

She clenched her teeth and stood up, her eyes glowing with intensity in hopes to counteract some of the Presence with her Auspex. "I wish you no harm, you and whichever bloodline you belong to."

"Oh, well that's cute. You're either stupid, or you think _I'm_ stupid. Nagaraja scum."

Her eyes flickered around, she had literally cornered herself into a pit of alleyways, the only way out was where Sirius was standing, "Was there something I did to offend you? I don't believe we've ever met."

"I'm a Follower of Set!" He growled, "Do you really not know the history our clans share?"

"I'm afraid I do not." She said, then she grinned, "My sire simply told me to run from anything that breathes…but…I didn't think I would be met with such unbridled hostility for a sin I have not committed."

A snake tongue flickered out of Sirius's mouth. He held a hand out and snakes flew out from his hand, all latching onto Phaedra once they connected to her. They attacked and bit her instantly, some went up her dress, others were tangled in her hair.

She grimaced, hoping if she just stood still, they'd get bored and move on, but that didn't seem to be the case either. "I'd…use my disciplines…but I have no desire of spoiling myself to the Camarilla…though…I believe this is not a Masquerade Violation…" She held a hand up, a blue glow started to cloud her hand.

Sirius had a blank stare, he turned around and began to walk away, as if she wiped away part of his memories.

Phaedra stood tall as he wandered off. "Miss Pisha…you've lied to me yet again…" She chuckled softly to herself as she watched the snakes slink off after him, "Dominate _is_ quite the useful discipline…" She waited for Sirius to _really_ leave, before she grabbed the corpse and took a few more bites. She needed to restore her blood pool quite badly. But, then it set in.

Her mind started to whirl, and she threw up everything she just ate. She held her stomach with one hand, and her head with the other. Was Dominate turning on her?

She stumbled forward into the light to actually get a good look at her spinning surroundings, but it nearly blinded her. She covered her eyes and stumbled to her knees. Why was she so weak? Before she could even try and crawl somewhere safer, back to her alley, maybe, she completely passed out.

After what felt like forever, she was shaken awake. She drearily looked at the night sky, it looked like she was in space. Suddenly, a figure was over her, wearing a white suit and a pencil skirt, and a red blouse could be seen under the suit. On her legs were black tights, and on her feet were black, diamond studded heels. Her shoulder-length, dark hair had a single purple streak in it, and she had pretty impressive bangs, her amber eyes met with Phaedra's red ones, "Hello." She said, her voice as soft as a whisper. This person couldn't be real, she was still feeling woozy from her battle with Sirius, maybe she was just seeing things.

So, Phaedra did what any other hallucinating person would do. She blinked a few times, then reached up to touch her, surprised to feel a soft and squishy face.

The other girl backed away a little in fear, "Uh…" She started shaking.

Phaedra held her forehead, the whirling set in again. She closed her eyes and faced away from the blaring streetlight that intensified her migraine, "…antivenin…I…" A spasm shook her, "I need antivenin…"

"You were attacked."

"Yes…" She moaned softly, holding her forehead tightly, the pain completely wracking her mind into a state where she couldn't even speak.

"Shh." The girl in the white suit got to her level, loosely holding her and brushing her hair straight, as well as brushing some of the dirt off of Phaedra's dress, "Tell me where it hurts the most."

The girl's head thankfully blocked the lights out, Phaedra opened her eyes just a peek, "Everywhere…" She said softly, "They…bit me…everywhere…" She closed her eyes as a wave of pain shook her again, " _…Mi fa male…la testa…_ "

Unfortunately for Rainy, she didn't speak Italian. But she could see that Phaedra was on death's doorstep. She looked around, feeling a lump the size of a bowling ball stuck in her throat. Tears ran down her eyes, she was scared, no doubt. If _anyone_ saw her doing this, a Masquerade Violation was the least of her worries. She hugged Phaedra tightly, hoping that Phaedra's gaze, if her eyes were even open, was looking the other way. A sacred blue light came off of Rainy's body, as her third eye that she hid so well behind her bangs opened. Bits of static electricity came from her body, as the peaceful lightning strike and chime of Obeah was heard. After a second or two, she let go, "It may still hurt now, but you'll get better, okay?" She asked. Sure enough, Phaedra's smaller wounds had already closed up, and her migraine had eased up.

Now seeming to notice she was in Rainy's lap, and that the poor thing was crying, Phaedra gently put an arm around her back and hugged her, "Shh…relax, dear…" Her eyes looked around rapidly as she saw people in the streets look at them funny. She would have died, no doubt, if she hadn't been healed, but how? Regardless, as confident as she was with herself, the attention they were gathering was certainly unhealthy, "Let's go somewhere a little safer." She said quietly, "Where I can thank you appropriately, without an audience."

"Uh…I…I need to go that way…" She timidly pointed, "Back to Chinatown…"

Phaedra looked Rainy in the eye, each passing second, her mind cleared up more and more. She took her choker off, then put it in the palm of Rainy's hand, "I will find you again. And you will give that to me, upon this meeting. I haven't thanked you for saving my life, I have all intentions to."

Rainy looked at it blankly, "Bye-bye…" She waved, "Queen…" She ran off, the speed at which suggested that she was used to being hunted every second.

* * *

 **A/N:** So…kinda realized how annoying Phaedra and Pisha are with their…similar names… Don't worry, soon Phaedra will have a lot more to think about than her sire. Thanks for reading!


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** Here's chapter six! AKA ~ A day in the life of Strauss. Well, not an entire day. But, just a good portion of what a Prince has gotta do. Hope you like it!  
 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs.

* * *

He had no idea what LaCroix's fuss was with all the work. Sure, the workload was unbearably heavy, but it hasn't turned him into a monster yet after these past few weeks. He was going through the paperwork on his desk. One sheet that caught his eye was one of the many copies of the Red List. A list dedicated to all of the Camarilla's highest criminals, on a continual Blood Hunt. He scanned it over, deciding that as soon as he was done with these Anarch fools, he would start to target the _real_ enemies of this organization. Then he would get the support from Europe that he deserves.

There was a knock on the door, as Prospero walked inside Strauss's office, "Sir…" He prefaced, "I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

"Of course not." Strauss said quietly, putting the Red List down, "Mister Kingston, is it?" He said, giving a chuckle, "You were quite against the politics of Mister LaCroix and Mister Constantine in our last meeting in his cabinet, weren't you?"

He swallowed hard, falling to his knees, "That's right, look…I didn't like him very much…and if you're going to throw me out because of my outburst…" He looked up, "Then I'll just go back to England, I'm sure they're looking for work, even if it isn't a Primogen. I just can't stand that kinda behavior from one of us."

"No, no, you misunderstand me. I found your outburst against Constantine to be most entertaining, and I was hoping if you wished to stay in this Camarilla as my Brujah Primogen."

His face lit up, "Sure, sure, yeah, sure." He got up, "Of course."

"Wonderful news." He said, "And…Mister Chamberlain, you know him fairly better than I, do you think he would wish to stay as the Toreador Primogen?"

"Uh…probably…he's pretty quiet about the politics, but I assume his answer is a 'yes.'"

"I see." He nodded, "If you could check with him in the next few nights, I will be very grateful, Mister Kingston."

"Right…so…about my thing…"

"Yes, of course. You'll have to forgive me, I'm trying to assemble a cabinet from the broken pieces LaCroix left behind." He said, "How may I be of assistance?"

"Nah, no apologies needed, I really admire what you're doing." He smiled, then it faded out of nervousness, "So…uh…do you…do you need…like…like a secretary…or someone…in here?"

"A secretary?"

"Like…someone…not to do battle…or fight…but like…little jobs…like office work or something?"

"I don't believe I'm following."

He sighed, figuring he'd better come out with it, "Look, I have this friend…I think she would make a good ghoul…is it okay if…she putters around the tower, and…does some work for you? Like, alphabetizing shit and whatnot?"

"Perhaps. I see no reason against it." He said, "I _would_ like to speak to her first, however."

"Right, right, of course, done." He said, "What night would be good for you?"

"Whichever night would work best for you."

"Tomorrow?"

"Very well."

"Thanks, sir, you won't regret this." He said, turning around and leaving.

"Good evening, Mister Kingston." Strauss said, he then turned to his phone, picking it up and dialing Gary's number.

It rang once or twice before it picked up, "Hell's angels."

"Greetings, Mister Golden." Strauss said, "I had a question for you, if you don't mind."

"Ask away, boss."

"Were you still interested in being the Nosferatu Primogen for the Camarilla?" He asked, leaving a silence, "I ask this only because the leadership has changed, quite drastically, might I add."

Strauss could hear him snicker, "Sure boss. You know, I got faith that you'll run the show a lot better than Prince LaCroix. Maybe the Nosferatu will be treated with respect." He snorted, "Yeah, I think we'll work well together. If you're lucky, I won't poison the Toreador Primogen either!" He laughed.

"As of this moment, I only have Primogen for the Brujah, Nosferatu, and Toreador…I will spend the next few days searching for more representatives." He said.

"Very good. You call if you need anything…but…don't get too trigger happy. Phones are always buzzing down here."

"Once it's convenient for me, I will send one of my representatives down there, bearing gifts, for your previous services, as well as the trouble you had dealing with LaCroix."

"Aw, how sweet of you! Leave them in the mausoleum. My personal mailbox."

"Very well, good evening Mister Golden."

"Night Prince. Keep up the good work."

Strauss went back to his paperwork after he hung up the phone, then he heard a knock on the door, as Victor and Iphigenia entered the room, "So, sir!" Victor raised his hands up, "Like you asked, we've waited a few days for your decision, so…" He smiled, "What is the status of things at the Chantry?"

Strauss looked up at them both, "I have contacted a substitute Regent who will fill in for my place at the Chantry. That is all."

Victor's expression faded, and he wilted, "Oh…I…I see…"

Iphigenia put a hand on Victor's shoulder, then looked up at Strauss with a smile, "Thank you, sir. We can't wait to meet him and show them the place."

"Mister Madison." Strauss said, "A new position has opened up for you, however."

"Hmm?" Victor asked, "Are there…are there going to be two Regents?"

"No." He chuckled, "You are going to be the new Tremere Primogen."

"Really?" He asked, "Do you…do you think that's possible sir? Do…do you think I would be up to the task?"

He nodded, "For obvious reasons, I can no longer be the Tremere Primogen, and…after all, you are the second most powerful Tremere in the state. I think it is an appropriate choice."

"Yes, yes sir. Thank you." Victor bowed.

Iphigenia chuckled, "Very good. Mister Madison was worried he wouldn't get a promotion."

"I didn't say that." Victor frowned, "Yes, well, if that's all you need us for…" He bowed, "Then we shall be off."

"I appreciate the sentiment." Strauss said, "In a few moments, I believe I will be greeted with the audience of Mister Lockwood and Miss Perry…I'm sure it's about the latter's membership with the Camarilla, no doubt."

"I see, well, we won't interfere with your choice, sir. Whatever it may be." Victor said.

"Whatever became of their Malkavian ally? Mister Haracha, was it?"

"Oh, Dragomir?" He asked, "I believe he's still in the city. He could do work for us, if the time calls for it."

"I thought he was Independent."

He smiled, "He's Camarilla…as far as I'm concerned, well, we'll leave you alone, sir."

Strauss blinked a few times as the two Tremere left, not long after that, he was greeted by Cadmus and Angelique.

"You wanted to see us, sir?" Cadmus asked, about to do the same bow he always did to LaCroix, but stopping himself at the last second.

"Yes, greetings, Mister Vanderbilt. Miss Luna."

"…did…did you just say Luna?"

"Of course. Angelique Luna."

Cadmus swallowed hard, "How do you know her real name?"

"I have called you both up here to inform you that I'm going to be pardoning your ghoul." Strauss said.

"Really?" Cadmus asked.

Angelique looked surprised, well, over the mask of terror she expressed from standing in front of Strauss himself, "Thank you so much, sir…" She said quietly.

"But, why?" Cadmus looked dubious.

"Was it not your first rebellion towards the Anarchs that ended LaCroix's rule?" Strauss smiled at Cadmus, "For that, I will clear Angelique's name of the charges against her. I do hope that you two will benefit the organization in the future."

He nodded quickly, "Yes, of course sir."

Slade and Tess came in next, unlike everyone else, however, they didn't wait for the other group to leave, causing Cadmus to glare at Tess, "What's _she_ doing here?"

"She's going to join the Camarilla." Slade said.

"Like hell." Cadmus snarled, "She should be dusted for what she did against us. Did you already forget that she was on _their_ side?"

"Yeah but, she's going to change."

"Pfft, how many times have I heard her say that? Four, five, six times?" He asked, "She's never going to change. She's never going to get any better. She's just going to cause trouble for the rest of us!"

"Just stay out of this."

He frowned, "You're the one who said all this in the first place, right? Or am I just losing my mind? _You're_ the one who bitched and complained about her existence the most, right? Why the hell are you on her side now? Isn't that a little wishy-washy? Or are you ensnared in her little game too now?"

Strauss cleared his throat, leaving a pause, then he said, "Mister Vanderbilt, Miss Luna, you are dismissed, I will handle the matter on my own."

Cadmus nodded, "Phaedra's going to be coming soon I think, be prepared to see her tonight." He said as he and Angelique left.

Tess looked up at Strauss nervously, "I understand entirely if I'm not granted permission to partake in the Camarilla. It would be an honor for me to serve you, Mister Strauss, but I understand the situation."

"You were not among those of us who wished to dethrone LaCroix, correct?" Strauss asked.

"That is correct." She bowed her head, "In…the impending chaos, the feeling of Gehenna and impending doom…I picked the wrong side. I thought I was going to die…I didn't think it mattered…I hardly thought at all."

"Mmm…I'm sorry neonate, but this matter may take some time for me to rethink. I'm afraid your fate has yet to be decided."

"Of course. Thank you so much for allowing me to stand before you."

"Is there anything I can say to help influence your decision?" Slade asked.

"I'm afraid not, Mister Lockwood. Unfortunately, our newest guest Phaedra seeks an audience with me. I wish to speak to her alone."

Slade nodded, looking a little disappointed, "Right." He said, he and Tess leaving.

"You wish to speak to me alone?" Phaedra entered, twirling her scarf between her fingers as she smiled, "Am I going to be executed on the spot? Perhaps Los Angeles is a bit more hostile than I had thought."

Strauss adjusted his glasses, "Privacy, was my intention."

She chuckled softly and reached forward to shake his hand, "Pleasure to meet you, Mister Strauss. Phaedra Kokinos."

"Greetings, Miss Kokinos." Strauss said as he shook her hand, "I thank you for taking time out of your night to come to my court and announce your presence in my domain."

"Truth be told, I've been here a few nights, already. My full intention was to visit you first, but I find myself so easily distracted. Especially with this Museum of National History. I've visited it years ago, but it seems it has a variety of fascinating artifacts now that were not there when I was younger."

"I see." He said, "To what do I owe the nature of this visit?"

"Interesting question." She smiled, "A few years prior to this meeting, when I was doing research in Egypt for my sire, I ran into a Tremere, affiliated with the Camarilla in Europe. France, I believe, though I could be wrong. Regardless, she personally advised I join the Camarilla, she said it would suit my…" She flourished a hand in the air, "What's the word I'm looking for? Suit my lifestyle, I suppose."

"You wish to join the Camarilla?"

"Yes, that is correct. From my knowledge, my clan typically allies with the Sabbat or Tal'Mahe'Ra, but those sects never interested me. And being an Independent is far too lonesome."

"Yes, I've never seen a Nagaraja so eager to join the Camarilla." He said, "And I've been doing this for quite some time."

She chuckled softly, "I can understand if you aren't interested in new members now, from what I've heard, you've only stepped into power quite recently. You must be busy."

"No, the opposite phenomenon is occurring, I assure you." He said, "I am most enthusiastic about new members here in the Camarilla."

"Ah, how wonderful." Her dark lips curved into a smile, "Well, I'm…sure there's something I have to sign? Registration paperwork of some sort? Unless we'll worry about those matters later."

"There is one task I would like you to…complete for me…to show your loyalty to us."

"Yes, of course."

"There is a particular individual…who wishes for access into the Camarilla…although, her loyalty in the past has been…unsatisfactory." He said, "I would like for you to spy on her with one of your wraiths and let me know what her activities consist of."

"Ooh, how devious. Yes, I would love to. Who is this individual and where will I find her?"

"Her name is Miss Perry, and I will send you her information as soon as I am able." He said, "For now, you may stay in one of our rooms here at the red tower. Welcome to the Camarilla, Miss Kokinos."

* * *

A few onlookers stared as Sirius entered the bar, as he did look like one stone cold monster. It was probably the single eye that did it. Or the smirk. Or the coat, the coat that just exuded richness that was unimaginable. He honestly pictured the Last Round bigger, his eye fell on Damsel, his smile growing, "Kindred?" He asked.

She slowly eyed him over, about to open her mouth, before she closed it again and looked back up at his single eye. "Yeah….you're not…from around here, are you?"

"Maybe not. This Anarch central? Land of the Anarchs? Where all the Anarchs live?"

"Pfft. We couldn't all fit in this little dump. This is just were a few of us hang out. Who the hell are you?" Her eyes narrowed.

"Yeah, but the point is, Rodriguez lives here, or…something." He said, "Can I talk to him about joining?"

She seemed shocked now, giving him another once-over. "He's upstairs. I'm…I'm Damsel."

"Sirius, nice to meet ya." He walked past her and headed upstairs, "Ah, there's the main man himself. Nines Rodriguez." Sirius snickered.

"Who…who is this now?" Anastasia asked from her seat.

"No clue." Nines smothered his cigarette against the wall, a little gathering of marks on the surface that had built up over the years, "Don't think I've ever met you."

"Ah, but I heard about you. You're the glue that keeps the Anarch movement out here together, isn't that right?" Sirius asked.

He chuckled, "Nah, I wouldn't say that. I've been around for a while, but even without me, they can manage well." He glared at Skelter, "Don't always make the right choices, but they pull through."

"Get off my back already." Skelter crossed his arms. "You woulda' done the same thing."

Nines turned back to Sirius, "You got a bone to pick with us or somethin'?"

"I wanted to join you." Sirius said, "Figured you guys could use some help."

"What was your name?"

"Sirius." He said, as his snake tongue flickered out briefly.

"Sirius. Welcome aboard." Nines held a hand out, "We'll keep an eye on you if you try and pull any funny shit. We got the worst kind of punishment for jackasses who try to stab us in the back."

"We do?" Skelter raised a brow.

"Yeah. We send Damsel after them. They go deaf in a week."

"Nice." Sirius shook Nines's hand, "Thought there'd be a bit more paperwork involved or something…but I guess I'm getting my sects mixed up…"

"If you want to sign a piece of paper, be my guest…it'll get lost in the other piles of papers no one's gone through in years." Nines said.

"Where you from?" Skelter asked.

"Born in Arizona…but…I've been all around the world, doing this and that." Sirius said, "Heard a lot of shit was going down in L.A. so, here I am." He took a seat at one of the tables.

Skelter looked at the way Sirius sat at the table in the corner by himself, the moonlight pouring onto him as he casually sat back in the chair, "Pfft. It's like Jack never left."

Nines laughed, "You'll have to tell him we got a replacement."

Damsel came upstairs, leaning against the doorway, "Anyone want any blood?"

"Yeah, get Sirius something." Nines said, "That'd be great."

"Sure thing." She disappeared, only to come back up a few seconds later and give him a few blood bags, "So you're the new kid now?" She looked around, "You guys introduce yourselves or are you just gonna leave him in the dark?"

Anastasia blinked when everyone looked at her, "Uh…I'm Anastasia…hi…they…they insist that I'm a mediator…of the group…"

Nines snickered, "Yeah, she sorts out the…occasional brawls."

"Occasional?" Damsel asked.

"Skelter." Skelter said from his post, and that was it.

"Yeah, he's the pissy one." Damsel muttered as she sat next to Sirius.

"The hell did you just say?" He asked, but Damsel rolled her eyes and ignored him.

"There's another kid who comes around here occasionally." Nines said, "Killian's his name. But…uh…" He got out a cigarette and lit it, "His sister got dusted few months back. He's been a bit out of it since then."

Skelter looked out the windows, biting the inside of his cheek. He was almost a-hundred percent sure Killian would never show his face again.

"Huh…cool…" Sirius said, "Seems like a pretty nice group. So we're just preparing for battle against the Camarilla, I guess?" He asked, "Didn't think there were Sabbat or Kuei-Jin over here, anymore, at least."

"We handled the Kuei-Jin a few months back…but…" Skelter sighed, "They'll be back. I'm almost sure of it."

"Same goes for Sabbat. Though the Cam really got rid of them. LaCroix did _one_ thing right." Nines snickered.

"The Camarilla got a new Prince just…weeks ago, at most." Damsel said, "Tremere. And…uh…idiot Rodriguez over there pissed off just about all the Tremere. So they're kinda after him."

"I didn't do anything to the Tremere." Nines muttered, "Son of a bitch just holds grudges."

"Yeah, alright." She looked back at Sirius, "And…the Brujah Primogen wants us dead…which is kinda…random."

"It ain't random." Skelter muttered, "We'll sort him out later. He's not gonna attack any time soon, we gotta worry about the Tremere for now."

"Jeez…so it's a Tremere state now, is it?" Sirius asked, "Huh…looks like the work is cut out for us…"

"Yeah…" Nines sighed and blew a cloud of smoke in the air.

"Well…" Damsel stood up, "I better get back downstairs." She said, "Call me if you need anything." She ran back down the staircase.

"Jeez, Nines, you better be careful." Skelter said, "You see the way she's lookin' at him?"

Nines shook his head, "Can it."

"Alright. Ain't my fault if she cheats on you."

"Cheats on me? We're…we're not…Skelter…"

"Oh, what? Don't pull that on me. C'mon."

Nines looked over at Sirius, "So, what clan were you?"

"I'm a Follower of Set." Sirius said, "Some of you guys call us Setites."

"I don't…I don't know what that is." Anastasia said.

"I didn't think they really…lived in America." Nines said, "Huh. I've never met one face to face."

"That's because we're usually in the shadows, pulling the strings." Sirius said, "Only I'm not…really a _typical_ Setite, so, most of my clan hates me anyway…"

"I figured as much." Nines said, "Hey, you're always welcome here. Now that Jack's gone, it's safe to say we'll even take Ventrue, as long as they're devoted to our cause."

"Whatever happened to Jack anyway?" Sirius asked, "Smiling Jack, I heard of him too."

"After the damn bomb he set in the sarcophagus went off, he went back to sea." Skelter said, "Old geezer was too bored over here, I guess."

"Huh…" He said, "Not sure if I could be his _replacement_ or anything…but…"

"We're not asking you to. We just want you to give us the best you got." Nines said.

* * *

The hinges squealed a bit as Tess shut the door behind herself, "I'm in one piece, at least." She gave a faint smile, "Thank you for coming with me, Slade. You didn't have to…and you did. I needed that."

Slade hugged her, "Never thought I'd argue with Cadmus over it…but…"

"That was a bit frightening." Tess said, "But, I'm thankful it's over. At least he doesn't want me killed."

"…it's kinda hard to tell with him…"

"Yes…I….suppose that's true…" She mused, then she hugged him back and pet his hair, "Thanks for coming with me." She kissed his cheek, "I wouldn't have had the strength to stand there before him without you."

"Hey…can we talk about something?"

"Of course. Is it the Worcestershire sauce? I can't have any, I know, but…I just like to sniff it now and again…"

"No…it's…about the fight we had…"

"Oh…I thought it was behind us." She said, "We were both tired…me especially…you know how I can get when I'm tired."

"Right…maybe I shouldn't have brought it up, then…"

"We can talk about it if you'd like. I don't want you to bottle things in."

"I…I just wanted to say that I'm not a player." He said, "That's…what it felt like you were accusing me of last night, and I didn't like it. It's still my fault for bringing up Killian of all people in the bedroom, but…I don't know…it kinda, made me wonder how much we really know each other…"

"I think we know each other very well." She said softly, "But…I just think…when it comes to intimacy…I'm used to men who are…who are dogs." She said, "Not men like you. And I…I was a little scared that…you would turn out to be a dog too. But…I was completely wrong…" She squeezed him tighter.

"Sorry." He squeezed her back, "I didn't mean to bring any of that up…"

She kissed his forehead, "You don't need to apologize."

He squeezed her yet again, then he finally broke the hug to go further into the apartment, "I still feel like we kinda stole this place from Dragomir and Genevieve…it just…doesn't feel the same without the two of them laughing about something only they get…"

"We could invite them over…" She said, "Genevieve's room was much bigger than this one. I'm sure they're happy."

"I hope they're doing okay." He said, "Well, if it all works out with you being in the Camarilla, we won't be here much anyway…we'll live together in the Red Tower."

She smiled, "I would love that…" She started taking her blazar off, then let air fill her lungs, "This life is just so different without…worrying about the sarcophagus and…what LaCroix thinks and…what the Anarchs are doing…"

"I mean, eventually the Anarchs will be a priority…they're the only rival faction in this city, at this point."

She knocked on the door, "Let's hope it stays that way."

As they started kissing, Tess held onto him dearly as she drew the curtains of the window to a close. A ghastly figure floating outside gave a harrowing laugh before it drifted away into the air, fading away into nothing.

* * *

 **A/N:** Looks like VV's advice worked out! She's not evil enough to sabotage their relationship…c'mon…Thanks for reading!


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** Here's chapter seven! Six was from the Camarilla's point of view, let's see how the Anarchs are doing! Enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs. Also there's some zesty lemons in there…be warned if you do not like them!

* * *

"Shit…" Cissy's eyes slowly opened, a killer headache greeted her, before the stench of the dumpster did. "Ugh…why the hell did I sleep in a dumpster…how wasted did I get?" She sat up, combing her fingers through her hair before she peeked the lid open to see if it was night time. Sure enough, when she saw the artificial light shine in from the street lights, she hopped out of the dumpster and shook herself off. "Dammit…I need a shower." She looked around for anyone remotely friendly looking that she could pester.

A girl was looking her up and down nearby, a redhead, who was armed to the teeth as well.

Cissy looked her over as well, then smiled, "Hey…I uh…I had a rough night…" She scratched the back of her head, "You wouldn't mind helping me out, would you?"

"You've got my attention."

Her black lips smiled, she combed her nails through her black hair, the streaks of red cut through like knives, "I'm Cissy. I need a shower. I don't know how the fuck I ended up in a dumpster, but…yeah. I just need a hand."

"Uh-huh…" She said, "Look, I just got to this city, myself, I haven't bought an apartment yet…so…I'm not sure…maybe busting open a fire hydrant isn't out of the question…"

Cissy laughed, "What was your name?"

"Catalina." She said, "Is there…a park around here…for like a water fountain shower…or something…or a lake?"

"I dunno…" She said as she started walking around, "You wanna come with me carjacking?" She asked, completely nonchalantly, sticking a thumb out as she stood close to the road, "Oh, and can I call you Cat instead?"

Her eye twitched, "No, and I'm not stealing a car with you." She said, "Kinda don't want the police on my ass the second night I'm here, thank you."

"Cops never caught me once." She said, "C'mon, I'm good at this. It's such a rush. So fun. Better than sex. Maybe. Depends on who it is."

"Yeah, you're on your own dumpster girl, have fun."

"It's Cissy." A car pulled over, "C'mon. Just this once." She gave a warm smile.

"This city's tight enough where you can just _walk_ to where you need to…"

"Trust me, honey, I got a plan." She said, walking around the door to the driver's side. She pulled out a pistol and aimed it at the woman's head, "Hi, sweetheart. I'm gonna need you to get out of the car."

The woman's eyes widened, she popped her seatbelt off and got out, "Oh, please don't hurt my baby, she's in the back…please…."

"I'm a thief, not a monster. Jeez." She got in the driver's seat, "Cat, c'mon!" She called, "She's my accomplice." She explained to the woman as she reached in the back and handed her the baby, "You'll get your car back in like, a month or something, either that or a check. Thanks a bunch."

The woman just looked horrified, then looked up at Catalina. She got her phone out to take a picture.

Cissy revved the engine up, "Alright, Cat, now or never, sweet pea."

Catalina looked torn, she dove into the car, eventually crossing her arms and pouting as they took off.

And took off they did. Cissy floored it, weaving between cars at a sickening pace, "Jesus, the hell kind of mother pulls over with a three month old child in the back seat to pick up hitch-hikers? It's like she _wanted_ to have her baby get killed." She said, mashing a fist into the horn as someone tried to cut her off, "Dammit." She spat out, then she looked at Catalina, "I love your hair by the way, it's really hot. That natural?"

Catalina frowned and looked out the window, scowling at her own reflection.

"Catalina? C'mon, don't be pissy with me. It's so much more fun if you just let it be. Ever go on a roller coaster? It's like that. See, now we're gonna get some air!" She gripped the steering wheel and pressed the gas pedal to the floor, laughing as they managed to fly over a hill.

Catalina gave no new response, other than just hardening her glare.

"You sour-puss." Cissy said, slowing down a bit and turning some loud rock on, "Good stuff." She said, "So…here's the plan." She sighed, before talking a mile a minute, "I'm gonna drop the car off at a dealership. Sell it. Get the money, get a hotel room. I'm broke." She added in, "Stay in the hotel a night, shower, get some new clothes, then the dealership will find out the car's jacked. They'll cancel the payment, everything will fall to shit, but, I'll be clean and have new clothes, so everything will be fine. Then I was thinking of going to San Fran. But you don't need to come with me." She looked over at Catalina from the corner of her eye while she was flooring it, "Figured I'd just take the pretty redhead with me on my way around for shits and giggles. Thought maybe we'd do it, but you seem kinda pissy so, whatever. I just wanted to have some fun." She sighed, "Anyway, after the new clothes and before San Fran, I'm gonna check out the jewelry stores and the museums. Heard they got some quality shit in there I'd kill to get my hands on."

Nothing.

Cissy sighed, the rest of the ride was nothing but the screaming rock music. They pulled over at a dealership, sure enough, before Cissy reached over and popped the glove box open, "Oh, good, she kept all her shit in here. Perfect." She pulled it all out, "Less work for me." She stepped out of the car, "You don't have to come in if you don't want to."

Catalina got out, slamming the passenger door so hard the entire car rocked for a beat or two, she then marched over to Cissy and back-handed her, "That was so stupid!"

Cissy put a hand on her cheek, "I think I came…"

"Look, I don't know what the hell you're on, but I'll _walk_ to where I'm going. I don't need to be a part of your stupid bullshit plan, that's going to fail right out of the gate. I don't want to be around you for any longer than I have to be because you _stink_ to high heaven. And I don't want to watch an idiot try to pull a heist when I know I could've done better. What are you, fifteen? You have to be, I didn't think this much stupidity could be put into one person."

Cissy chuckled, "Actually, I'm not fifteen…I'm immortal."

She raised a brow, "Beg your pardon?"

"You didn't see the fangs?" Cissy put a hand on her hip, "You better be careful fucking with me, princess, unless you want to be Dracula-chow."

"Dracula…huh?"

"You know, vampires?" She asked with a smile, "What, you didn't think they were real? Do I need to prove it to you?"

"Pfft…" She started laughing uncontrollably, "You're going to make me Dracula-chow, huh? How…how would you go about doing that…I'm…I'm…" She kept laughing, falling on her bum, "I'm so curious!" She laughed.

Cissy looked embarrassed at this point, then she snarled and stepped forward, "Like this." She grabbed her by the arm and pulled her up to sink her teeth into her neck.

Catalina's eyes widened, "Hey! Get off!" She wrestled for control with her.

"You asked for it!" Cissy spat, trying to bite anything on her, before she got her gun out.

She narrowed her eyes, opening her mouth and spewing a purple liquid on Cissy. The second it made contact, it started fizzing and melting on her, primarily her clothes, but some of it got on her skin.

Cissy gasped and stumbled back, letting out a scream, "What the fuck is this!?"

"Come on." Catalina crossed her arms, "I thought you were gonna bite my little neck, huh?"

"What the fuck are you!?"

"I want you to tell me what you are first."

She held the burning marks on her skin, "I'm a vampire, I thought I made that pretty fucking clear!"

"You're a real vampire?" She asked, "Open your mouth."

Cissy obliged, "See?" She put her index fingers behind her fangs, sure enough, they even extended and retracted.

"Damn…you really are one…"

"Yeah, that's what I said!" She crossed her arms, wincing at the burn marks, "What are you?"

"I'm Kindred too."

"…Kindred…?" She asked, "That some…fancy word for vampire? You're not a vampire. Vampires don't spit poison."

"Kindred, Cainite…it all means the same thing." She said, raising a brow, "How long ago were you Embraced?"

"Embraced…? Turned? Three weeks? A month?"

"Hmm. What clan are you?"

"…clan…?"

"What are your powers?"

"Well…one of them protects me. If I get shot at, it doesn't hurt that much." She crossed her arms in an insecure fashion, "I can…summon birds. Ravens. And I can cast illusions."

"Illusions?" She asked, "That…that doesn't add up…I mean…the other two sound like Fortitude and Animalism…but…" She thought about it, "Aw…you're Caitiff?"

"What…what does that mean?" She asked quietly.

"It means you were abandoned by your sire, the person who turned you, and were left not knowing anything about vampire politics…or your clan…or…anything really. You're kinda the mutt of vampire right now…"

"…yeah, then I guess I'm Caitiff." She said, pouting a bit, "Jackass turned me when I was high off my ass. I don't even remember who it was…man…woman…" She shook her head, "Monster…not monster…I don't even know where I was, what I was doing, who was there…that weekend was a blur to me…"

"Look…spitting acid on you…wasn't really nice. It was uncalled for, I could have just…shoved you back or something. Cissy…if…if I buy myself an apartment, and let you crash in it, shower off…will you stop this crazy plan?"

Her eyes widened, "You'd…do that for me? Why?"

"Because if you go through with this idea, you might get yourself hurt or killed. And if not this plan, then one in the future…I'm honestly surprised you've made it a month as a vampire. I can help you."

Cissy stepped forward and hugged her, "Thanks Catalina…" She said as she squeezed her a bit tighter, "Sorry I was a bitch."

"Well…I mean…I was one too…" She said, "I'm returning this car to that lady…"

"Shotgun."

* * *

"VV." Velvet's VIP room door flung open. The dancer was pale, sweat glazed all over her body, her pupils small with fear, "There's…someone here to see you."

VV slowly stood up, setting her novel and drink aside, "Someone to see _me?_ " She asked, "A friend?"

The stripper swallowed hard, "I…I don't think so…"

"What's so important that they can't come up and knock for?" VV asked as she came downstairs and looked around the front door. "Who?"

"He's…he's in there." The dancer pointed into the main room.

VV's heels clicked along the floors as all the men inside looked at her, rubbernecking to the extreme.

She looked around a bit, then approached a couch in the corner that seemed to have a single guest sitting alone. She felt her body freeze up like a statue as she saw who was there.

His snide voice chuckled, "Susan, that must be you. I hear you run a little business now. Not a bad one either, if I were to judge. Music's a little tacky."

"Archie…" She stepped back, her dancers all stopped what they were doing and watched, they never saw VV look so conflicted, "…what…what are you doing here…?" She asked lowly.

"Dance for me." He reached in his suit and threw a few hundred at her face.

She closed her eyes as the bills hit her and tumbled to the ground. There was a heavy pause in the air, "What kind?"

His grin grew, "I know you're no one-trick pony. I want to see it all." He uncrossed his legs, "This should be the perfect place to start."

Her silver eyes narrowed, but her hesitation was short lived. She started giving him the lap dance he asked for, in no way did she hold back or show reluctance. He leaned back and put his hands behind his head as the men in the room watched in jealousy.

Surprisingly, those deep gray eyes of his met hers the entire time, unless she was facing away, "How's Hollywood been treating you?"

She put a hand on either side of his head, gripping the back of the couch as her legs rested on either side of his. Her hips rolled over his perfectly, without touching at all, "It's been marvelous."

"Is that so?" He raised a brow, chuckling a bit. Her eyes grazed over him, almost furious with how little had changed. He looked the same, still very muscular, still tall, still appeared to be in his fifties or sixties, still tan, still in the same deep red suit with shining golden rings. "That's not what it looks like." He reached out and held her face.

She squirmed away from him and faced the other direction, bending over to touch her toes and slowly stand back up, sliding her fingertips up her body along the way, "You're not allowed to touch the dancers, here." She said, "And yes, that includes me."

"That so?" He asked as he hooked his index finger around a part of her lingerie and pulled her closer so she was sitting in his lap. He tucked at least a thousand dollars between her breasts and breathed heavily in her ear, "They have no idea what you are, do they?"

She grit her teeth and stood up, stepping away from him and pulling the money from her top, wafting a hand at the other dancers, "Go. All of you. You don't need to be watching, please."

The dancers skittered off, still watching from a distance.

Archie snickered as he combed his fingers through his thick black hair, then stood up, "Why don't you show me what you can do to that pole, there?" He pointed.

She glared at him, then approached the pole in the center of the room, slowly sliding her hand against it. Her mind was still numb, reeling with some sort of sensation as if it all wasn't real.

Archie sat front and center, while all the other guests sat a little distance away, still watching in awe.

She wasn't afraid she would make a mistake. She mounted the pole and started twirling around with perfection as always. She couldn't make a mistake, there was no such thing as a mistake when she was doing what she was born for.

The entire time, Archie threw bills at her, she didn't bother to pick them up or even look at them. It disgusted her, the thought of that money. She knew where it was, where it had been, what it had been used for.

The dance lasted at least half an hour, but to her, the time passed by faster than she had even noticed. When she saw Archie begin to look bored, she got down and let another dancer go up, "Why are you here?" She seethed.

"You…have a VIP room, yes?"

"That is correct."

"Take me there." He stood up.

"Very well…" She mused, standing up and leading him to the VIP room. Once he was there, she shut the door behind herself. She regretted it at first, but knew she could kick him out if she wanted to. He was already technically banned, she didn't even know how he got in.

He sat on the couch and patted his lap.

"No." Her eyes narrowed as she crossed her arms, "You've humiliated me enough. What do you want?"

He snickered, then shook his head, "You look nice. Nicer than when you were my whore. I suppose being Embraced made you…glow."

"Archie…"

"You must be single, to dance for me like that and not feel an ounce of guilt."

"My body is mine, and mine alone." She said, "I can dance and move however I'd like, because it is mine."

"Uh huh." He crossed his legs again, "Fetch me a drink."

"I only have blood upstairs."

"You're certainly not…catering to your guests very well."

She scowled, "I'll get you a drink after we talk. Why are you here?"

"What if I don't want to discuss business?"

"Then you can leave."

"Whoever decided giving you an ounce of authority was a good idea must be an idiot. Either that or a Camarilla cry-baby."

She put her hands on her hips, "Either tell me what you have to say, or leave."

"Fine. But only because I think you'll like this more than you'd care to imagine." He sat up, "I heard my boy was still around."

"Your boy…?" She asked, "Killian…?"

"That's right. He must have been Embraced, too. Small world, don't you think?"

"What does that have to do with any of this?"

"He's got a mind like his father's. He always has. Clever boy, he'd make strides in my business. So, I'm going to…steer him on the right path. Word on the street is he's been rather misguided. Chewed up and spit out by the Anarchs."

VV had been angry with Killian in the past. She thought he was immature, she thought he was perverted and brash. But she also knew him well. She knew how he was when Lark was alive. She knew how he was when his life was stable. She knew what his smile looked like, how it felt for him to give you a hug and laugh about a joke. She pitied his fall, but knew she could do absolutely nothing to help him up onto his feet. This was the point of no return. "He doesn't need you."

"I wouldn't be so sure." He said, "I'll admit, when I was a little younger, a little dumber, I didn't want the kid. God, could he whine and complain. Nothing but a nuisance. But, he's grown into quite a man, I think. One man's trash is another man's treasure." He paused, "That's where you come in."

"Is it?"

"Everyone has a different sense of pride. I have my money. Without it, I'd be lost. You have…" He paused, "Your tits." He let that sink in, "Killian's got a heart. A big one. Too big. He's got the habit of giving a bit shit about something and crying like a baby when it gets taken away. He lost his sister, right? That's what's been on his mind as of late?"

"His sister? You mean your daughter?"

"She was going to die anyway. That's a woman's point in the world, you know. To take men by the heart, squeeze as tight as they can and then tear it away with them. To die with the man's heart in their hands. That's all you're good for. I digress." He held a hand up, "I need you."

"For what?"

"For Killian. I need you to be his little girl. His staple. Plaything. You're all his now, and you won't let a hint of this arrangement slip, or I'll end the entire deal for both of you."

"You're…forcing us together?"

"Yes." He said, "You are his woman. This club business will be over. I'll pay you every night."

Her eyes narrowed, "I thought women just broke men's hearts."

"Oh, don't get me wrong. You do. If you die, at least. I'll hire bodyguards. You'll be completely safe. You'll even have my boy, and you can't tell me he hasn't grown up well."

She felt tears well in her eyes, "This club is my pride, Archie. Not my breasts, not my new family, not my dancing. This club. It means to the world to me. I'm not giving it up."

He rocked his leg back and forth over the other, "So…you're asking, what if you decline my offer?" She didn't respond, she just stifled one of her sobs, "I put you and the boy out of your misery."

She faced away and wiped some of her tears away before he kept talking, "The only way this will work is if you be there for him. You need to be his drug. You need to encourage him, support him, sleep with him, do whatever he wants. The boy is codependent, he gets it from his mother. If you do anything, any little thing out of line, I end it for both of you. Am I understood? It's a fairly simple transaction, I think. I need him to work at his prime, and the only way for that to be done is for his mind to be clear."

"I have to give up the club…?'

"I can't have him getting jealous, now can I?" He asked with a smirk, "You should know how he gets."

She sniffed, "Fine…" She choked out, "Seeing as…my only other option is death…"

He grinned. "Good. I'm so glad you didn't doubt my power, Susan." He grinned, "A very wise choice. Very civil. But, I suppose you know the Sabbat. They can make a mess of things, can't they?"

* * *

Heads turned as Catalina walked into the room. She scowled most of them away, but other than that, it was all a blur to her. She honestly needed Auspex to figure out what was what. Once she found a Kindred on this floor, she smiled and approached her, "Um…this is where the Anarchs are, right?"

"Yeah…" Damsel said slowly, looking over her outfit, "You with the Cam?"

"No, no, no." She held her hands up, "I wanted to join the Anarchs."

She blinked, "Another…?"

"Another?" She repeated.

She shook her head, "Here, come with me." She said, leading her upstairs, "The gang's all up here. Well, this isn't everyone, obviously, but…" She motioned to Nines, "He's here."

Nines was sitting at a table with the other three, playing a card game of some sort. He looked over at Damsel and Catalina, a cigarette in his mouth.

"Right…so…" Catalina started, "Are you, Nines Rodriguez?" She looked at Nines.

"Yeah, that's right." Nines said, "Do I know you?"

"She's another new recruit." Damsel said.

"Oh, really?" He asked before he smiled and stood up to shake her hand, "Nice to meet you then. Welcome aboard. Skelter, deal her in."

"Aw, c'mon, you're just pissed cause you were losing…" Skelter laid his hand down on the table.

"Ignore him." Nines swatted a hand and pulled a chair over for her.

"What…that's it?" Damsel asked, "How come when I joined, we had to sit around a can fire and spill my guts out for three hours?"

"Right." Nines tapped his cigarette on the table to get rid of the ashes, "You pull any little backstabbing stunts, we'll kill you."

"Real friendly." Damsel rolled her eyes, "Don't worry, honey, you'll be fine."

"Right…so…I guess we're playing cards now…" Catalina said, sitting in the chair Nines pulled over for her.

Anastasia looked at her, "So what clan are you?"

"I'm an Assamite." Catalina said.

"Assamite? No kidding." Nines said, she could see his entire hand from where he was sitting, but even then, he hardly looked like he was paying attention to the game. His gaze was mostly averted to old posters on the walls, occasionally the other Anarchs in the room, and well, her, "Haven't seen one of them around in ages."

"I don't know what those are either." Anastasia said, "A lot of clans from overseas are coming here…"

"Yeah, did something big happen over there?" Skelter asked.

"Not that I know of. I was just following my mentor." Catalina said.

"And who's that?"

There was a silence where the others looked at her, before Nines put down a few cards and picked up a few more, "You don't have to answer that, kid. Doesn't matter."

Damsel grabbed a chair and sat next to Anastasia, "Where you from?"

"Maine." Catalina said.

"Maine?"

Nines chuckled, "Cold up there, huh? Must feel like a desert down here."

"So…we're really just gonna have small talk for the rest of the night?" Damsel asked.

"There's no reason for us to pry into anything." Nines said, "None that I see."

"Then why did you make such a big deal out of bringing me here? And Anastasia? And Lark and Killian?"

"I didn't make a big deal out of it." He said, "Just had less time to screw around."

"Oh, really? Like we have any time to screw around as it is? Ugh, I can't handle you for more than five minutes every day." She said as she went back downstairs.

"She's in a good mood." Skelter muttered.

"As always." Nines said before he looked back up at Catalina, something almost jarring about how bright his eyes were, one of the most intense stares she had ever met by far, "How old are you?"

"Uh…well I was Embraced in my twenties…" Catalina said, "And it's been…fifteen years, since then."

Anastasia blinked, "So kinda like me."

"Yeah, we get a lot of kids coming in about that age. When things start making sense, they start wanting to act instead of watch." Nines looked over his hand as it was his turn.

"That was Damsel, the girl from earlier." Skelter said, "I'm Skelter."

"I'm Anastasia." Anastasia said.

"Sirius." Sirius said.

Catalina watched his snake tongue flicker out, looking a little disturbed, "You guys have a Follower of Set in here? I'm…honestly a little surprised…" She said, "All they do is corrupt and steal from all sects…he's probably just going to deceive you…"

"Oh, unlike the noble Assamites, who would merely diablerize you?"

"Hey!" She snapped, "I can't even do that because the Tremere cursed our clan!"

"Yeah, but didn't one of your old geezers break the curse?"

She paused, "I mean…maybe…but…that doesn't mean I would just…diablerize everything in sight…"

"Hmm, it's weird, seeing a _European_ Assamite…those don't…usually happen…"

"Really? Because I was just about to ask you how Egypt was."

"Fuck you!"

"Alright, guys…" Anastasia said, "There are, bad people from every clan, alright? They all have skeletons in their closets…"

"I guess…" Catalina sighed, "The Tremere have the most skeletons of all, probably…I hate them."

"Eh…I don't know…I feel like if I had one stake, and there was a Tremere and Giovanni, I'd probably kill the Giovanni first…they're gross…" Sirius said, "Course, Nagaraja are even worse than them…"

"Those the flesh eaters?" Skelter asked, then he shuddered. "Nasty."

Nines sighed and sat back, "I guess we should ask what your motives are. For joining us. Both of you."

"I don't like the Tremere…and they infested themselves in the Camarilla." Catalina said, "Pretty cut and dry."

"This Nagaraja bitch joined the Camarilla, so I joined the opposite thing." Sirius said casually.

"…seriously?" Skelter asked.

Nines snickered, "And if she dies?"

"Eh…I'll probably stick around. I wouldn't just…leave, if I knew my presence here meant the difference between victory and defeat." Sirius said.

"Was the Nagaraja any good?" Catalina asked, "Did you fight her?"

"Hmm…for some reason, I can barely remember what the hell happened…" He said, "I think she sucked. Big time. She could be dead already. But again, I'll stay."

"Jeez…" Skelter put his hand down, not paying attention to whether or not Anastasia had a clear shot at what they were or not, "Assamite, Setites, Nagaraja…" He looked at Nines, "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Gehenna?" He asked, "Probably." He shrugged, "Who knows. If Jack were here, he'd tell us it's a load of horseshit, but…"

Skelter seemed unnerved, "That's why you've been so on edge?"

"No." He admitted, "It's Killian."

"Killian…? Why you worried about the kid so much?" He asked, "He's fine. And if he ain't, he ain't. You don't get worried about Kent this much."

"I don't care about Kent this much." He said, "Killian's done a lot of good around here, despite how he's been acting recently. If we get him back on his feet, he could be a lot of help. He's actually got a lot of brains in his head, if he decides to use them."

"Which he never does." Skelter said.

Nines sighed, "And he won't if we shut him out."

Skelter sighed and picked up his hand, "'Stasia, you saw my hand, didn't you?"

"That's alright." Nines said as he grabbed another card, "Catalina's been eyeing my hand down the entire time."

"I don't even know what _game_ we're playing." Catalina said.

"It's alright, I don't either." Sirius said.

"Screw it." Skelter picked the cards up, "Let's just call it a night."

"Someone's antsy." Nines smirked.

"Shut up. I'll go call Missus Rodriguez up here, won't hear any lip outta you."

Nines rolled his eyes, then looked at Catalina, "You new around the city? Got a place to stay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, I just got a haven for myself." Catalina said.

"Good. You take care then."

Skelter kept the deck of cards on the table, watching as everyone was on their way out. Sirius was the last person out, he was by the doorway, which he figured was far enough. He looked over at his girlfriend, "You wanna go back to my place? I uh…got a new one."

"Yes, James, of course." Anastasia took his hand.

He gave an embarrassed scowl as he squeezed her hand, "I gotta tell you a story anyway."

"A story?" She asked, following him out of the Last Round.

"Yeah…it should probably wait until we get to my place…" He said as they walked to his car, "Cause when I told you what I did with the Primogen…" He scratched the back of his head, "Then again, this might be different."

"Oh…right…Rush…" She said quietly.

"Yeah…" He crossed his arms as they made it to his truck, "Nines figured out about that. Don't know how…he's been real pissed about it."

"He figured out about the Primogen?"

"Yeah…" He muttered, "Told me to never do it again." He said, then sighed, "After I tied Killian up in my attic."

"Killian's in your attic?"

"Not anymore." He muttered, "I tried to kill him, but somehow, the cops trailed me to my place. By the time I dealt with them, I went to axe Killian, and he was gone. I parked the cop car in my garage, got a ghoul to bring some Astrolite, blew the place to dust. Got a new place." He said, then he opened the worn out center console, taking out the shopping bag he filled with stuff, "You left something at my place, I grabbed it before I blew it up."

"Oh, I did?"

"Yeah." He muttered, taking out the lacy pair of panties and flinging them in her lap, "Figured you wouldn't want them blown to smithereens…last time I checked, that shit's expensive…"

She smiled, "Thanks, James."

"Yeah, no problem…" He muttered, giving a rather anxious sigh.

She looked up at him, "Are you worried about Nines?"

"No. I mean, sure, I'm always worried about Nines, he's an idiot…no, I was…I _am_ , worried about us."

"Us?"

"Well…I mean, I think it's safe to assume that neither of us have had much experience with long term relationships."

"I don't know your relationship history."

"It…it ain't interesting…" He muttered, "It was only one other chick…didn't even know her name."

"Wow…guess we have more common than we thought."

"Well, it wasn't just…a passing fuck or nothin'…" He muttered indignantly, sitting up, "Every year when I went to Bangkok, she was there. And she was waiting for me, for some damn reason I was the only person she actually talked to…" He sighed, "She convinced me that…I needed to get friends, that I needed to stop putting all my faith in Tristan. She was like a motherfucking psychic, next thing I know, I end up shooting him in the head and just about killing myself. So yeah, we fucked too, cause she thought having me die a virgin was embarrassing."

"Did you enjoy yourself?"

"…what?"

She shrugged, "What? It…matters…"

He sighed, "I had about as much fun as a guy could in a public bathroom with a hooker for four minutes."

"Huh…you left out those details before…"

"Well, where else were we supposed to do it? It's not like I had a house down there!"

"I never said you had to have a house."

He sighed, "Well…apparently she died the same year I came back to America…got sick or something, I dunno. Her sister's an Anarch."

"Oh, really? Have I met her?"

"No. I haven't either. Just heard about her. She doesn't live around here, I hope I never see her…"

She looked ahead, "So what does that girl have to do with us?"

"Well, I mean, she was the only other experience I had…and I know you…never really settled down with anyone…I don't know where I'm going." He pulled over into a driveway, "I just…got a weird feeling sometimes, about us. Like you're not happy."

"I'm happy." She poked his shoulder playfully, "You're just being grouchy."

"If you say so." He smiled, before he bowed forward and scooped her up over his shoulder, holding onto her with one arm around her waist, the other arm grabbed onto the shopping bag. He kissed her hip, since it was situated right next to his face.

She bit her lip, "The hell are you carrying me like this?"

"Cuz." He said as brought her inside and looked around, "Huh. This place ain't half bad." He set her down on the counter, "Were you in the mood tonight or not?"

"Since you carried me in here like that."

He snickered, then pulled his shirt off and got between her legs, kissing her lips. She hungrily kissed him back, sighing loudly. His fingers knotted themselves in her hair as he held the back of her head close, the other hand held the small of her back, and pressed her waist and hips flush against his torso. She reached back to unzip her dress, suggestively humping against him occasionally.

He peeled her dress off and scooped her up off the counter, kissing her neck and scanning around. It didn't help that he had never been inside this house before, so he had no clue where things were. He took her up the rickety stairs, hoping to find a bedroom, but even when he did, there was no mattress there. So he settled for a wall, pinning her up against it and pulling her bra off, throwing it aside so he could kiss her breasts.

She groaned to the ceiling, "More…more…please…" He smirked against the skin, quickly pulling his pants down, then he slid her panties off to give her better contact to his abdomen. He kept kissing her chest, reaching up with his hands as well to massage them, and tease her nipples.

She gave a louder groan, Skelter felt a stickiness all over his chest, and it was only getting worse. He let her back slide down the wall a few inches just so he could meet their lips. He held one of her hands and kissed her forehead, before he pushed her higher up against the wall and let her grind against him, squeezing at her rear and hips.

As her sounds grew increasingly louder and louder, he left a kiss on her lips and pulled his boxers down, activating blood buff, "You good?"

"I don't know James, why don't you ask your chest that?"

He looked down at the fluids she left behind, "Guess you're right." He kissed her lips before he lined himself up at her entrance, pounding into her quickly. Despite the fact that she was up against the wall, he gave her no mercy, seeming satisfied only when he heard her hips smacking into the sheetrock.

She screamed as she felt herself getting slammed into the wall over and over again. Penetration in bed was one thing, but against the wall, it was so much rawer, there was so much more force behind it. Without worrying about his fangs, Skelter was able to drive his teeth into her shoulder, reveling in the sound of her screams. They made him want to hear more, they made him want to hear her sing, too, to hear all the passion her voice could offer.

She bit her lip and let out another moan, shuddering quite a bit as she gradually calmed down and more or less fell from her place onto him. As he felt her decompress, he slowly slid out of her and held onto her, pausing since there was no mattress to lay on. "Shit…." He hissed, looking around for somewhere comfortable for her to rest. He ran downstairs and settled for the couch, flopping there with her on top of him.

"That was hot…" She nuzzled her head under his.

He chuckled softly, "I thought so too…" He pet her hair, "Let's get some rest before the sun rises…then we can do it again tomorrow before we go to the Last Round…"

"Sounds good…." She said tiredly.

"Night 'Stasia."

"Goodnight James."

* * *

 **A/N:** Little tidbits of plot falling together…wonder how they will unfold… ;) Thanks for reading!


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** Here's chapter eight! A mish-mosh of all different types of people, but certainly a fluffier chapter. Enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs.

* * *

As embarrassing as it was, he wanted to change. Or, he wanted his life to change, at least. The first thing was learning how to read.

He knew some things. He could speak, so really, it was just the concept of which letters made which sound, punctuation and grammar. Thinks like calculus and chemistry weren't really a big concern to him.

He took it upon himself to learn, but knew he couldn't do it by himself. So, of course, seeing as his best friend was clearly busy with her regnant, he relied on Miranda. Besides, she was significantly more book-smart than Angelique.

She'd help him occasionally, with reading things or correcting things, but other than that, he did a lot of it on his own. For whatever reason, he seemed to learn faster when she was within reach. So, trying to teach himself in his own premises didn't work.

If he had premises, that is.

Miranda was in the living room, on the couch, enjoying some of her high quality blood. Ferrum was in the kitchen just down the hall, she'd occasionally heard him grumbling to himself, which he had the tendency to do when he got frustrated. He'd only come in if he had a question, and insisted that as long as he was studying, she couldn't come in and distract him. She took it as a compliment.

Her cell phone started ringing, rather than the landline. She quickly picked up, "Hello?"

"Hello, dear." She recognized Iphigenia's voice, "I hope everything's been alright with you. It has been quite some time since we last spoke."

"Yes, well…there was a transfer of power, wasn't there?" She smiled.

She chuckled softly, "I suppose I just wanted to catch up…" She said, "And…since there have been a lot of changes…I suppose I should ask if it's…" She took a nervous sigh, "If it's alright if we…separate…" She heard Iphigenia shift in her seat, "I'm not sure what we were…friends with benefits, lovers, girlfriends, I…I never really…" She gave another nervous sigh, "I love you to death, you're an amazing woman, but I don't have the time that you need, is what I'm trying to say. But…I won't necessarily stop you if you'd like to continue this…whatever it is."

Her smile faded, "You want us to stop seeing each other?"

"Only because I know you would do better with someone else. My priorities…need improvement. _I_ need improvement. Strauss has stepped in as the Prince, Victor's been promoted to Primogen, my role in the Chantry is becoming hindered because I'm such a burden…I haven't been making as much progress as the others…" She sighed, "If we get the time, I would absolutely kill to spend a night with you over a glass of that wonderful blood you have, but as it is, I'm not going to be seeing you, even if I wanted to. So, if you wanted to move on, find someone else, occupy yourself with something else, I wouldn't be upset at all."

"This new age has you overwhelmed?"

"It has entirely consumed me…"

She nodded, "Right…I'll…give you some space. If…you ever need help with anything, Iphigenia, please call me in the red tower, alright?"

"Yes, yes, of course. Please take care of yourself. You're the most beautiful woman I know, in every aspect…"

She gave a little chuckle, "Thank you, sweetheart, we'll keep in touch."

As she hung up the phone, she saw Ferrum in the doorway, his textbook was ripped in half, "Uh…didn't mean to…interrupt…"

Her eyes went wide, "What…what happened to that?" She pointed at the book.

"…I got angry…" He scratched the back of his head, "I think I'm calling it quits for today…"

She gave a sigh, "You're lucky it wasn't any of the thaumatugircal texts for the Tremere…or they'd kill us both…"

"Yeah, I don't have a death wish." He said as he put the two halves down on the table and sat down on the couch next to her, jolting her up a bit with the amount of force he used to sit down.

She smiled at him, "Have you given it any thought on which sect you would like to represent?"

"Well…here's the thing." He kicked his feet up on the table and put his hands behind his head, "All the people I know are in the Camarilla. So, pretty much, if I don't join the Camarilla, I'm screwed. But…I mean…take a look at me. I ain't Camarilla material, not even close. I shouldn't even be allowed in here."

She put a hand in front of her mouth, chuckling, "Perhaps you should chat with Cadmus about it. He doesn't necessarily embody the look of the Camarilla either." She said, "Well, I would love for you to be Camarilla, but, it's ultimately your decision."

"Cadmus, huh?" He looked up at the ceiling, "Forgot about him. Yeah, I'll talk to him when I get the chance." He gave a gravelly chuckle, "That guy's pretty cool, he's like, your brother or something, right?"

"No…" She giggled again, "We've just been working together for around a decade…we mesh well together."

"Oh…so like…practically family, but not blood related."

She smiled, giving a small shrug, "That's accurate."

He sighed through his nose and closed his eyes. There was a comfortable silence, before he said, "The Sabbat are gonna be here in like, a few weeks."

She looked at him, half-fearful, "How are you so sure?"

"Andrei had a childe. But, who knows, maybe he doesn't give a shit that his sire died. But…Sabbat are vengeful." He sat up, "I was actually thinkin' of doing some double agent work."

She thought about it, "I…I'm not an expert on Tzimisce…I don't know how attached they are to their clan mates…or childer…perhaps later on in the week I'll have a word with Mister Madison about it."

"That's a good idea." He said, then he looked over at her with those deep green eyes, "Sorry if I spooked ya. Didn't mean to."

"It's alright." She smiled, squeezing one of her wrists, "Just…if you…if you want to pretend to work for them…you need to be very, very, careful…"

He looked down at her hands, then back up at her eyes. Never had she really met a man like him, who never once spared a look to her chest or rear. "What, you worried about me?" He smiled, then snickered, "You gotta put more faith in me, princess. I armed that Astrolite in five seconds, remember? If I've been sticking around the Sabbat for four years, I must be pretty good. Anyway, even if I do decide to do it, I'd have the Camarilla on my back, so if I fuck up, there's an even better shot I won't get demolished."

She looked ahead, "We should wait when…if…the Sabbat _actually_ come here. I wouldn't be surprised if Strauss's princedom has scared them from coming here altogether."

"Yeah, that's a good point." He looked ahead too, then closed his eyes, "Sorry I've been kinda…living at your place. I don't really have money yet."

"You're welcome to stay here as long as you like." She said, "This place is lavish enough for a few Kindred to live in here anyway."

"Thanks. Real sweet of ya, princess."

* * *

There was a loud banging knock at the Virgo household.

It opened after a few bangs, April stood there looking petrified, "Prospero…? Is something wrong?"

"Uh…no…not particularly." Prospero said, "Where's your sister?" He took the liberty of letting himself in.

She backed away, "I…I thought she went to work…she usually gets home around two thirty, threeish…"

"Eh…Christ…alright…I guess I'll just have to wait for her."

She folded her hands in her lap, "I could call her, if you just wanted to talk to her…"

"Nah…this is…this is probably better for something in-person…"

"Of course…" She stepped into the kitchen rather awkwardly and sat down at the counter, brushing her fluffy blonde bangs out of her face "Did you want me to make you something to eat?"

"Nah, it's fine." He said, "You may as well head back to sleep. I could just wait until she comes home."

"Well…" She twiddled her thumbs, "That's what I usually do too."

"Right." He sat across from her, "I guess we'll wait together, then."

She looked down at the counter, then stood up to get a glass of water, "Are you two…seeing each other?"

"Seeing each other?" Prospero asked, "Well…it's complicated…"

Delicate footsteps were heard before Angel pranced in and yawned, his fur ruffled on one side, which suggested that he was napping. He looked up at Prospero and his ears went back. He stepped forward and sniffed his pants, then sniffed the air around him and started growling.

"Angel." April called, her voice just about made it impossible to sound firm and commanding. She put a hand on her hip and pointed to the window, "Go sit by the window. Go."

He growled at her, then gave a rather savage bark in her direction, continuing to stare and growl at Prospero.

April sighed, "I'm sorry…I'll bring him outside…he's usually not _this_ nasty…" She put her hand on Angel's collar, but he whipped his head around and bit her wrist, causing her to yelp and stumble back. He then sauntered over to Prospero and sniffed at his lap before he rested his head on Prospero's thigh, still growling, albeit quietly.

"Jeez…" Prospero said, "This guy really hates me…"

"I've never seen him like that before…" She said softly.

Angel glared at him with those eerie icy blue eyes before he gave a few wide wags of his tail and pranced off into another room.

April swallowed nervously, then looked down at her wrist, bringing it to the sink and rinsing it off, "…I'm sorry about him…"

"You okay?"

"Uh huh…Angel's bit me before, he doesn't…have a lot of patience."

"Sounds like his owner."

"Uh huh…when we found the breeder, the two hit it off instantly…" April smirked a bit, "I joked and told her…if he was human, he'd be her perfect match. Even still, Angel watches over her like…like an angel. That's why I picked that name. He's very protective over her…" She dried off her arm, "Sometimes I wonder if he's…the reincarnation of Daddy…but…" She giggled softly, "That sounds silly."

He thought for a moment, "Where did you say she was right now?"

"Work." She sat at the counter.

"Modeling?"

"I…I think so…" She said as she looked up at Prospero, then looked down at the surface, "I shouldn't say this. I really shouldn't but…it's beginning to worry me…" She twiddled her thumbs again, "I don't even know if it's possible, but I think May's boss is abusing her."

He narrowed his eyes, "Really?"

"I mean…he's not swinging clubs at her or….anything like that…but…he's setting these impossible standards for her just so he can make as much money as possible…and he knows her, he knows how to get into her head and make her do whatever he wants…" She kept her gaze on the table, "She told me she wasn't supposed to go to work, but when he called and threatened to fire her, he…also threatened to take the house and the dog…"

"I see that." He said, "You know, for all that blabbing she does, she sure can keep secrets."

"She keeps a lot of secrets." She said, then she paused, "She hides things from me too. I don't know what, either…but I know there are things she doesn't tell me." She sat up, "But, I look up to her. She's…so much stronger than I am…she can just power through life without a problem…I can't even get a job…" Her voice dropped in volume, "I'd be at risk for panic attacks and nervous breakdowns…"

"Well, hopefully when this is all said and done, she won't have to model anymore."

She gave a curt nod, then looked back up at him, "She told me she knows you're hiding something too…I don't know if it's true or not, but if it is…I just thought you should know she's the type who will…really dig into anything…"

"I guess we're both hiding something, then."

April was about to say something before the door opened and May stormed in, "Ugh, that rotten bastard!" She slammed the door behind herself, she was in some white and black Arabian looking garb, rather skimpy, nonetheless. She then turned and saw Prospero, "Oh. I didn't know you were here."

Prospero looked her up and down for a moment, "Change into something else. Your future boss is coming in for an interview."

"…what?" She put her keys down on the counter, "This is about me going back to work, isn't it? Look, I thought you were dead. Again. Because you show up in the flakiest intervals," She slapped his chest, "And then I hear about how everything in downtown L.A. is blowing up, and there were three hundred casualties, and the world is ending, so forgive me for going back to work so I can pay the bills."

"You do want to quit modeling, right?"

"Yes…"

"'Kay, run along then." He swatted a hand, "Put something decent on." He then looked at April, "You might have to skedaddle…"

"Skedaddle…someone's coming here?" Her cheeks flushed pink with nervousness. "Should I make something? Drinks? Tea?"

"No, no…just…just…go in a different room, somewhere. It'll be fine."

"Uh…okay, okay…" She scampered off into her room.

Angel walked in, looked around, then looked at Prospero and cocked his head to the side.

"You go too. Scat, go on!" Prospero swatted a hand.

He growled before he too, scampered off.

May came back in a white goddess dress, with matching white opera gloves, and a diamond around her neck, "Is this satisfactory?" Her heels clicked along the floor.

He chuckled and shook his head, "You're lucky you look so gorgeous. It might improve your chances."

Her cheeks turned a bit pinker than the blush that was there, "You're flattering me. What is this job even for?"

"Eh…it's complicated. Well, kinda simple, at the same time. Office work…alphabetizing stuff…I'll have you work close to me, so there's no funny business."

"Yes…I'd…I'd like that…" She stepped forward, "Should I grab a bag so we can go to the interview?"

There was a knock on the door, "Nope…he's…here right now…" He walked over to the door and answered it, seeing Strauss on the other end, "Strauss, sir, how are you doing?" He gave a little bow, looking around the outside for a car. He was a little annoyed when he didn't see one at all. He did _not_ just teleport here, did he?

"Greetings, Mister Kingston." Strauss bowed, "Shall we commence with the interview for Miss…?" He looked at May.

"Virgo. May Virgo." Prospero said, "Former model."

Strauss gave Prospero a 'you've got to be kidding me', look, he then faced forward, "Very well. It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Virgo."

"Pleasure to meet you too." She smiled, honestly a bit startled with the man's appearance.

Strauss, Prospero, and May all sat around the kitchen counter. The Tremere Prince gave a small smile, "I am Maximillian Strauss. I oversee all the business in our organization. Why don't you tell me a little bit about this modeling career you've crafted for yourself?"

"My modeling career?" She asked, "Well, what can I say? I found myself in the industry at eighteen or nineteen…" She mused, "It was after the death of my parents. I needed money to pay for my sister and living space. I've been working there ten years about. Really, there isn't much to say." She held a hand in the air, "I don't do drugs or abuse alcohol like the other girls. I have a sister and dog to take care of, I have a life to live, I'm not going to waste it on something so selfish."

"I see. Very admirable, if I may say so. You seem to have a strong sense of work ethic."

She smiled and glared at Prospero as if he had failed her, then sat up tall, "Thank you, sir."

"What is the level of political knowledge you have?"

"Political knowledge?" She raised a brow, "I don't have the time to watch the news very much…I like to think I stay updated off of hearsay, really. But, other than that, I'd consider myself…decently politically aware…" She seemed a bit confused by the question.

"Hmm, yes…can you handle the sometimes mundane tasks of office work?"

"Easily."

He nodded, "What do you consider your weaknesses are?"

"My weaknesses?" She sat back and crossed her legs, "I suppose I can be a little impatient."

"Mmm, I see." He said, "Lastly, were there any questions you had for me?"

Her mind clouded with thousands, "None."

"I see." He rose from his seat, "Well, nothing that raises a peculiar red flag." He looked at Prospero, "Mister Kingston, I believe you know what to do from here on out. Good evening."

"Loud and clear, sir!" Prospero called, "Evening!" He sighed as the Prince left, "Well, that went better than I expected…"

"You think so?" She asked, "Because I have no idea what's happening. That was the shortest interview of my life."

He stood up, starting to putter around the kitchen, as if he were looking for something, "April tells me that you can keep secrets."

"What do you need, dear?" She stood up, "A glass? Something to drink?"

"This will do nicely." He pulled out a sharp knife, "You see, there's one last thing that has to happen before you get the job…"

She skittered back, "What the hell are you doing? You better not touch my dog with that…"

"What? No." He said, as their eyes met, "Not a word of what I'm about to tell you to anyone else. _Especially_ your sister."

Her expression dropped, "…yes, yes, alright, on with it. What are you doing?"

He held the blade close to his face, so his reflection could be seen on the silver blade, "I'm a vampire. My boss, Strauss? He's a vampire. LaCroix of the LaCroix foundation was also a vampire, and so on, and so on, and so forth."

Her jaw dropped a bit, before she crossed her arms and gave the smuggest smile, "I knew you were hiding something from me."

His eye twitched, "Yes…gold star to May…for…for that. Look, now I need to make you a ghoul. And to do that, you need to drink my blood."

"A ghoul? What is that?"

"It's a cross between a vampire and a human. You don't age, but you can still go out in the sun and eat and all that stuff. See, Strauss doesn't really want humans working for him, unlike LaCroix. So to get you this job, I'll have to ghoul you."

She looked at the knife, "So you're going to stab yourself like some sort of barbarian and I'm going to drink out of you like a filthy animal?"

"Unless you've determined some sort of _other-worldly_ method to get blood out of my body, then yes, May. Glad to see you catching on."

She crossed her arms, "Well, let's get this over then. Don't stain the floors with your blood."

"You'd better get your mouth over here fairly quickly then." He chuckled, giving a small cut to his wrist, and then holding it out towards her.

She stepped forward before giving a hesitant sigh, then she closed her eyes and put his wrist in her mouth, looking up at him with very confused eyes.

"Come on…you gotta suck a little, or else nothing will come out." He said, looking a little embarrassed, "Jesus Christ, don't leave me in this awkward position forever!"

She closed her eyes tightly and actually started drinking it. Once it actually went down, she grabbed his arm with both hands and started drinking it like it was the best beverage on the planet.

He snickered, "Aw, come on, I thought you said it was going to be all gross. You seem a bit eager there, don't ya?"

She eventually pulled herself away and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, "It feels like my heart is on fire…"

"Well, good, this is great. Now you can call up Damian or whatever the hell his name is and tell him that you quit. That you found a new job. All you have to do is drink my blood once a month, and we're golden."

"I'll…I'll get to that." She said before she strutted up to him, "We need to talk."

"Can we do it on the way back to the tower?" He asked, "Or…I could just crash here…but remember…no sunlight." He smiled, "Now you know why, at least."

"The tower? That's where I'll be working?"

He nodded, "It's a new one. It's red. I think you'll like it. Every room I see looks like something you'd design."

"Hmm…if you insist. Let's talk there. In your room."

"I did say I could crash here too…"

"I want to see where you live." She put her hands on her hips, "A man's home tells a lot about himself."

He sighed, "We'll have to use your car than." He said, "Unless you'd rather me kill my wallet on another cab…"

"Yes, I'll drive." She waved a hand, grabbing her keys, "Grab me something to eat from the pantry." She said before she closed the door and went outside.

He rolled his eyes and grabbed a fruit cup with a spoon, heading outside with her, "You know…the _vampire_ is the master, and the ghoul is the servant, right?" He asked, "Whatever, at least you're eating again…"

She got inside the car and took the fruit cup, peeling it open and grabbing the spoon as well, "Thank you, dear." She said as she started eating, "Long drive ahead." She started driving, one hand on the wheel, no seatbelt on, still in gown and heels.

"Jesus…your seatbelt isn't even on…" He said.

"Oh, I forgot." She muttered, sticking the spoon in her mouth and fumbling to get the seatbelt on, cars honking at her.

He growled, "Just let me drive."

"Now?" She asked, "Ugh, fine." She pulled over and got out of the car, running around to the other side of the car.

He got in the driver's seat and sped off, eventually going to downtown Los Angeles and showing her his room. "Here's my room." He flopped on the couch, "There…isn't it nice? I'm going to sleep now."

She looked around, then approached a table and picked up a photograph. She was beyond overextended tonight. Going to see Damian, seeing Prospero, meeting Strauss, going through an interview, learning about vampires, becoming some vampire thing, going through the Red Tower, and now seeing that Prospero had what looked like a beautiful wife with three kids. And a single fruit cup is what provided her energy to go on through this. She held her forehead, "She's gorgeous."

"I know…" He sighed, closing his eyes out of pain, rather than tiredness.

She walked around the table and sat next to him, "They're all gone?"

He stretched as he tried to sit up, so he could at least hold eye contact with her, "Yup. All dead."

"How?" She didn't really look like a murderer anymore. Or psychotic, or conceited, or any of the normal looks she displayed. She seemed concerned, more than anything.

He sighed, "See…you _just_ learned what vampires are. You might not get some of this…"

"I'll try my best."

He looked ahead, "It all started with some sort of…business deal…gone terribly wrong…near my property. This…this Giovanni business wanted my land, in exchange for a handsome sum of money. Supposedly there was a sight of oil…or some other rare substance buried beneath the land. Clair and I didn't want to part with our home. We didn't want to move. So…they kept sending this one representative…his name was Giuseppe. Giuseppe Giovanni…he kept coming over to… _persuade_ us…to give our land over." He closed his eyes, "After the fifth or sixth time we told him to go to hell…he…he used force. And that's where I learned what vampirism was. He came in while I was at work, slaughtered my family, and started drilling at my property anyway. All in the sake of making a quick buck or two…"

Her impish eyes widened, "You survived…did you…did you kill him…?"

He shook his head, "No. He's still out there, somewhere…see…the Giovanni is an entire vampire _clan_ …so…it's like searching for a needle in a haystack." He said, "The cops are useless, because the Giovanni have a vampire power called Dominate, which essentially makes human minds putty in a vampire's hands." He said, "So I imagine all the ten or twelve times I brought up the crimes that bastard did to my family and my house, Giuseppe just Dominated law enforcement away. Giovanni are good at corruption and scandals like that."

"Yes, I…I think I'm following…" She reached forward and took his hand with both of hers, "I'm sorry. I have to say, you're much stronger than I am. If I lost my sister, I think that'd be it for me. A few morphine and that'd be the end of my tale."

"I don't…I don't think they're really gone…either…" He said, "I…I kept saying dead, earlier…but…they're not. See, Giovanni also have powers of Necromancy. And Necromancy has a ton of different paths about it." He said, "I…I did a lot more research into the Discipline than anyone else should have. But…Giuseppe's path…allows him to…hoard souls…to call out in battle whenever he wants. So whenever I fight him…he…he sends the souls of my murdered family to fight me. I don't think they truly passed on, into any sort of afterlife. I think they're still suffering…as long as he's alive…"

She looked down at her shoes, then back up at him, "Then let's kill the son of a bitch. Vampire or not, I'll help."

He brushed the small amount of tears in his eyes away, "It won't be easy." He said, " _Tracking_ him takes years on its own…"

"Well, we've got eternity, don't we? If I'm your…ghoul."

He nodded, swearing under his breath and wiping more tears away, "That's right…"

She put an arm around his shoulders and rested her head against his chest, holding him close, "It'll be alright, dear, we'll give them freedom. They're more than deserving of it."

"I know." He said quietly.

Her nails gripped around the fabric of his shirt, he felt her heart suddenly race a bit as she squeezed him closer, "I love you so much, Prospero…" She whispered.

"I love you too." He hugged her back.

Her shoulders relaxed as she closed her eyes, "You don't mind if I sleep here tonight?"

"No…of course not…I like sleeping next to you…"

"Me too." She smiled, "I understand everything now…" She kissed his shoulder, "And…I won't ask for anything more, unless you wanted to. Ever since I had that blood…the desire to sleep with you became…the desire to hold you and support you…"

"Same for you. You need anything, and I'll help you out. No questions asked."

* * *

Entering the house to the smell of cooking wasn't exactly how Sirius panned out his night, but it was nice. Until it hit him, _why_ was there the smell of cooking in his house? And it wasn't the cheap smell of microwaved plastic meals either, it was good, _quality_ food. He moseyed into his kitchen and was nearly bombarded by colors and smells.

His kitchen itself, first of all, was a good kitchen. Because…why not? He didn't need it, sure, but if he could have it, he might as well. The dining table served as a nice place to put stuff anyway, the counters too, so it worked.

But now, it hardly looked like his kitchen. The table was set, absolutely packed with food. As his eyes ran back to the table, there was more colors than he had ever saw in one place, let alone more colors in food he had ever seen. The pancakes were vibrantly colored, bright reds, oranges, yellows, greens, blues and purples. Same for every muffin, cupcake, pastry, ice cream, pie, cake, macron, candy, and cookie. It was like someone dumped the rainbow onto a huge display of already wonderful looking baked goods. There was brightly colored fresh fruit here and there, as well as glasses of wine, water, and juice.

She was wiping one of the counters down, then turned to him with a face that looked completely unforgiving. "Oh, hey. Wondered where you ran off to."

"Eh…me? I was just…getting to know the local Kindred, is all." Sirius said.

"Uh huh…" She said as she sat at the table, "Well, I made dinner. Since…you know…you left me alone for hours. Without a way back to the city…or to my friends…coworkers…or boss…you know…"

"I mean…" He sat across from her, "You could've taken one of the cars out…"

"And…drive…where?" Her eyes darted around as she grabbed a plate and started piling some food onto it, "Through the woods?"

"I mean…that's where the city is, yeah…"

"You're…obscene…" She muttered, biting into a muffin, "Well, you better eat something, before I eat everything and gain two hundred pounds."

"…Juliet…"

"Wha?" She asked through a mouthful.

"I…can't eat…remember?"

"You…can't eat…?"

He shook his head, "It's a part of being damned and all."

She looked down at all the food, then looked back up at him, "Then why the fuck did I make a meal for a family of ten…if I'm gonna be the only one eating it…?"

"I mean…I'm sure a psychologist could answer that for you…" He said, "Look, it's fine, Juliet…the refrigerator I got is cold enough to preserve all that…I got freezers too…or…coolers…or…whatever…I don't know, I haven't eaten in fifty years…so…"

"Yeah…I guess I'll…use that…" She said, sighing as she took a glass of wine and drank just about all of it, "So…" She put it down, "How was your day?" She waited a beat, "God, feels like I'm eating dinner with Colby. Only you're not on your phone." She snickered.

"You're not comfortable driving off-road, are you?"

"Not in the slightest…"

"Aw…shit…" He said, "Kinda didn't want to chauffer you around everywhere…I feel like we'd drive each other nuts that way…" He sighed, "I could hire a driver or something…maybe…"

"Hire a driver? I'll be fine…I'll just stay here 'til I get back on my feet…then I'll go back home…get out of your hair."

"Alright, I'll have to wipe your memory too…of Kindred."

"You can do that?"

He nodded, "Some clans can't, but I can."

"So…there are different clans…like different types of vampire?"

He nodded, "Yeah, it kinda works like animals. I'm a Follower of Set. Based on the Egyptian god Set. My powers relate to snakes."

"That explains the tongue. It's cute."

He opened his mouth, but was speechless for a moment, "Uh…well…I mean, I can switch between a human tongue…and a snake's…so…I'm not that fucked with humanity."

"Huh. Neat." She grabbed a stack of pancakes and started eating them, "So are you from Egypt then? You sound American."

He shook his head, "Nah…I just visit Egypt…like…a lot…two, three, four times a year. It's where the rest of my clan lives. It's so they can yell at me a bit."

"Yell at you? For what?" She asked, pointing a finger and swirling it at him, "All that?"

"All what?"

"That…'tude…"

"My 'tude, huh?" He asked, "No…" He chuckled, "Believe it or not, it's not about my 'tude at all…"

"Then what's it about?"

"Eh…it's kinda…personal…"

"Personal huh? As personal as…I dunno…hearing about how my husband can never get me to come? And my kids are all dead? And so's my husband? And I'm…" She chuckled, "Probably spiraling into insanity at an alarming rate?"

"Alright…alright…I'll tell ya…I mean, you'll forget it all anyway…" He shrugged, "Look…I'm…I'm kinda the…bastard child of the Setites…"

"So they…didn't mean to turn you? How do you accidentally turn someone?"

"Ah, ah." He held a finger up, "My sire is…well…she's the daughter of the Camarilla's most wanted…"

"Camarilla…?"

"It's one of the vampire governments." He said, "See…they have this thing, called the Red List. It's like the world's most wanted or whatever…" He said, "And there's this woman. Kemintiri. She's a Follower of Set, and she's also at the _top_ of the list." He added, "Well, she had a childe, Natalia. And Natalia Embraced me."

"Why?"

He shrugged, "Well…see…we were…close…even after she Embraced me. We loved each other…least, that's what I thought. She was irresponsible, violent, unpredictable. I mean, _I'm_ all those things too…but…I eventually couldn't keep up with her. And when I told her as much, she told me that she would appreciate my request of her to calm down, and we went to sleep. When I woke up, she was gone. Haven't seen her since."

She took a bite of her pancakes, "I'm sorry, sweetie." She swallowed her mouthful, "You just deserve someone better than her. Someone who fits you."

"Yeah…well…hopefully…I can kill the bitch, maybe Kemintiri too, but…one miracle at a time, I guess…"

She gave a nervous sigh, then reached over for another drink of wine, "Thanks for getting all this food for me to play with."

"Aw, it's no problem. I can get you more whenever you want."

"Yeah…that'd be nice." She smiled, "I…I'm a chef…I don't know if you knew that."

"I could tell. This shit looks delicious." He said, "It's like art, with bread."

She laughed, "Yeah, thanks." She stood up and started packing things away as she got full, "You're…you're really a lot sweeter than I thought you'd be."

"Who? Me?" He asked, stifling a snicker, "Thought I'd be an asshole or something?"

"Yeah…I mean…you are a vampire…I thought you'd drink me by now or something…I mean…" She sighed, "Honestly, I wouldn't care if you did. If you can do it without…Embracing me. I donate blood all the time…if I can't make you dinner, maybe I should just…feed you with my blood." She smirked.

"What? Whoa…whoa…hey, it's fine." He held a hand up, "You'd feel all woozy, all tired, it wouldn't be worth it…I'm fine…"

"Pfft. They call me the keg at the blood drives." She snickered, "Guess being big-boned has its perks. They can take twice the amount of blood from me and I'm just fine. So long as they give me that damn cookie." She put the rest of the leftovers away, then grabbed a glass of wine and downed it.

He bit his lip, "Yeah…that…that must be nice…"

She started walking into another room, "I started exploring the place. Huge. Where'd you get the money for all this?" She asked, then laughed, "Embezzlement?"

"Eh, something like that." He called.

"Christ. Cops haven't caught you yet? Guess they don't…guess they don't even have records on you either. Cause you're dead."

"Pfft, cops are a joke to me." He chuckled as he followed her down the hall, "Don't you remember? I can wipe people's memory."

"Yeah…yeah…right." She swatted a hand, then leaned against the table, "Shit…I drank too much, didn't I?" She laughed, "I used to do this when we were kids…you know…" She said, "Before Colby and I were dating…told him I wanted fuck him, he thought I was insane…" She snickered, "God, I hated that son of a bitch! I'm glad he's dead!" She cried out, then she covered her mouth and laughed, "Sorry. Sometimes it's just…" She shook her head, "Really nice to scream in a quiet place…"

"Yeah…" Sirius tried not to laugh, "I guess that is nice…"

She threw her head back, "You guys have it so much easier…you don't come, and it's like, 'oop! Didn't have sex'!" She looked forward again, "Then the girl is like, 'oh, I guess this tiny thing is inside me…oh, I guess that was sex. Okay'!" She pounded a fist on the table, "I wish for one week, one goddamn week of my life, I was that rebellious horny teenager who just got slammed by all the football players, you know? Ugh, but they'd never want to do a cow like me." She threw a hand in the air, "Even my dreams don't make any fucking sense. Fuck genetics, am I right? I could eat fucking…grass all day, and still weigh two tons, cuz my mom was a hippopotamus."

"Uh…yeah…things…suck like that sometime…"

"Can vampires fuck?"

He nodded.

She squinted her eyes in dazed confusion, " _Why…?_ It's…not like you can make vampire babies…" Her eyes then widened in fear, "Can you?"

"No."

She laughed, then held her forehead, "That's good…Ugh…I need more wine…where…where did I put it?" She walked forward, surprisingly, with all her balance, and opened the refrigerator, grabbing the bottle of wine and trying to pull the cork off, "Ah, son of a bitch! You mind opening this? You got like…sexy vampire muscles or something, right…?"

"Look, I think you've had enough."

Her temperament snapped like thin ice, "Don't fucking tell me when I've had enough!" She spat, then she put the cork between her teeth and pulled it out, spitting it at the garbage can. She drank straight from the bottle before she said, "If I can still fucking see my kids corpses every time I blink, I haven't had enough pal, lay off." She leaned against the counter and pointed at him, one of her eyes looking a bit droopy, "I don't…I don't give a damn about your fucked up girlfriend…cuz'….cuz' that's…that's your own fault, you know? Fuck!" She screamed before she drank more.

"Don't you think it's kinda stupid to take our all your problems on me, of all people?"

"Uh, duh! That's why I stopped talking!" She said, "Why the hell…is a vampire…the only thing in my life that's ever made me genuinely…not pissed at everything…" She hiccupped, before drinking more to make them go away, "Like, you guys are supposed to be monsters, you're supposed to be evil and cause mass…chaos!" She waved a hand in the air, "So then why are you the only reason I haven't fucking killed myself yet?"

"Look, if you want to kill yourself, I don't give a fuck." He said, "I just think, maybe you should make that decision when you're _sober_."

She sighed, "Yeah…yeah…fine…fine…whatever." She put the bottle down on the counter and put her hands in the air like she was arrested, "Look, I'm….I'm sorry…"

He turned away, "I'm going to bed, the sun will be up soon." He said "Let me know when you want me to wipe your memory."

"Wipe my memory…" She muttered, "Then let's fuck…so then…I don't remember…and I won't feel guilty…"

"No."

She blinked a few times as she looked around wearily, "Yeah…" She rubbed the bridge of her nose, "Night then…"

* * *

 **A/N:** Juliet's mind is a war-zone alright, but she'll bounce back, right? Hope you liked it!


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** Here's chapter nine! A fluffy chapter, sure, but arguably, there's a good amount of foreshadowing and touches of plot…hope you like it!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs.

* * *

" _Dear sister. I'm making myself absolutely mad."_

 _"What is it?"_ Therese brought a glass of blood to lips and closed her eyes as she listened to her sister.

" _There's…a girl. I thought she loved me. But…she doesn't…she loves someone else. So…so I've been looking for someone to…to get rid of him."_

" _Why does that sound like something I would do?"_ Therese wondered, smirking, _"I thought you wanted nothing to do with me."_

" _Maybe you're rubbing off on me. I just thought…I could talk to you…because you love me. You'll help me get rid of him?"_

 _"Is it Halcyon?"_

 _"No…"_ She sighed, _"Halcyon is always there for me."_

 _"Then…"_ Therese stirred her blood around, _"I…I don't see the problem, Jeanette."_

 _"I love Anastasia, not Halcyon."_

Her eye twitched, _"Then why did you fight so hard when I wanted to get rid of Halcyon…?"_

 _"Because I wanted a ghoul too. What, you think I don't deserve the same things you do? Because I'm lesser than you?"_

 _"I never said that."_ Therese insisted, adjusting her glasses, _"Halcyon was a bad influence on you…and now look, you've moved on from her. Have you severed the blood bond as well?"_

 _"I haven't moved on from her. She still visits once a month for a little attention."_

She let a dry sigh escape her lips, _"I didn't need to know that."_

 _"Well, you asked. No, I didn't break the blood bond. Because she loves me. And I love her too, like a pet. She_ is _my little pet. Like how Vandal is your little pet."_

 _"Vandal is_ not _my pet."_

 _"I think he likes you, Therese."_

" _He has a blood bond with me. He's going to be infatuated with me, even if I boiled him alive."_

" _Why do you say that like you were considering it?"_

Therese just finished her glass of blood.

" _I don't think Victor would appreciate doing your dirty work."_

 _"For the right price, I'm sure he would."_ Therese mused, _"Vandal's been costing me more money than he's been bringing in. Someone has been Dominating him, I've lost thousands of dollars in blue blood. And he doesn't have any memory of who it is, either."_

 _"Cameras."_ Jeanette sang.

" _Cameras…"_ Therese thought, _"I suppose I'll see if there are any down there. But…my biggest fear is that it will be an ally. I don't necessarily enjoy breaking alliances left and right."_

 _"Yes you do. You live for it."_

Therese rolled her eyes and paced over to the bar, a few people in the club eyeing her over. She really hated to be seen on the bottom floor, but it was where the bartender was, "I'd like another."

"Sure." The bartender unwittingly poured her another glass of blood. Therese took it with her to the second floor.

" _Therese…what should I do about Anastasia?"_

" _Oh. I'd nearly forgotten."_ Therese entered the elevator and took a sip of her drink before it started rattling, _"If she's already in love with someone else, then why intervene? Ugh, this entire ordeal is childish, Jeanette. I have no right to even care about it. Don't follow_ my _advice."_

" _But, who else's advice am I supposed to listen to?"_ She asked pitiably, _"You're always there for me, aren't you?"_

 _"Yes…well…"_ Therese crossed one arm across her chest, holding onto the bicep of the arm that was still holding the glass of blood, _"This matter…isn't something extreme. You aren't going to die over this."_

 _"Therese, I thought you out of all people would understand…"_

"Me?" The coast was clear. There wasn't anyone else to listen to them in the privacy of Jeanette's room.

"You know how you felt when Daddy took all the attention away from you and started loving me instead?"

Therese scowled, "Oh, not this again…"

"You loved him, didn't you…? And he broke your heart…"

"Do not compare our father to your…" She sneered, "Pointless plaything. You'll find another one anywhere." She entered the room and pulled her hair out of a bun.

"That isn't true. Anastasia's one of a kind. And someone…I don't know who, but someone's taken her away from me. She told me she loved me. Just like Daddy did to you. She promised that she would always be there for me, she tucked me in, she kissed my forehead, she took such good care of me…she made me feel so good…and then, she disappears. For a man, no less! A man can't do what I can!"

"Jeanette…you're beginning to get on my nerves…"

"Please…Therese…help me kill him…"

"No. Anastasia…whoever she is…" She closed her eyes and took a sip of the blood, "Sounds very happy."

"She isn't. She can't be. She's with some strange man!"

"I don't want to talk about this anymore, Jeanette."

"Why?" Jeanette bit out, "Because you're angry? Your bitchy, and crabby, cause you have spiders and webs in there?"

"Oh please. That is the least of my concerns. I'm upset because of you, _dear sister_."

"You're so mean to me…" Jeanette whimpered, "At least I acknowledge my feelings. My emotions. My heart. I'm not…just…some stuck-up bitch!"

"You don't acknowledge your emotions." Therese growled, "You hardly have any at all! You sleep with anything that smiles at you! That isn't feeling! That isn't caring! Don't pretend you have something I don't, because you never had it to begin with!"

"We all deserve someone, Therese…Mister Therese is out there, you know."

"I don't need a Mister Therese. How many times have I made that clear, that I do not need other people to make me happy?"

"If you didn't, then why are you in the Camarilla? Why aren't you alone? Independent? Hiding in a cave somewhere?"

"Must you be so melodramatic?"

"Why wear such revealing outfits then…?"

"Revealing outfits?" Therese looked down at herself, "I dress much more modestly than you do, you whore!"

"Take it back!" Jeanette cried.

Therese pinched the bridge of her nose, taking her glasses off, "I'm sorry." She said softly.

There was a short pause, "It's okay. I…I told you…" Jeanette giggled a bit, "This has been driving me _mad."_

"Yes, I see that." She started unbuttoning her blazar, "Then why don't you do something about it? I can't help you…I don't know what to do."

Jeanette tied her hair up into pigtails, grabbing a white shirt from the floor and tying it on, "You should have said so earlier, dear sister."

The phone started ringing. Jeanette paused and turned around, "Therese, is that for you?"

"I don't know, I'm not a psychic, Jeanette."

"Then you pick up. I don't want to piss of your doomy-gloomy Camarilla with my perfect voice."

Therese rolled her eyes, grabbed her blazar and threw it back on, adjusting the collar. She hated collared shirts, they bothered the skin around her neck, made her itch, but she didn't have much time to take it off. She picked up the phone and pulled her hair out of the pigtails, "Therese Voerman."

"Greetings, Miss Voerman." Strauss's voice came over the phone, "Is this an…inadequate time, for you?"

"Of course not, sir. Was there something you needed?" As her heart fluttered with fear, she heard Jeanette, _"Told ya so."_ Therese completely ignored her.

"Well, in my professional opinion, LaCroix left the post of Malkavian Primogen empty for far too long. And, as I am in the process of restocking a Prince's cabinet, so to speak, I was just wondering why the loyal, professional Malkavian Ancilla in Santa Monica is left without a reward for all of her efforts."

Therese's eyes widened. Her eyes drifted to the paperwork on the vanity as she gingerly picked them up. They were likely something similar to forms Strauss had to fill out, to be admitted Prince. Though, hers were to be submitted to serve as Prince of Santa Monica. But, she completely scuttled the idea, throwing the papers across the room with reckless abandon. "Sir…I…I would be simply honored to serve as Primogen…" She did everything in her power to keep her voice within reason.

"And I am glad to hear that, Miss Voerman. Come by the red tower, when you have a generous amount of time, I will see if I can get you…acquainted with the other Primogen."

A smile forced its way onto her face, "Yes, yes, of course, I'll be right over. I can't thank you enough." She hung up the phone and took a deep sigh to gather her wits.

"But sister, I wanted to play…" Jeanette whined.

"You can play when I come home." Therese insisted, "This…this is easily the most important moment of my life."

"You say that about everything."

"I do not." She insisted, quickly getting changed appropriately, slipping her heels on, adjusting the straps and then fixing her hair. She hated mirrors sure, but she took one look in Jeanette's vanity for just a moment, "I look presentable?"

"You look hot."

"Yes, thank you…" She sighed, stepping out of the room and towards the elevator, "I knew I could count on you, Jeanette."

* * *

North Park was a lot busier at night than L.A. Tons more kine, maybe Kindred too. He couldn't tell, there were so many sounds, picking out heartbeats was just about impossible. He was thirsty, but it'd have to wait. It seemed in this city, walking alone was impossible. Everyone was accompanied by large groups. In fact, he was the odd man out, walking down the streets by himself.

He saw a club, and went inside. Not because he wanted to dance, or even see pretty girls, but just because he couldn't stand sticking out so much. It made him feel nervous. Everyone else hanging out in big groups, and there he was, by himself. He didn't even take note of the name of the place, he just went in.

It wasn't any better than the streets. Dozens of kids dancing, ordering drinks, all one huge group, it seemed. Except for him.

A figure sat down in the booth across from his, "There you are."

He looked up, then rubbed his eyes, "…Dad…?"

"Son." Archie grinned, "You've grown up." He snickered, "And then some."

"…you're…you're…you're…"

"A ghoul. Not quite on the same page, but close enough, I think. What are you doing all the way in San Diego? I heard this is where you like to run away. Thought I might find you here."

Killian looked reviled, "I don't want anything to do with you…"

"You're sending away the last person on the planet who's willing to talk to you? C'mon, son, no need to be so hasty. I've heard about all the…troubles you've been having. I want to help you."

"What?" Killian asked, "Help me? You want to help me? Now?" He laughed, "It's too fucking late for that, old man, you missed your chance! Christ, and they call _me_ an idiot…I wouldn't be in this mess if you just sucked it up and raised me right! I'd be in college somewhere, getting a degree, majoring in something meaningful. I'd make something of myself, rather than getting addicted to your crack and pimp shit. _You_ turned me into this!"

"Now, now." Archie sat back and crossed his legs, "Let's go back a little while. You met the Anarchs after you were Embraced. When was that?"

"My thirty sixth birthday." He said gruffly, miffed that Archie had more or less ignored everything he had said.

"Thirty-six years?" Archie asked, looking him over, "You don't look that old…hmph. I thought you'd be dead at twenty."

"Screw you, bastard!" Killian roared.

"Don't make a scene, boy." Archie held a hand up, "Sit. Relax. So you met the Anarchs after you were Embraced. Saved by Nines Rodriguez, yes? His name is quite a big one…I talked to fellows in the Big Apple that knew that name. Nines Rodrigues of the L.A. Movement. Like some sort of," He scoffed and waved his hand in the air with a snide grin, "Religious leader, bringing his people around with him to do absolutely nothing. Tell me, boy, what good has he done you?"

Killian looked down at the table, "…none…"

"None. That's right. You're very bright." Archie snapped his fingers at a waitress who walked by, "Martini." She gave a feeble nod and scurried off, "And tell me about the other Anarchs you work with."

"Well…there's…there's Isaac…"

"Isaac Abrams. A more local name, yes, I've heard of him. He's Susan's adoptive sire, isn't he?"

Killian jolted a bit, "Yeah…"

"Interesting. You work with him?"

"All the time."

"Small world. Tell me about him."

"…he's…he's respectable." He said, then he glared at Archie, "A real father figure to me. Stood in for the real thing when I was misguided."

"Is that so? No surprise that Susan fell into his arms then." He chuckled to himself, "So Abrams tolerates you, now, does he? How can you be so sure?"

Killian sat back, "What do you mean."

The waitress slipped Archie a martini, which he took a sip of, "Tell me, son. When did you meet Abrams?"

Killian's eyes flickered down to the table, "Nines dragged my ass to his doorstep…told him to help me out cause he was busy." He looked back up at Archie, "He gives me jobs to do. Busywork, I guess, it keeps me in the game. I'd be fucked if he didn't keep me on a leash."

"Is that so?" Archie asked, "I don't think I've ever heard of a relationship like that."

"Really? Mister ghoul can't understand the mutual relationship between leader and follower?"

Archie snickered, "You really are my flesh and blood, aren't you? It's quite a relief to see all you got from your mother was her fair skin and pretty eyelashes."

"Pfft." Killian looked away, "I'm nothing like you."

"You're _exactly_ like me." He leaned in, "You know how to use power and bend it at your will…you also know how to deal with others to get what you want. You don't work with Abrams because he keeps you in line. You don't care about that, don't play with me." Archie took another sip of his drink, "You work with Abrams because he pays well. And he keeps you in with the Jyhad. Just like I work with Foxx to keep my humanity intact and my pockets full."

Killian clenched his fists, "What the hell's your point?"

Archie smiled, before he finished his drink and uncrossed his legs, "Tell me about the other Anarchs."

"Why."

"I'm curious."

He sighed, "There's Jack…"

"Smiling Jack, hmm? I assume you didn't hear the news."

"…what news?" Killian looked up.

"Jack's gone out to sea."

"What? You're shitting me."

"Afraid not."

"Dammit…he…he was actually cool…" He sank back in his seat.

"That's how the cookie crumbles." He mused.

Killian sighed and rubbed his forehead, "There's…there's Damsel…Den Mother for the Last Round. Kinda…kinda a bitch. But…I dunno. She could be nice at points."

"Damsel. Her name was written on the Observatory wall, wasn't it? Interesting. Go on."

"Well…there's 'Stasia…" He sighed, "I loved her. I really did." He said quietly, "Guess I was just a fling to her."

"Loved her, hmm? Love isn't real, son."

"What? Of course it is." Killian said, "I felt it. I felt it without even knowing it. I mean…sure, she was hot. I wanted to do her all over the town, I wanted the world to know about us. I had her in the palm of my hands, it was the best time of my life, I wasn't even thankful. I didn't realize how good I had it until I lost it all…" He bashed a fist on the table, "And then I dumped her. Because I wanted her to do better. The hell kind of plan was that?"

"What was her name?"

"Anastasia." He said, "She…she loved me back. Swear to the moon and back, she felt something too." He rested his elbow on the table, holding his head up, his fingers threaded through his blond hair, "After we'd fuck…she'd just lay there on top of me…rubbing patterns in my chest, humming something or just zoning out…" He stared blankly at the table, "She was so happy. So, so goddamn happy. And even when I let her go, she just…worried about me. She told me to be safe out there…" He sniffed, rubbing at his eyes, "And I blew it. I blew it every single time I talked to her after that."

Archie crossed his arms and looked out the windows, "Why?"

"…because of him."

"Who?"

"Skelter."

"Skelter?"

"This…asshole…" He clenched his fists, "Turned getting Anastasia into a pissing contest. And he won."

"So your girl's with another man."

"Yeah."

"Is she happy?"

"I have no damn clue."

"Have you spoken to her?"

"Pfft. Like I said, every time I open my mouth to her, something dumb comes out. It's Skelter. I see him standing there, and I know anything I say, he's just gonna turn it around on me."

"Is that so…?"

He rubbed his eyes with both hands, "Maybe she's better off in his hands. I don't know anything anymore…" He melted into his seat, giving his father a look of helplessness. It was instinct, falling back on him. Ever since he was little, he always had, until his father simply stopped returning. Seeing his face again hurt as much as it made him crave the feeling of having someone to rely on, despite the fact that he knew Archie would never be able to support him.

"It's right to assume Anastasia's broken your heart, yes?" Archie's thin lips curved in a smirk as he felt his son turn over any sort of opposition.

"Yeah…"

"And this Skelter fellow's played a key role as well."

"Yeah. Tried to kill me the other night. Kidnapped me…dragged my ass to his house, up in his attic. The cops came before he actually…did anything…"

"So, let me simplify things." Archie held a hand up, "The Anarchs have wronged you."

Killian thought for a moment, "Not Isaac."

"No. You're right. Not Isaac. But Isaac hasn't done you any good, has he?"

"I mean…he pays me. Protects me."

"But let's say you found someone else that would pay you even better, let you in on all the dirty work of the Jyhad, and still offer you some sort of protection. It's fair to say at that point, you wouldn't need Isaac anymore, yes?"

"I…I guess not."

"Wonderful." Archie smiled, "Then I think we've made ourselves a deal."

"A deal…?"

"How would you like to work for your old man?"

"Work for you?"

"Yes, that's right."

Killian sat back and looked out the window, "I don't get it."

"It's not very difficult. I've never liked long, elaborate deals. I've always been a simple man. Someone does me a trade, I offer money. Vice-versa. You help your old man and his team out. In return, you'll get paid, you'll get protection, and we'll help you whack all those burdensome Anarchs."

"You and your team?" Killian's eyes darted over, but his head still faced the window, "What team?"

Archie's eyes narrowed as he smiled, "The Sabbat."

Killian looked back out the window, slowly closing his eyes.

"The choice is all yours, son." Archie sat back, his stone cold eyes looking over his son. "Whether or not you decide to live alone or work with an elite team of people who will actually watch your back, it's not a decision for me to make. Though, need I remind you, the last speck of blood you have lies on the Sabbat's shoulders."

Killian's eyes flashed open. The same cold, gray color his father's were. "I'll do it."

* * *

"There you are." Damsel shut the back door, or at least tried to. The scruffy welcome mat on the inside got stuck, so she grumbled bitterly under her breath as she shoved the mat back into place with her foot, then slammed the door shut. She sighed and turned back to the taller Brujah, "What are you doing out here?"

"It's something we took advantage of." Nines looked down at the pavement as it started to drizzle.

"…what?" She leaned up against the wall, something about it made her feel jittery, but she forced herself to feel comfortable.

"Venture Tower. Think about it. It was real. It was there, no questions asked. LaCroix had a big ego; liked himself so much that when he came here, he made it known to everyone that he was here by putting a giant tower in the middle of downtown, so any living thing knew where he was." He looked back up at the stars, "Now the Prince that's in there…he put a tower there for convenience. Cause they had the space, they had the materials, I guess, but it's not nearly as big. It's not nearly as real either." He looked at Damsel, "If we took one step inside Venture Tower, we'd get threatened by police officers. Kine. LaCroix didn't really settle in much, did he? We step foot in that Tremere tower…" He shook his head, "Kill first, ask questions later. Even if he doesn't have…some sort of barrage of thaumaturgical creatures lined up for us, the place is riddled with traps and magic shit. We'd be fucked."

Her shoulders drooped, "Yeah…I guess…" She crossed her legs, "When you put it like that, we are screwed, aren't we?"

His head hit against the wall, his necklaces jingled a bit from the force.

Damsel looked up at him, her pale blue eyes looking over him. His eyes were closed, he was facing the stars, hands in his pockets. He'd look so peaceful if his brow wasn't scrunched in, if he wasn't practically oozing negativity. She looked away, "You think if she was still here, she'd be helpful?"

One of his eyes opened as he looked down at her, quite literally in his shadow. He waited a beat before he asked, "How do you know about her?"

"I…" She looked away from him, guilt swarming her mind, "I just figured. One of your necklaces…had a swirly little heart thing…the other had an L on it…neither of those…really fit you…I figured it was your sire…"

He looked back up to the stars, "No."

"Your mom? Sister?"

"No, no, it…it was my sire." He said, "Nothing would be different if she was here. Hell, I don't even know if she's dead. I…I just assumed she was, cause she never came looking for me."

"Well…" She crossed her arms, "I was kinda left sireless too. So…you're not completely alone."

He stared snickering.

"What?" She looked up at him, "What?"

"Nothing…the circumstances of your Embrace…"

"Pfft. He had it coming. Just thinking he could come out of nowhere and…Embrace me…thought I was drunk, the son of a bitch!"

"Well, you taught him a good lesson."

"Yeah, goddamn three minute old fledgling dusted him…told you what sort of mettle he was made of…"

Nines chuckled softly, "What do you think of the newbies?"

"Newbies? It's not like they're young…Sirius could be twice your age, for all we know."

"Could be. But they're new to our movement."

"Yeah, I guess."

"…so what do you think of them? Dodging the question, huh?"

"No." She glared at him, "I like them. But…Catalina brought up a good point." She said, "Sirius is a Follower of Set…what if he's some kinda' double agent?"

"Then he's some kinda' double agent. What's he gonna do, tell the Sabbat we're freaking out over the Prince? Or tell the Prince we're freaking out about him?"

"I get that, jackass, but what about when we start making plans? What about when we start to actually do shit, what if he leaves us when we need him the most?"

"You gotta put more trust in people."

"That's ironic, out of you."

"He's going to be a lot more willing to stab us in the back if we express our uneasiness about him. But, if we show him that we really like having him around, that he's a real asset to our cause, I think he'd have a hell of a hard time letting us go."

"What a dreamer."

He rolled his eyes, "So Catalina doesn't bother you?"

She pouted, "Well—"

"I knew it."

"Knew what?" She spat, "Let me finish." She demanded, taking a pause before she said, "She seems really nice. Kinda like Anastasia when she first joined. But I feel like, and this goes for Sirius as well, we need to know more about them."

"Damsel, this is their first exposure to our movement. We're not gonna sit in that stuffy little room and play twenty questions all night until they're crying their eyes out. You have to ease into it, you can't just go in there with a hammer and pickaxe and just start drilling into them. We're not the Camarilla."

"I guess you're right…"

"Everyone's got skeletons in their closets. I regret digging yours out and throwing it onto the fire. I was young when I did that. Well, younger. You were pretty damn green, huh? When'd you join this movement?"

"Yeah…like…thirteen years ago." She said, then she smiled, "When'd you start?"

"I lost track. Fifty? Maybe more. Maybe less."

"Honestly…" She looked at the pavement that was now gray from the rain, "I'd probably be dead if you weren't here." She said, "And I don't mean all the times you saved my ass…I mean…I wouldn't be an Anarch. Not here, at least. I think you're just…one of the best goddamn Anarchs on the planet. I'd be fucked if I was in another city, or another state, with a different group."

He gave a slight smile, "Yeah, I got that impression."

She looked back up at him, "You did, huh? What…what gave you that impression?"

He rubbed his eye as a raindrop landed in it, "What do you think of Skelter and Anastasia?"

"…huh?"

"Skelter and Anastasia…?"

"What about them?"

"I dunno…figured you'd have some sort of opinion on their relationship. You have an opinion about everything."

"Wait, wait, relationship?"

"You gotta be kidding me."

"They're together?"

"The nosiest chick in the damn building doesn't know about those two?"

"Seriously?"

"Guess you don't approve."

She sighed, "What the hell's the deal with that girl?"

"Anastasia?" He raised a brow.

"She keeps going out with dickheads…what the hell? Does it give her some kinda rush? First Killian, now Skelter? Why?"

"Don't go telling her I told you. I thought you knew. Skelter'll pound my ass in."

"Ugh…." She shuddered, "Am I the only one bothered by this?"

"Think so."

"…ugh…poor girl…"

"If she was unhappy, she'd be with someone else."

"Yeah…I guess…" She shuddered as the rain started falling a bit harder, "Why'd you ask?"

"Just curious."

She looked over at him, "Bullshit."

He looked down at her and smirked, "Well, I figured you'd be pissed about losing Anastasia."

"…do you think I'm _gay?_ "

His eyes looked over her outfit before he looked back at the stars, which were becoming swallowed by the clouds.

"Oh, okay, okay, that's how it's gonna be." She spat, "Look, just because I don't wear dresses and stilettoes doesn't mean I'm a lesbian." She looked away, "God. What an ass."

"So you're not."

"No."

"Didn't think so."

"Then why'd you say that?"

"Cause I didn't think so. Doesn't mean I was sure. I was just checking."

"…checking? Checking… _what?_ "

He shook his head, mashing the dead cigarette into the pavement with the heel of his boot.

She pouted, then looked up at him, "Are you trying to flirt with me?"

"No, Damsel, I wrote your name on the wall of the Observatory in bear blood because I thought you would kick me in the nuts when I got home. I was really looking forward to it."

"…bear blood?"

"I needed a lot of blood."

She sighed and crossed her arms, "Fine. I like you. You…got what you wanted."

"I never said that's what I wanted."

She looked up at him, "Sometimes you make no fucking sense, you know that? You can just…be so damn condescending…and you act like…like you grew up when Adam and Eve were fucking…" She huffed, then stood in front of him and grabbed his cheeks, getting up on her tippy-toes to kiss him, "Why do you have to be such a goddamn charmer?"

He held one of her cheeks, the other hand lightly rested on the small of her back, "I think my sire said something along those lines…"

Her eyes narrowed, "Maybe it's those eyelashes."

He leaned in to kiss her again, going for something gentle, like he was testing the waters, but Damsel had none of it. She practically jammed her tongue into his mouth, pressing herself up against him and grabbing a fistful of his undershirt in one hand, his jacket in the other.

She pulled back after a minute, "So…you think I'm pretty?"

"Well…I didn't say that." Her jaw dropped. "You're cute." He admitted, "When I first met you, your nagging kinda pissed me off…hell, it still does. But…you got a soft side. And…it's pretty damn cute to see what you're really like under all that…big-shit act."

She pouted, then kissed him even harder, "Is it impossible for you to compliment someone?"

He kissed her cheek, then smiled, "Red's your color."

"Thank you." She pinched his cheek, "Was that so hard?"

He grabbed her hand and pulled it away from his face, swerving around so she was pushed up against the wall. He let his hands roam from her arms to her waist, smirking as she giggled, "You're ticklish, huh?"

"Shut up." She swatted at his hands, then shuddered, "Can we go inside? I'm completely soaked."

"Oh, really? That was fast."

"No, no, I mean the rain!" She spat, slapping his chest and grabbing his arm, dragging him into the Last Round. "You're gonna be the death of me, Rodriguez."

* * *

 **A/N:** That would be the cutest double date pairing…too bad the plot exists and they have no time for that, but we'll see what we can do ;) Thanks for reading!


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N:** Here's chapter ten! (whooooopie!) Remember what Ferrum said? Yeah…enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs. There are also some suggestive situations that if you're not a fan of, you can skim over.

* * *

"Alright, I want you to come at me again." Slade said, holding one of his katanas firmly.

Tess gave a firm nod, her converse scratching against the pavement as she ran forward to clash her blade with his and overpower him.

Slade skidded back, admittedly, he wasn't used to using just one sword. But if he was using both, it wouldn't really as much of a training exercise. He didn't like how close she was getting with the angle she was using, so he backed away and he tried to gain the offensive.

She stepped back, keeping her body in control. It was a remarkable contrast to how she had fought in before, with erratic and nervous movements. She was completely confident now, like a fencer from ages ago who knew their way around every move. Her backwards strides were slow and strategized, her eyes focused on the meeting point between their blades.

Slade gave a small smile, happy at her progress. He clanged his sword towards hers, in an effort to make her lose her grip similarly to what she was trying to do with him a few moments ago. She changed her movement and went from moving backwards to sideways, trying to land a hit on his side.

He parried her strikes, holding a defensive stance and following her movements closely. She panted a bit as they landed in a standstill. Tess smiled, "I don't think I'm ever going to land a hit on you. You're far too experienced."

"Yeah, but you've gotten a lot better." He smiled back, sheathing his sword, "Jeez…it's weird fighting with just one."

"You can use both, if you'd like." She stepped back.

"Nah, it wouldn't be fair to you." He said, "That'd be like if _one_ of us had Celerity on or something." He said, "You wanna go back? I don't want to kill you."

She gave a little nod, "I am a bit sore…"

"You could've told me earlier…" He said, "I wouldn't have minded going back." He said, looking around for a cab as they left the parking garage they were training in.

She sheathed her sword and walked alongside him, "Did…you want to take a shower with me? Or a bath?"

He chuckled, "Sure." He said, "Jeez, it's a good thing we don't sweat anymore." He said, then he hailed a cab, telling the driver to go to Hollywood.

"It's almost a little strange too, I think. Harder to cool down…not that we need to." She sat next to him.

He looked ahead, "Did Strauss ever update you on your…enrollment status, yet?"

She sighed, speaking quietly in the audience of the taxi driver. "No. Not yet." She looked over at him, "Maybe he never will. For now, I'll just keep waiting, maybe the time will come and he'll change his mind."

"He'd better." He said, "You've improved so much in these last few weeks. With Celerity, you'd be deadly with a sword."

"I hope so…" She sighed, reaching over and taking his hand in hers, "I wouldn't have been able to do it without you."

He smiled, then it faded, "I keep putting off giving Dragomir a call…"

"Let's do it when we get back."

He nodded, when the taxi stopped, they got out and went into the Hollywood apartment. Slade picked up the phone, and dialed the number for the Skyline apartments.

The line picked up after four rings, "Slade, Tess, what do I owe the pleasure?" Dragomir asked.

"Hey Dragomir." Slade said, "I just…wanted to check and see how you were doing…"

"Marvelous. This room is much larger than anything I've ever lived in."

He chuckled, "You guys been staying in a lot?"

"Yes…I sense impending danger. A lot of it. So, until that wave crashes to the shore, we're playing in the wet sand."

"Yeah, well…I should probably update you on…what's happening…I joined the Camarilla…Strauss's Camarilla…trying to get Tess to join too but…they're being…a little cautious about that…"

"You and Tess…"

"…yeah? What about us?"

"What about you?"

"…uh…"

"Well?"

"…lot of new faces in the Camarilla…I suspect in the Anarch movement as well…lot of new people coming over…it's…it's interesting…"

"Slade." Dragomir gave a boyish snicker, "You're avoiding my question."

"Knowing what the damn question is would help."

"You and Tess?"

"Yes…we're…in the same room right now."

"It's your voice and the way you structure your sentences…as well as the fact that you're in the same room, that leads me to believe you two are indeed… _intimate_." He said, then he gave strange grunt.

"Huh…guess there really is no way around a Malkavian, is there?"

He gave a laugh that, in truth, wasn't as loud as they always were, "Be that as it may, I needed to reconfirm that I will not be joining the Camarilla. The mages have true sight."

"…look, you do what you need to, to keep yourself safe. It's just that sooner or later, people will start asking me questions. They know you as my best friend and all…"

"I'm Independent. As with my solace." He paused, nothing in the air but fuzzy landline sounds, "But, if a friend needs help, I will be there. Be it Victor, Cadmus, Miranda, those sort. My identity must be minimalized in the presence of the Prince."

"By Strauss?" He asked, "I don't know, he seems, easier to talk to, than LaCroix…"

"He has true sight. I cannot risk my aura! Drat, now the Nosferatu know. Listen to me, my underground friends, I wish no harm upon any of you. It was a mistake, am I understood?"

"Alright…do you…do you want me to give you to Tess?"

"Tess? Heaven's no. Hell no. All forms of afterlife no."

"Uh…right…so…I guess I'll go then. Tell Genevieve I said hi."

"Yes, yes, I will. Good evening, my closest friend."

"Goodnight." He hung up.

Tess peered over, "I suppose he didn't want to speak to me."

"No." He shook his head, "Sorry."

"That's alright. I understand…" She sat back and combed her fingers through her hair, "I'll talk to him when he's ready." She then suddenly stood up, "I'm going to shower, did you want to come?"

He smiled, "Sure thing."

She smirked and went into the bathroom with him, slipping out of her top and bra before she turned the water on, letting it heat up a bit. "I've…needed this."

"What, a shower?" He asked as he loosened his tie.

"No. You."

"Oh really?" He asked, taking the rest of his clothes off.

"Mmm hmm." She took her shorts and shoes off, kicking them aside and getting into the water, letting it slowly wet her hair. He stepped in next to her, smiling and giving her a hug.

She smiled back and hugged him, watching as the water soaked into his hair too. She brushed her fingers through it so she could see his face, then she kissed his lips. "I tried to tell him to join the Camarilla, but…he and Genevieve are staying Independent…" He said.

"Dragomir?" She asked, rubbing his shoulders, before she grabbed some shampoo and lathered it into his hair, "I'm sure it's just for safety."

"Yeah…but…it'd be nice if we were all together under the same side…" He said, "I guess it could be worse…"

"I'm sure you can still call and visit…"

"I know…" He said, closing his eyes, "Jeez…I think you're doing my hair better than me…"

"You think so?" She smirked, "Close your eyes so I can rinse it out for you."

"Right." He said, giving her another squeeze. She squeezed him back, then grabbed the conditioner and put that in his hair too.

He relaxed in her grip, reaching his hands down and rubbing her sides, massaging them a bit. Her eyes closed as her hands slid down from his hair to his face, then his shoulders. Eventually she just stopped, completely basking in the massage he gave her.

He kissed her lips hard, massaging her lower abdomen next, then he took one of his hands and started rubbing the underside of her breasts. She gave a soft moan, wrapping her arms around his back so she could rest most of her weight on him. He took a step or two back with all of her weight on him, continuing to kiss her, while his hands got more aggressive towards her boobs, squeezing them quite a bit.

Her moans grew a little more wanton before she seized Slade in her arms and started kissing him harder, her hand running down from his abs to his left thigh, before it slowly wrapped itself around his shaft, "Use blood buff…" She hissed in his ear.

He groaned, flooding the blood through his system so he could get an erection. His member felt even nicer in Tess's hand now that it was growing. He bit her shoulder and squeezed her breasts again. She let a scream fill the bathroom, which echoed across the tiles. Her hand slowly slid up and down his shaft, a smirk on her lips as he kept biting at her, "You like that, Slade…?"

He let out a growl, one of passion, rather than anger. He removed his hands from her chest, and instead started fondling her butt, squeezing it hard and giving it a few pats. She bit her lip before she pulled his head up and kissed his, wrapping a leg around him to reduce the distance between them.

"T-Tess…I…I need to fuck you…as soon as possible…"

"Then go ahead…"

He shoved his way into her, pushing and penetrating as he had one hand hold her butt and one hand continuously groped her chest. She let out a gasp and a scream at the speed and force he used, almost reminded of Ash with the amount of anger he seemed to have in his veins.

He kissed her lips forcefully in between shouts of pleasure, angrily ripping through her as the hot water from the shower kept cascading down their bodies. She gripped onto his back and sighed after each scream he let out, letting her nails leave marks down his back.

Her hips kept pushing the rhythm faster until she reached a peak so high, she saw stars. Sometime between there and when she gathered her wits about herself, Slade had finished himself, and his Blood Buff had ended.

She kissed his lips one last time, then rubbed a hand over his chest. If she was going to say something, she had no clue what.

"We…we both knew…that was going to happen…" Slade said eventually.

"Slade…" She let the water run over her head, "You don't love me, do you?" She asked, "Please… _please_ be honest."

"…where is this coming from?"

"It's…it's the way we are." She said, "The way we talk and the way we make love…" She turned the water off, "We don't make love…that's the thing. We make hate. " She stepped out of the shower, "I don't know whether you're conscious of it or not…but…I feel like everything I do…everything I say, you bottle it up and take it out on me when we have sex…I feel like you're forcing this relationship on yourself because you want to give me a chance, but…" She turned around and faced him, "Maybe it's just not possible…"

He frowned, "I'm not forcing anything. I have feelings for you. I've had them for a long time. Why the hell do you think I was the _only one_ who got mad when you spend time with Ash, or Julius…or whoever it was at the time…"

She crossed her arms over her stomach, "I just feel like you're always angry with me."

"I was angry back then…but I'm not now…look…I don't know what to say that's already been said. I think you're blowing this out of proportion."

"Right…" She put two fingertips on her temples, "I'm sorry…I hope you can forgive me…" She hugged him, "I'm doing everything I can to change, but it is gradual…it…takes time…"

"Look, if you want me to help you, as a friend, instead…I can. I just don't want you to think I'm pissed off at you or something…"

"No, no…I'll…get there…" She said, then she added softly, "I'm still not used to having people like me."

He smiled, hugging her back and giving her a few kisses on the lips, "I think we should get ready for bed."

"Me too." She gave a little smile, kissing his lips back, "Thank you."

"No problem, Tess."

* * *

It was the third person she had fed on, leaving them with just enough blood to survive, and yet, she got just a sip of blood out of it, at most.

Raven had taught her over and over how to feed properly. To gently insert the fangs, drink slowly to make sure they don't hemorrhage or have some sort of heart attack, and then gently let them go and find another person to feed from. But even then, Rainy just couldn't get it down.

The guilt that consumed her made her feel so bad, and the fact that she had to sneak up and grab onto them like some sort of monster, it was all too much. She couldn't bear the weight of it.

And then there was the fear of getting caught. The shadows growing in the alley, someone watching her feed. It horrified her so much, that she turned around to see if it was true, and nearly froze when she saw it was.

But, the silhouette seemed somewhat familiar. The dress, the heels, the scarf.

Rainy squinted, eventually giving Phaedra a little bow, "Your highness." She pulled the choker from her pocket, "This is yours."

Phaedra reached forward and put the choker back on, "You treat me like royalty, why?" She asked with a smile.

"I'm s-sorry…" She backed away, "I…I thought you were a queen of something…the…the way you dress…"

Phaedra chuckled softly, "You can call me Phaedra, that is my name. Or…you can keep calling me Queen. I don't mind. What was your name, dear?"

"R-R-Rainy…"

"Rainy? Like the weather? Oh, how adorable." She said, "Would you like to go out with me somewhere?"

"Uh…uh…" She put a shaking hand to her chest, "Your…your…your…t-t-teeth…"

"I'm not going to eat you, dear." She chuckled, "My clan weakness, is all. I'm not going to hurt you. You saved my life."

She gave an obedient nod, her anxiety making it look like she was suffering a blizzard.

"You look so cold." Phaedra said as they started walking down the street. She took her scarf off and slung it around Rainy's shoulders, "Not sure if this will help much. It's more for the look, but a little extra fabric shouldn't hurt." She looked around at all the bright flashing lights, the cars driving by. It would have sent her into complete culture-shock, if she wasn't used to travelling around, "Where did you want to go? Anywhere in mind? You mentioned Chinatown in our last encounter."

"Um…" Rainy looked down at the scarf, catching a brief whiff of it, it smelled just like her choker, "I…I'm not shivering because…I'm c-cold…"

"Do you need blood?" She asked softly, "I could purchase some for you. Gladly."

She shook her head.

"I'm still frightening you?" She looked down at Rainy.

She gasped and cowered, "I…uh…I'm so sorry…it…it's not you…..I'm like this with everyone…aside from my sire…"

"I'll take care of you, dear, as best I can. I assure you." She said, "Consider me your guardian, for saving my life." She said, "Now where is it you would like to go? A restaurant? Museum?" She asked, then sighed, "I'd honestly prefer somewhere more private. Where…no one will be around to make attempts at our lives."

"Lead the way."

"I have a room in the red tower. Does that sound appealing?"

She thought for a moment, "Okay."

"Very good." Phaedra said as she strode onward, before she stopped and turned a bit, holding a hand out.

Rainy stared at her like a confused animal for a moment or two. Or perhaps it was just sheer terror, this woman seemed to be defined by her inner fear and pressure from the outside world. If she could blush, Phaedra was sure she would be beet red at this point, she reached out and grabbed her hand.

Phaedra smiled warmly and gently held her hand, walking alongside her until they reached the red tower.

Rainy now understood why Phaedra really held her hand. Or at least, that's what she had assumed. There were so many winding hallways, so many staircases, so many random lefts and rights and ups and downs, she wondered how she would even find her way out of the place. But then, they were greeted with a single door that Phaedra took her into.

Phaedra's room was jaw dropping. The entire place was, much like the rest of the tower, a deep red color. The floors were black with red carpets, the walls a deep red, and the ceiling had chandeliers hanging that were forged with some sort of ebony-like metal. The candles lit the room with a warm glow, the ornate and gothic designs on nearly everything made Rainy feel like she was living in the Victorian era, just in this very room.

There was no kitchen, simply because there needn't be one, really. There was maybe, a living room. But, that term seemed too modern for the place. It was more of a library and a mini-museum, with couches and shelves full of books and artifacts. Candelabras lit up the tabletops, shining down on books that were left open. She saw two more doors against the walls, figuring they led to the bedroom and the bathroom. Phaedra let go of her hand, at last, "Please, make yourself at home."

Rainy sat on the couch, shivering and hugging herself, "I'm so sorry…" She sniffed, "I've been so…so quiet…and…and just…antisocial…I apologize…it…it isn't anything p-p-p-p-p-p-personal…against you…I… just…"

"I'm not upset with you, dear…" Phaedra sat next to her and crossed her legs, "I understand. I've met timid people before, you know." She smiled, "I'm sure my appearance doesn't help."

"What are you talking about?" She asked, "You look nice."

"The teeth?" She raised a brow before she started laughing, the sound echoed off the walls, "Oh, you flatter me, darling."

She hugged herself, "Sorry…"

"What is there to apologize for?" She asked, reaching over and gently petting her hair, "I love the little touch of violet. It's very pretty."

She shuddered, "Thank you."

"Can I get you a drink?"

She squeezed her hands together, "If I'm not a burden."

"You're not." Phaedra stood up and moseyed over to the door, "I'll be right back." After what must have been somewhere between ten and fifteen minutes, Phaedra returned with what appeared to be a wine bottle. "Here we are." She had a pair of wine glasses as well, "This makes me feel like a girl again." She put them down on the table in front of them and poured some blood into each glass, "That boy always makes a fool of himself gawking at me, but at least he's kind enough to give me blood in a rather classy manner."

"W-Who are you talking about?"

"A Tremere I met the other night. Leonardo." She sat next to Rainy, "I don't think he has any clue what I am. His eyes didn't…land on my face. Oh well." She took a sip of her glass, "So, I suppose I should stop beating around the bush and thank you already."

"Phaedra…listen…before you…thank me…you should know that I'm a healer…I just do that naturally…I don't need a thank you, a gift, or a reward. It's what my people do. They heal others. You were in pain and I wanted to help. I don't want you to feel burdened with gratitude."

She brought a hand to her chest, "I'll pretend not to be offended." She smiled, "So then tell me…what are your people?"

She looked ahead, "No one."

"Mmm hmm." Her smirk grew, "Have you ever heard of the Nagaraja?"

She shook her head.

"They're the clan I belong to. I'm sure there are a few, scattered across North America. But, most of them are in hiding in Korea." She turned back to Rainy. "We eat flesh. To Kindred, we are monsters."

She nodded, "My sire and I are like that." She said, "Only a little different."

"Is that so?"

She nodded, "But…I really can't tell you anything…I…she would get mad at me…" She sniffed, "I don't want to disappoint Raven…"

"Please don't cry…" Phaedra put her glass down, "You don't have to tell me anything, sweetheart. I'll stop bothering you." She faced forward and uncrossed her legs, "Forgive my prying…it's a habit that I have yet to…wean off of."

"No…I would tell you…I just…sometimes I just wish I was another clan, or a human…I hate being…one of the only survivors of my clan…I can't do anything, I can't talk to anyone, I can't let anyone know what or who I really am…"

"Hmm….that makes two of us." Phaedra mused, "People don't talk to me much. I would have thanked you curtly when we first met and gone off on my way if I wasn't…so alone." She looked back up at Rainy, "But, as it is, I don't have many allies." She sighed, "I was lucky enough to join the Camarilla." She sighed, then smiled at Rainy, "But, I am your guardian. I will protect you, understood?"

"You don't need to protect me…Raven and I protect each other plenty. Worry about yourself first."

"Mmm…alright." She seemed hesitant, just a bit, "So, tell me about yourself then. Not your clan, not…anything with Jyhad. I want to learn about you." She smiled, reaching forward and brushing a lock of Rainy's hair behind her ear.

She shuddered, "There…there isn't m-much to tell…I…I was really quiet at school…I just…hid in the back…no one ever noticed me…I…sometimes I regret, what I could've done. Who I could've been friends with…who I could've hung out with…" She shook a bit more, "Especially if I knew that Raven would Embrace me into the Jyhad…now…now I just have no freedom…whatsoever…but…but it isn't her fault. She's just trying to keep me safe."

"Raven's your sire…" She mused, "Is she nice? Do you like her?"

She hugged herself, giving a nod.

"What's wrong, dear?"

"N-Nothing…"

"Mmm hmm?" She smirked, "Tell me about her."

"Well…she's…nice…sweet…she's a great healer…her Disciplines are all… _way_ better than mine…" She giggled nervously, "But…she's ten times my age…so there's that, but she's very strong, very responsible…I…I shouldn't have spoken about her like that previously…I made her sound strict and overbearing…she just wants me safe…" She hugged herself a little tighter, "Sweetest person ever…"

Phaedra chuckled softly, "I have feelings for my sire as well."

She looked at the floor, "Unrequited?"

"Oh, _very_ much." Phaedra laughed, "Drove the poor woman mad. Her last rejection, she called me obsessed."

She played with her skirt, "That can be a mean word, sometimes."

She sighed, "Well, I've…given up. More or less. You're a quiet girl, I trust you. She goes by Pisha. That was the name of her former lover. Hasn't even told me her real name…"

She giggled, then she looked nervous, "Sorry, I'm not laughing at you. I just…think I finally heard of someone more secretive than Raven…"

She chuckled softly, "Mmm." She reached over and lightly touched Rainy's arm, smirking, "I suppose that makes two rather…neglected childer."

"Well, I'm not neglected." She said, "She just…isn't interested in women…" She said, "Although, I'm too scared to make sure…"

"Mmm…that is hard to tell." She crossed her legs again, resting them on the table, "I've never had any luck with women yet. I had a husband, briefly, but…it was nothing enjoyable."

"I'm…I'm not sure I like men anymore either…" She said, shivering again.

"Unfortunate previous lover?"

"N-N-N-N-No…just…it…it wasn't even that…it…it was my prom…"

"Prom…?" She asked slowly, "Uh…forgive me…" She combed a few fingers through her hair, "I wasn't born in America…what…what is Prom again?"

"It's…the biggest school dance of a person's last two years in high school…" She said.

"Ah…I see. So…it was a boy?" She leaned back on the couch.

She nodded, "I…I didn't want to be the only girl at the prom who was by herself…so…I tried to…make myself more noticeable in school, so I would be asked, and I was…"

"Tell me about him."

She squeezed her eyes shut, her chest visibly quivering, "He…he was quiet…I…I thought he was nice…but…but around his friends and their dates…he got louder…he started doing things around me that I didn't appreciate…he just made it…an uncomfortable experience…"

"Mmm hmm. Typical teenager…" She mused, "Go on, I'm listening."

She sniffed, "I…I can't…"

Phaedra was silent for a moment, then she leaned over and hugged her, "I see…" She closed her eyes, "It's alright, dear. Nothing to be ashamed of, certainly. It's behind you, isn't it? You've learned from it, it's beyond you, at this point."

She started crying softly, "Forgive me…" She sniffed, "I…I don't even have the strength to continue."

"I don't need to hear the rest to see the picture, darling." She gently pet Rainy's hair, and closed her eyes, "I understand. You've been through a lot…especially with your strain of the curse. But…you're stronger than you think. To still sit here, to tell your story, to go out and make something of yourself, even if it is timidly. You're strong because you haven't given up."

"I…I'm not as strong as you think…outside of being a healer, I'm useless without Raven…"

"You're alive. Or…" She raised a brow, "Here."

She gave a short nod, trying everything she could to stop crying.

"You can cry if you need to, darling. I'm here for you." Phaedra gently combed her fingers through her hair.

She clung to Phaedra, finally it wasn't a timid squeeze but a full cling, it dried her tears quickly, leaning her weight on Phaedra.

Phaedra smiled and rubbed Rainy's back, "There you are, dear." She kissed Rainy's temple, "Just relax. How long has it been since you were even able to relax?"

"I…I don't think I ever have…"

"Seems…we're opposites, in that way." Phaedra mused, "I've always been so relaxed about everything…I don't see what part stress has to do in my life…it only consumes the fun of living."

"…I have to say, I'm jealous…" She felt the black kiss mark on her temple, smiling.

She grinned, "Perhaps I can teach you."

"That's probably a lost cause at this point…"

"Now I'm sure that isn't true." She sat up a bit, "Sit in my lap, I'll get your shoulders."

She blinked, "You…you want me in your lap?"

"That…would work best, unless you wanted to just…face the other way…oh, but I think that's much less fun."

Rainy stood up, sitting sheepishly on Phaedra's lap, a bit embarrassed at how sudden her rump situated itself, she hugged herself and shuddered, "You don't have to do this…if you don't want to…"

"Nonsense." Phaedra smiled as she gently rubbed her shoulders, before circling her thumbs around the tender spots beneath her neck, "Let me know if I'm hurting you."

She decompressed, biting her lip at the feel of her fingers, "No…no…I'm okay…"

"Good. You're still tense. Just take it easy, dear, no one will be jumping through the windows. The Prince owns this building, you are safer than anything on the planet in here."

She gave a slight nod, quietly sighing as she decompressed a bit more.

"Was there anywhere else that was sore…?" Phaedra asked, "… _anywhere_ …?"

Her eyes darted around, to say she didn't like this attention was a flat-out lie, "Just my head…"

Phaedra's hands gently landed on her temples, they circled the area, "Isn't much I can do there, unfortunately…" She chuckled softly.

"It's…it's okay…this…this is really sweet of you…" She smiled.

"You saved my life. I owe you something, whether you think so or not." She smiled as her hands slid down from her temples to her arms, then down around her back, waist and hips, "Of course, if you'd like to go home with your sire, I'll let you go. I hope you don't feel obligated to stay here because of me."

"If I don't go home…Raven will worry…she'll think something happened to me…"

"Of course. I understand sweetheart." Phaedra leaned in and lightly kissed the shell of her ear, "You take care then."

"Okay." She said, gently placing the black scarf back in Phaedra's lap, "Bye-bye, Phaedra." She waved.

* * *

He had finally made it to Los Angeles, the city of angels. The city of the most potent Jyhad in decades, and most importantly, the city where his sire was handed his final death.

So naturally, revenge was on his mind. Revenge strong enough to drag him all the way from Europe to America. He knew the rest of his cabinet would be coming shortly, but Lafayette couldn't resist exploring the area by himself first for a while.

Hiding wasn't a priority to him. Whatever mortal saw him, the Camarilla would have to cover up anyway, but he shouldn't have been surprised that a blue humanoid walking through civilization would cause a bit of attention. The beady, black and yellow eyes probably didn't help either. He picked up many traits from his sire, aside from the large crest, and Lafayette was a bit burlier, which made dispatching enemies and traitors with his claws all the more fun. His clothes were a bit more current than Andrei's. A simple black leather jacket, no shirt, so his blue chest could be seen, black pants, and black boots.

Andrei, his sire, and the great Caesar, defeated, by who? He wondered, someone in the Camarilla? It would take some time for him to figure out, it wasn't like they left bodies behind for him to do an autopsy on. He shook his head, he would have to see if there were any kine at the end of this parking garage, he could use some blood.

His lucked turned for the worst when he saw a small band of thugs at the end of the parking garage. Well, his luck _would_ be turned worst, if he was human. As it stood, he now had a buffet sitting in front of him.

"You." A girl leading the pack narrowed her eyes. A punk girl smothered in leather, piercings, and a blinding amount of highlights, "This must be my lucky day. I'm going to enjoy you…" She said as her gang rallied behind her.

He raised a brow, she must not have seen it yet. That he was blue, and monstrous. Oh, the fun he was going to have with these mortals. Did they fancy themselves tough, with all their rampant bullying? Clearly, they were about to learn that new bullies were in town.

The girl's face went from a look of hardness, to that of disgust, "Ew…oh my god…what the hell is with the Halloween costume, it's March!"

Lafayette clenched one of his hands into a fist, "Flesh to flesh, bones to bones." He snickered in a horrendous voice. Though, Tzimisce weren't known for sounding friendly and approachable.

"Oh my god…this guy must be some serial-killing motherfucker, shoot him!" The girl pointed, her gang began to unload their machine guns towards Lafayette.

Some of the bullets stuck, but most clacked off of his body. Lafayette laughed and laughed, as the gang got more and more terrified. He sent out a flurry of bats to deal with the majority of the gang. Then he lunged toward the gang leader. He held a hand out, a red glow coming from it as the girl's flesh warped and morphed into different shapes. She screamed as some of her bones peeled through her skin. He kicked the girl, or, whatever she was now, towards the wall.

He then sprinted towards whatever gangsters were left, draining them dry. His bats also returned with stolen blood for him, making his blood pool completely full. He turned to the girl, the only opponent still alive at this point. He stomped towards her, picking her up by her face.

"What…what did you do to me…?" She choked, her body a mess; some bones just jutting out of her, and the rest of her being twisted beyond recognition, "I…I can't breathe…you…you did something to my ribs…"

Lafayette gave a sinister nod. "Next time, you might want to take your daddy issues out on someone who isn't the cornerstone of the Sabbat…" He laughed. He flesh-crafted her a bit more, giving her a forceful kiss as he did so. That was, after all, why he left her face untouched. She screamed in his mouth, until he destroyed all her vital tissues and organs, and she died. Just a huge mound of flesh now.

It was a pity he didn't bring his bag along with him. He shrugged, grasping the mound of flesh in one arm instead. This would be worth a couple creations, at least.

* * *

 **A/N:** We may or may not be evil. Thanks for reading!


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N:** Here's chapter eleven! ~{[qUaDrUpLe UpDaTe!?]}~ At last, the fluff fades away to the storm that has been brewing within…Enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs. Also, sorry for the character diarrhea.

* * *

The Sabbat elite was as luxurious as the Camarilla, if not more so, on occasion. The meeting hall was painted in a dark black, occasionally peppered with some fleshy monstrosities, in addition to the meeting table itself. About half a-dozen Kindred walked in and began to take their seats around the table.

Lafayette sat at the head of the table, folding his hands, "Now, we are finally in California…the stronghold my sire once held…but, the ability to claim it now lies within our capable hands." He held his hands out to his subordinates, "Now, I ask, what plans shall we turn to in order to topple this Camarilla? Hmm? There are no wrong answers."

"Got it done already." A man with red hair slicked back said, in an elegant fur coat and completely decked out with rings and fancy jewelry, "My ghoul has already ensnared most of Hollywood in his little web. Should only be a matter of time before he hands us the city on a platter."

Lafayette smiled at Garret, his Toreador representative, "Wonderful news. See, if a _ghoul_ can go and do all that, you can assume my expectations have been raised of the rest of you."

"Serves Isaac right. The bastard, I have unfinished business with Suzie…or whatever the hell her name is now…"

"Unfinished business with your childe?" Lafayette asked, "That should prove amusing. If you're looking for removal options, I wanted a new chair in that corner." He chuckled, pointing to a couple pieces of furniture made completely of flesh.

"I have been already converting some of the city's kind into Kindred working for us." An older man at the table said, or at least he looked old. He must've been Embraced at a very old age, as his shoulder-length white hair suggested. But his physic was ridiculous. He was Vernon, Lafayette's Brujah representative. He raised his hands, laughing, "Let the chaos begin!"

"Very constructive…or rather, _destructive_ of you, I should say." Lafayette snickered.

The meeting room went silent as a blonde man walked in, with green eyes and a black hoodie, "Apologies for being late." He bowed, having a deep voice.

"Nonsense, Raphael, here, come sit beside me." Lafayette pulled the chair next to him out. Like Andrei before him, Lafayette had a strong, resilient, Gangrel fighter by his side constantly in times of battle or in times of drawing up plans. Raphael was likely the most excellent survivalist he had ever seen. "What say you, Ebony?" He looked at his Tremere representative.

Ebony hasn't changed a bit since her time in the Camarilla. She still wore her pitch black mix of Victorian and witch's attire, she thought, raising a black-nailed hand on her chin, "Those spies should be done with their reports soon…" She said, her voice cold and snakelike, it instilled fear into her enemies rather quickly.

"Ah, the spies." Lafayette snickered, "I had nearly forgotten…" He said, "I hope in the future they do a bit more than just spying…" He said, "Hmm…it's unfortunate that Neo had perished at about the same time as Andrei did…"

"Yes, quite."

"You two were…lovers, were you not?"

"She spreads her juices to Edgar Allen Poe now." Lafayette's Malkavian representative spoke up.

There were a few suppressed chuckles, Lafayette smiled at him, "Ah, yes, childe of Malkav, tell me the visions you see of our conquest. You have never failed me yet, Gideon."

Gideon had short red hair, a big white fur coat, and goggles on (which he insisted he needed on at all times in order to see, even though they were plastic, toy goggles with rainbow spirals in both the eye-pieces). His physic was ridiculous too, to the point where first-time viewers would mistake him for a Brujah, then he would say something, which would usually dismiss the theory altogether.

He kept tapping the fingers of one of his hands on the desk, as if he were typing up some sort of report, "A bloodbath…" He shook his head, "Mulligan." He thought a bit more, "Death on all sides, irreversible…" He shook his head, "Mulligan…" He moved his jaws around in thought, "Edgar Allen Poe's fall from darkness to the spider eggs…" He shook his head, "Mulligan."

"Do take your time." Lafayette said.

"Death." Gideon said, "Death, everywhere. If we attack, there will be death."

"Ah, wonderful news." Lafayette said, "And…does your childe…have anything to add?" He smiled at the girl sitting next to Gideon.

Antoinette, Gideon's childe, shook her head feverishly. She was seemingly hiding in a red hoodie, with a red jacket over that, "N-No sir…" She said in a small voice.

"Hmm…how unfortunate. Perhaps further training with Gideon will, aid you in your visions." Lafayette said.

"Yes, sir…"

Vernon's eyes hardened at the table setup. To Lafayette's right was Raphael, but the left chair was empty. There was one other empty chair, but it was reserved for a guest coming in later. He scowled at the chair to Lafayette's left, "Seeing that chair empty all the time is beginning to make me sick."

"Indeed." Lafayette said, "We need to find Remus and rescue him from his torpor, as soon as possible." He said, "A LaSombra ally as powerful as him will be devastating to these Camarilla cowards."

"Consider it done." Gideon said, "Hmm…I wonder why a…brotherly connection…calls out to me. The moor…of dragons…hmm…who is that?" He wondered, then he laughed for an inappropriately long period of time, "Oh, and Esau's daughter is here too…oh…oh, how precious!"

"What nonsense are you on about?" Vernon growled.

Gideon chuckled darkly, "A king replaced a jester…he's filling his cabinet with groceries at the moment…there will be two Malkavian Primogen…"

"What?" Garret asked, "Two Malkavian Primogen? Why…why would they need two?"

"Let him continue." Lafayette said.

"Esau and Jacob both sired daughters…but…I've always wondered which one he _really_ wanted…I'll have to ask them myself." Gideon kept laughing, "Leave Santa Monica to me. I doubt she's ever had to deal with someone with a generation as low as mine…"

Garret chuckled, "Jeez…two out of the four major Kindred cities in this state are going straight into our pocket, unless Gideon is yanking our chain or something…"

Lafayette nodded, facing the person sitting at the other end of the table, "Ah, and Cedric. You've been awful quiet, my old friend. What's your input?"

Cedric crossed his arms, he was covered from head to toe in black, with a black hooded cape to boot. A gray mask covered his face, and purple eyes gleamed out from the eye-holes. Not a single part of his skin could be seen. Two scythes could be seen crossed behind his back, "I will prioritize my necromantic pursuits above all else…for now." He said, leaving a disappointing feeling in the room, "But, my primary training targets will be those feeble members of the Camarilla!"

Everyone laughed, Lafayette grinned, "I wouldn't expect any less from a Harbinger!"

Sirius walked into the room, "Hey guys." He sat in one of the empty seats, "Did I miss anything interesting?"

"Only the entire meeting…" Vernon muttered under his breath.

Lafayette grinned, "Ah, it seems my Follower of Set has finally joined us! How fares your mission? Have you infiltrated the Anarch society?"

"Oh yeah." Sirius grinned, "They don't expect a damn thing."

"Good. Excellent. With you in their ranks, we shall be rid of them and the Camarilla, once and for all." He said, "And then we shall start the hunt for your sire. And hopefully your grandsire as well…"

"Yeah, I'm all in for that plan."

"Fools." A powerful, female voice boomed from a throne up a gathering of stairs beyond the meeting table, "Stopping the Camarilla's most hated enemy, why would you even bother?" She certainly looked like a figure of royalty, that was for sure. Her black hair was in a bob, and her lips and nails were a deep black. She wore a golden gown that faded to black once it got to the bottom, and was wearing high heels.

"Madame Vaska…" Lafayette growled, "Surely, you know that she is the Sabbat's enemy just as well as the Camarilla…she has slain many of our brethren…"

"But it is wise to leave her alive. She may dismantle the Camarilla for us." Madame Vaska smiled, owning quite the heavy Slavic accent which made it hard to make out what she was saying unless the listener knew her well enough, "On the other hand, I suppose a young Tzimisce like yourself didn't even _consider_ that avenue…you have much to learn, son…"

Lafayette tapped fingers on the table, pondering his rebuttal, "If you could all please vacate the meeting hall…I'm going to have a word with Madame Vaska…alone…"

The meeting room filed out, and Lafayette rose from his chair, he glared at the throne, "I do wish you would let me finish _one_ meeting, without your pointless little babblings…it's just a simple wish of mine." Lafayette growled.

Heels could be heard clacking down the stairs as she stepped down to stand opposite of him, "You lack patience. And grace. Fighting Kemintiri in the open streets isn't going to solve all of our problems." She gave a wry smile. She was the oldest Kindred Lafayette had ever met. She was old as she was elegant and beautiful.

He frowned, "Never did I say that we going to fight Kemintiri in the streets."

"A Methuselah like her best be avoided altogether."

"Mmm…perhaps…" He said, as they began to walk side-by-side through the meeting hall, "Must you interrupt me during the meeting about it? This is _my_ Sabbat. Not yours. I'd have no problems giving it to you, but you don't want it."

Madame Vaska chuckled, "Take it, I wouldn't want the headache." She said, "I remember a time when Kindred were more, what is the word? Individualistic? Now, all this nonsense, with the Camarilla, and the Sabbat…"

"Then if you don't want to lead the Sabbat, I suggest you stop butting into the _real_ Sabbat's leader."

"Watch your tongue, boy."

He seethed, "I'm one-hundred and twenty years old! I am not a boy!"

She sighed, "We're both of Clan Tzimisce…and yet, we're so different…"

"Is that right?" He hissed, "What do you have that I don't?"

"Dominate." She said simply, "Also, I can walk the streets without causing mass hysteria…"

He looked ahead, looking at all the furniture he customized himself, "I don't really mind not having it." He said, "Vicissitude is a much more, beautiful, way of extinguishing life. It doesn't quite carry the same fear that Dominate does. What?" He smiled, "Scared of all the little beasties I made?"

She rolled her eyes, "It's a parasitic disease, that has swept up the younger members of our clan, that's what it is." Madame Vaska said, "Think about it. Why are you blue, why does your body looked strange, alien, and diseased? You look like a walking fungus."

"And you look like a rich, bratty poodle in a dress."

They glared at each other, "You better hope there's a lot of masses out there that I can spend some of this…pent up energy on…" Madame Vaska seethed.

"Oh, don't you worry." Lafayette growled, "There's plenty of fodder for us to share before we have to turn on each other!"

* * *

"Mister Donatello, sir!" A man in a suit said, bowing towards a man in the center of the meeting room. The room was blood red, and there was a pentagram in the center of it, "It's great to see you here, Mister Donatello, sir."

Donatello smiled, looking around at is five or six followers, all in black suits. He himself was a heavyset man, in a black suit as well, and a black bowler's hat, with a black cane as well, with many golden rings around his fingers, "It's a pleasure to meet all of you. What, with my last Baali cult coming to such an unfortunate end…"

"Yes, sir…" One of the other Baali said, "You'll have to forgive us for…giving you such a momentous amount of work…but it is necessary that newcomers to our cults are to be tested."

"Nah, it's no problem." He waved a fat, jeweled hand, "Soon I'll be in California, and we'll be able to finally show all these fools what Gehenna really is all about."

"It won't be easy." One of the Baali said, "Revealing our true clan is just about impossible, as you must know."

"Of course I do." Donatello smiled, "I read da Delicate Maul of Bright Shadows." He chuckled, "Funny that a Brujah wrote the Bible for us Baali, huh?"

"You must avoid the Camarilla at all costs." One of the Baali said, "If they find out what you truly are, they will execute you."

"And the Sabbat are no better." Another Baali said, "Both sects hate our clan with a passion."

"Relax, fellas." Donatello swatted a hand, "I'm already ten steps ahead of ya. One of my personas is a Tremere, right? And I got dis call from a…mistah Strauss…was it? Well, he was the _old_ Regent, but now dat he's Prince, he can't do his job no more. So he called me in as a substitute." He grinned, "With me as da Tremere Regent, no one will expect a thing."

"Of course, sir." One of the Baali bowed, "We knew of your expertise in this matter, sir, we await your results in taking California, for the Baali Clan, and for Satan and the Antediluvians…"

Donatello started a slow laugh, "The Tremere, the Salubri, and the Baali…" He snickered, "We're all the same, when it comes to blood, and soon, all dat history is gonna come together for the first time in thousands of years!"

* * *

Barren and destroyed, that was how the Giovanni Mansion was left. Rubble that was never really tended to. The family was killed, there were no more California Giovanni to speak of, and the catacombs were rendered empty too. The sarcophagus was stolen, the Kuei-Jin agents were killed, and any other minor occult items the Giovanni had were stolen away as well. This is how the scenery lay, peacefully, quietly, every night, for about a month.

That is, until Giuseppe Giovanni shoved some rubble past himself as he stood up. He brushed himself off, angrily glaring at the moon.

He had been sent along with Bruno as his right hand to help tend to the party, and to the kiss. But, a group of Kindred broke in and attacking anyone. And before he could do _anything_ , (he would've destroyed novice vampires like the ones who broke-in), he was knocked into torpor. For, a month, he assumed, as he looked around.

He dusted himself off yet again, having a brown suit and slacks, and long brown hair going to his shoulders. There was sinister, snide look in his brown eyes as well. Whoever did this, to the prestigious Giovanni, they were going to pay. They were going to pay dearly with their lives.

* * *

They weren't really spies. Lafayette and Ebony were quick to say so, but both men were warriors, rather than spies. Seeking membership into the Sabbat, the two supposed 'spies' did the last sweep of downtown, ready to head back to master Lafayette in less than an hour.

"Did you take a good look around the major areas of the state?" The first man snapped. He was slim, olive-skinned, with styled long blonde hair and dazzling dark blue eyes. He wore a thin, navy blue jacket, black jeans, and black dress shoes. Gold was on many parts of his bodies. It was commonplace for some Sabbat leaders to be adorned with rings and gemstones, but this man seemed to put it to the extreme. He was completely absorbed in golden jewelry, and other riches all over his body. His sword was even gold, reinforced with dozens of other metals, at a closer glance.

The Laibon were a curious sort. Even more so to the Kindred of the west. Little better than Kuei-Jin, some of them. This well-off man was a member of the Ishtarri Clan. They were usually rich, enveloped in both Kindred and kine politics with ease. They had an especially easy time manipulating humans. Toreador is the parent clan to them after all. The gluttons could be childish and whiny at times, their humanity infamously swinging like a pendulum. And for this man, all of those qualities fit him like a glove.

"Yes, master Poe." The second man said, in an incredibly deep voice. He was much larger than the first man, Poe. His skin was even darker, as was his clothing. He wore a black tank top, with a leather jacket over it, black jeans, and black boots. He had brown eyes and short black hair, and he was practically Poe's shadow, despite his size.

"Good." Poe said, "I don't see anything special about it. This city is rotten and foul. I would want nothing more than to completely overrun it with the Sabbat so that we can rule it!" He clenched his fists.

"Yes, master Poe."

"Have you met many of the Sabbat members yet, Gottfried?"

"No, master."

"Hmm…curious. They would be fools to reject us. Nothing is more powerful in combat that an Ishtarri vampire!" He laughed.

Gottfried was an Osebo. Known as 'the Pride', they shared many similarities with their parent clan, the Brujah. Best case scenario? Honor-bound warriors with passion in their undead hearts. Worst case scenario? Pillagers, rapists, murderers. Gottfried _tried_ to stay in the former category, but following Poe's every little whim was not the easiest thing to do, especially if you were trying to keep your humanity intact.

But this is how it always was. They were both sired by an Ishtarri and Osebo, respectively, and one was a master, and the other a servant. So one could say it was only natural for Poe and Gottfried to take up the same roles.

Poe chuckled for a good long while, "I can't wait, oh, how I cannot wait to shred these damned fools into oblivion!" He crossed his arms, "They've never seen anything like me. Anything like us. We'll show them. We'll have them begging for mercy, and they'll be getting none of it."

Gottfried gave a slow nod, flinching every so often when his laugh would get too loud.

"I want to kill them…to kill them all…" He said, "With each Kindred rendered to ash beneath my blade, my powers get a little stronger. Soon, I'll be the most feared creature in the world. Every sect will drop to its need in utter desire for me." He snickered, "That's why we will fly under the Sabbat flag, for now. We would do much more killing for them than any other group. Perhaps I could take Lafayette's place when all is said and done. I bet I could right now."

"Yes, sir." Gottfried said, trying to mask his uneasiness. Ambition? Or just plain suicide? That was what Gottfried was trying to make of his master, no, his _friend's_ choice. The two of them were as close as brothers, but, the time and place for that seemed to fade long, long, ago. Now Gottfried was just, more or less Poe's shadow. Traveling with him as he did the horrendous deeds he was tasked to do. Poe was acting as if the Sabbat were the answer to their troubles, but for Gottfried, it only scared him. Would this sect of murderers and those who had Embraced their beasts really be an answer for the two of them? Gottfried feared he already knew the answer to the question before he asked it.

* * *

 **A/N:** Don't fret, these characters will soon sort themselves out with all their intentions, and chaos will ensue! Thanks for reading!


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N:** Here's chapter twelve! Time to address some of the characters from last time, as well as some subtle shifts in the plot. Enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs.

* * *

"Aw, c'mon, one more round!"

"I'm just going to win again, there's no point."

"Alright, alright, enough." The Nosferatu Primogen wafted a hand in the air, "Let's call it quits for tonight."

Cressida grinned as she picked up her stack of money, "Better luck next time, boys."

Barabus sighed and leaned over towards Edgar, "What the hell's she gonna do with that money anyway?"

"I don't know…" Edgar said, "She seems to have this unhealthy obsession with money, but I never figure out where it goes…"

His eyes narrowed, "Cressida, you grow up in the Great Depression?"

Cressida flipped through the money and tucked it into her back pocket, "Sort of…why?"

"Yeah, that's why." Barabus muttered as he stood up, "You need anything done at the surface, sir?" He looked at Gary.

"Hmm…" Gary narrowed his eyes, "You're off the hook. Go play with the computers, see what sort of plugins you can set up."

"On it." He said as he walked off.

Gary grabbed the deck of cards and started shuffling them at a rapid pace, "What do you two think of the new Prince?"

"Eh, he's alright." Edgar said, "What do you think?"

"I couldn't be any more thrilled, even if I were the Prince." Gary sat back down, kicking his feet up on the table, "Someone actually seems to know what they're doing up there."

"Get your feet off the table…" Cressida grumbled.

Gary ignored her and looked back at Edgar, "He even told me he was getting me a gift for all the hard work we've done. Almost strange being respected for once."

"How old is the bastard, anyway?" Edgar asked.

"Beats the hell out of me. Oldest Kindred I think I've ever met."

"Hmm…well, he did have a hand in the plan to kill LaCroix and Ming-Xiao…so, he can't be _that_ bad…"

"Of course not. He's got a good head on his shoulders."

Cressida sat next to Gary and shoved his feet off the table, nearly knocking him out of his seat, "Edgar, I forgot to ask you, what the hell does snake breath mean?"

He paused, for once, all the humor in his face left him, he partially looked away, "Yeah…I don't want to talk about that…"

"Aw, what? C'mon, it can't be that bad."

"If he doesn't want to talk about it, then he doesn't want to talk about it." Gary insisted as he sat up and crossed his arms, "But if he does, I'm all ears."

Edgar faced them both, "How well do you guys know the Red List?"

"The hell is that?" Cressida asked.

"Quite well. Go on." Gary urged.

"The person on the top. Kemintiri. I met her when I was a human."

"What?" Gary snapped, his voice most unpleasant at this volume, "You can't meet people like her and just…live to tell the tale…as a human, no less!"

"Exactly. I almost died. She was taking a bunch of kine down to her creepy dungeon. She was going to turn us into mummies." He shuddered, "Well, there must have a revolt…so I escaped during the chaos…but…I'll never forget when she captured me…and how. Being a human…I didn't know why I was…enamored to her. Why I wanted to follow her every command. I didn't know what Kindred were. I didn't know what Disciplines were…"

Gary sighed, "She must have used that…little Setite Discipline to wrap you around her little finger." He sighed, then he sat up, "Well, it's good you escaped at least, but unnerving to think about that she's still around somewhere…lurking…listening…"

"Once I broke free…I did all sorts of research. But…first I just got…Egyptian mythology…because apparently the Followers of Set are _so far removed_ from Kindred lore that they believe their founder is Set…eventually I got to a bunch of Kindred websites…but…that must of have when I knew too much." He looked at Gary, "Because not long after that you Embraced me."

Gary laughed, "Yes, you were a little too nosy for my liking. Shame you weren't very good at deleting your search history…"

He shrugged, "I wish I could kill her one day…but…that would be ambitious…given that she's a Methuselah…"

"If she ever comes to our doorstep, we'll do our best…but for now, she's better at making herself disappear than we are."

The sound of a walking stick clacking against the dirt could be heard, as a figure in the darkness got closer and closer to them. His outfit was fantastic, his looks, not so much. He was wearing an old-fashioned Victorian suit, slacks, and shoes, with a top hat and a trench coat over it. But his skin was brown and decaying, bits of flesh would drop off of him occasionally, and his eyes weren't even level. He was hunched over a tad, using a small, black and silver walking stick.

"Who…who the hell is that?" Edgar asked.

Gary stood up, "You're asking the wrong question…" He slowly walked over, "The real question is, how did he get in…?"

The zombie in fancy getup looked up at Gary, trying to straighten his back out as much as possible, "Right." He said, in a hissing British accent, which completely conflicted with the way he looked. He sounded like he was of the rich, upper-class of Europe, but he looked more disgusting than plague victims, "Which one of you is Gary?" He asked, his uneven eyes scanning the three Nosferatu.

"That would be me." Gary said with a smile, "I didn't even know we had Samedi in L.A.…"

"What the hell is a Samedi?" Edgar asked quietly.

The Samedi gave a short nod, "So that makes you the Nosferatu Primogen, then? I am Sam Salamanca, a Camarilla ally."

"Ah…I see…" Gary seemed to relax a bit, "If I knew you were coming, I would have cleaned the place up a bit, you'll have to forgive me."

"The walls are made of dirt, Gary, I don't know much cleaner it could get." Cressida grumbled.

Sam hunched over a bit as he began to walk around, survey the area a bit, "Strauss tells me you're trying to work on your Obfuscate abilities…"

Gary crossed his arms, "Of course. There's always room for improvement, a little lesson I learned from my time as an actor."

"You want to master the Mask of a-Thousand faces art, am I correct in assuming that?"

"Who doesn't?"

"Mask of a-Thousand faces? Gary? No, no, you're making a mistake." Cressida stepped forward, "He _cannot_ learn that. He would cause way too many issues."

"Ignore her." Gary insisted with a grin, "She knows not what she says."

"Well." Sam stood tall again, holding his walking stick sideways at the center with both hands, "It just so happens that I have mastered the technique. And Strauss and I wish to pass it along to you."

Gary put a hand on his chest, "I'm simply flattered…"

Cressida sighed and turned away, "Oh…brother…"

"It shall take some time for the technique to be mastered, but, I could start training you now, unless you're busy." Sam said.

"I'm not busy at all." He smiled, "Cressida, Edgar, do Uncle Gary a favor and watch the cameras on the surface."

"Yes, sir." Edgar said.

* * *

"Hello everyone, I'm the new…eh…substitute Regent for dis Chantry. My name is Donatello Sorrentino…" Donatello said, already trying to make himself comfy in Strauss's room.

"…right…" Victor said, "I am Victor Madison…the Tremere Magister…" He said slowly.

"Ah, nice, mind if I call ya Vick?"

"Yes." He said, then he added quietly, "I didn't think sane people still used that name…"

Iphigenia tried not to laugh out loud, crossing her arms over her stomach and looking over Donatello with the most scrutinizing look she really could muster. "Iphigenia."

"…eh…" He gave a slow nod, looking down the rest of the apprentices.

Delilah looked up at Victor and Iphigenia nervously, then looked at Donatello, "I am Delilah." She said quietly in her deep voice, it almost couldn't be heard.

"Nice ta meet ya, girlie." He said, looking at Leo next.

Leo adjusted his glasses, "Leonardo." His smooth voice almost cracked a bit as he thought about what this man was going to bring to the Chantry, even more when he thought about what sort of havoc he was going to wreak upon Strauss's chairs.

"Leo the lion, nice ta meet ya." Donatello said.

His eyes widened in disgust, "No, no…uh…" He adjusted his tie, "Simply Leonardo…works best…"

"Right, right, sorry kid." He said, already looking at Venus anyway.

"Venus." She looked him over, the last in the line, since it went down by power, "Venus Dare. Charmed." Victor could recognize the humorous sense of fake courtesy in her voice.

"Venus? Dat's an exotic name…rather exotic accent too…you know…a couple buddies o' mine and I—"

Victor cleared his throat, "Yes, well, we'll be going now." He said, "Many of us need to catch up on our studies." He said.

"Ah, ah right." Donatello nodded, "Well, you need any help, you can ask me. I'm a master of dat…uh…which Thaumaturigcal path is that…the fiery one…?"

"Lure of Flames?" Victor deadpanned.

"Ah, yes! Lure of Flames! Dat one!" He said.

"Yes, wonderful, goodbye." Victor led the way out.

As they made their way out, Iphigenia turned to Victor, "We need to get him replaced. Immediately."

"I…wholeheartedly agree." Leonardo muttered, "Did Strauss conduct an interview…? If so, how did he qualify?"

"He doesn't even know what path he's taking…" Delilah said.

Victor suddenly stopped, turning around to face the four of them, "I want all of you to listen to me very carefully. You have a question about a job, or about your studies, _do not_ go to that oaf about it. I want you to tell me, personally. I am the Magister after all. So I want you to come to me with all of your issues."

"Yes sir." Delilah gave the vocalization of everyone else's nods.

"So…I haven't really introduced myself yet, have I?" Venus said, "It's nice to meet you all."

"You're Mister Madison's ghoul, right?" Delilah asked.

"Yes, that's right."

"It's very nice to meet you. I love your dress."

"Do you?" Venus asked, "I think yours looks much better than mine. Your whole outfit is much cuter. Love the hat."

Delilah giggled and nervously touched her hat, "Oh, why thank you!"

"It is nice to meet you, at last." Iphigenia said with a smile, "I think it's safe to say Mister Madison cares more about you than he does anyone else in this Chantry."

"Yes, well…she is new…to our cause…so…if you need anything, you can ask her." Victor said, "Well, I'm going to retire to my room, for the rest of the evening…"

"Why don't I come and make your bed for you?" Venus smirked and followed after Victor.

"She's cute." Delilah said, "I don't think I've ever seen a Tremere ghoul."

"Usually they're on the same standings as Gargoyles." Iphigenia said, "But really, she looks rather…"

"Delicate." Leo finished.

"Yes. Delicate. So…use her within reason, I would say…Don't ask her to come fight. Anyone. Even other kine." She looked at both of them.

"Of course not." Delilah said, "I'll leave her to Mister Madison." She gave a rather sinister smirk to Leo, "I have my childe here if I need work done."

Leonardo scratched the back of his head, "Yes…well…I also don't want Mister Madison to slowly boil me to death, so I'll leave her alone…"

"Very well." Iphigenia said, feeling her phone ringing in her back pocket, "I have work to attend to. Goodnight."

"Goodnight Iphigenia." Delilah bowed, then looked at Leo, "So…on that note, watch the door for me." She crossed her arms, "I'm going to go study."

He sighed, "Yes, yes, very well." He stepped over towards the front door, hoping Mister Sorrentino wouldn't run into him there.

Venus followed Victor upstairs, in the meantime, "They're a nice bunch. Really. A little odd, but they seem very pleasant."

Victor shut the door behind himself once they both entered his bedroom, taking an annoyed sigh, "I have… _never_ questioned…what Strauss had done before…but…why?"

She looked around, clearly pleased with how his bedroom looked before she walked over to the bed and started smoothing the wrinkles out of the sheets, "Perhaps it was a mix-up."

"I…" He took another sigh, "I've always been comfortable around here…confident with my clan…but…with that idiot…here…"

She sat on his bed, "Could we…remove of him quietly?"

"Absolutely not. That would be punishable by death."

"Hmm. Right. Well…" She crossed her legs, "I suppose you should talk to Strauss then."

"I doubt that will get us anywhere…it was hard enough finding that one…"

She was silent for a moment, "Then I suppose we'll have to wait for nature to take its course."

He dejectedly hung his trench coat up, "Yes…hopefully that happens soon…"

"You look so tense, dear. Let me give you a back rub."

He smiled, taking his suit and undershirt off, then he sat next to her on the bed, "Your look in that dress is to die for…"

"You think so?" She asked, "I brought my other dresses over as well. It's going to be a little difficult running the club and running back here, but I'll do what I can."

"I know…" He said, "It's a difficult life…I've given you…but…at least we can be closer this week…"

"Yes, I agree." She scooted closer and ran her hands down his back, massaging his shoulders.

He relaxed a bit, "Thank you, dear."

She leaned in and kissed his neck from behind, resting her chin on his shoulder as she rubbed his chest, "I love you, Victor." She said softly in his ear before she kissed his neck again.

He hugged her close and started kissing her, "I need you…I need to forget this night…"

"On it." She reached back and unzipped her dress, slipping it off her shoulders.

He took his boots and pants off, smiling, "I don't think they'll hear us from up here."

"Good. Then I'll make as much noise as I usually do." She stood up and let the dress pool at her feet, taking her heels off too, before she laid herself out on the bed. He stayed back at first, rubbing her legs, at times he would bend down and kiss her inner thighs.

She closed her eyes and spread her legs a bit more, reaching down and petting his hair, her other hand gripping the mattress. He pulled her panties off, rubbing at her waistline and pressing inward a bit with two of his fingers. She bit her lip and moaned loudly, shuddering a bit, "I'll admit…at first…I hated your teasing…." She let out another moan, "But now I live for it…"

"I didn't even know it was teasing at first…I just thought your underwear pulled on your hips a little…"

"Mmm….mmm hmm…more…"

He licked the backs of his fangs, leaning in and kissing her lower abdomen and her waistline. He sucked on it as he held her butt with his hands, trying to provoke a rhythm out of her. She closed her eyes and let out a short scream, her legs wrapping around him instinctually as she started trying to grind against him, begging in chopped up sentences for some sort of contact.

"Yes, yes, of course dear." He tried to slide up. He kissed her on the lips and fondled her breasts, "I do hope you're ready."

"Very…very…very…" She panted out, "I'm sorry…" She tried to catch her breath, "So sorry…I'm not…very patient…"

He pulled his underwear off, letting the blood rush through his system, "It's cute." He gave a soft sigh, pushing himself against her until he penetrated her. She let out a gasp, followed by an endearing sigh of his name, part of her almost hoping the others would hear. Part of her hoping the others would hear that she was the luckiest one there, the one getting completely plowed by the Tremere Magister.

Her nails dug into his shoulders as she held him close, even just feeling him hold her was enough to send her heart racing. He followed the rhythm she already set, pushing over and over again, while holding her close in that tight embrace. Her mind was a blur, there was no feasible number of times she climaxed, because it all felt like euphoria. For a moment, she wondered if it was the blood bond that aided the impact, but either way, she couldn't be any happier in his arms.

As she felt him pull out, she held onto him tighter and kissed his lips, "I love you so much, Victor…"

"I love you too." He kissed her back, "When we…depart…we'll have to exit the room at different times, to arouse less suspicion…"

She chuckled softly, "Yes, yes, of course…I don't mind being the one that sleeps in…"

He gave her a squeeze, "Goodnight, my love."

"Goodnight Victor…I can't wait to wake up in your arms…"

* * *

"You lived in Hollywood for a while, right?"

Silence. Just the sound of the heat flooding the small house, the TV droning on at a very quiet level, so quiet that it could hardly be heard. Some news report.

The figure on the couch was half asleep anyway. One of his eyes only peeked open when she started talking again.

"I picked up a newspaper from L.A. while I was down there, Ash…" She sat on the couch next to her brother, a brother she had erased from her mind, a brother she had mentally disowned, until he came to her doorstep sobbing and begging for somewhere to live. "Did you want to read it?"

"No." His voice was low and soft, as always.

She flipped through the pages, "Nothing really interesting going on…" She mused, "Not after the fire in Venture Tower, at least." She flipped the packet over, then put it down on the table, "Well, I'll throw it in the fireplace, we can start a nice fire. That sound good?" She asked, brushing a lock of blonde hair out of her face, "It's really getting cold out there. I think it's supposed to snow tonight."

He put his feet up on the table. "Yeah…whatever…"

She went around the coffee table and started putting wood in the fireplace, before his eyes slowly drifted to the paper. Then they stopped. He sat up and grabbed it, skimming over an article. "…hmm."

"What is it?" She turned around.

"Vesuvius is closed…well, I'll be damned…something must have happened to VV."

"Who?"

"My…" Calling her a sister would be a little offensive to the real thing, "Friend."

"Girlfriend?" She smirked.

"No…" He said quietly, reading over the article one last time before he threw it in her direction. "Never mind. Burn it."

Meanwhile, Slade and Tess were walking down the streets of downtown, a light rain slowly darkening the pavement. His phone started buzzing.

Before he could even pick up and ask, 'Hello?' he heard Dragomir's voice, "The volcano is dormant."

"The…the what?" Slade asked.

"Your velvet's volcano will spout no more."

"What…what happened to VV?"

"The red monkey." Dragomir said, "I don't know what it means. That's what I hear. Her volcano is dead, the lava has been fired. Every last one, including the core."

"Holy shit…" Slade said slowly, "Genevieve called Killian the yellow monkey…so that means…the red monkey…"

"I'll leave you to make Tess a better person now."

"Uh…right…" He said, as Dragomir hung up, he elbowed Tess, "Something happened to Vesuvius…I think VV's in trouble…"

Tess looked over, "In trouble? What about Isaac…wouldn't he…get in the way? Protect her?"

"I have no idea…Dragomir just…told me something insightful…I have no reason to doubt him…he said something about a red monkey…so it's related to Killian."

"Killian…" She asked, "Did you want to go look for him? Or her?"

"Yeah." He nodded, "Let's go."

Meanwhile, in Isaac's jewelry store, he was sifting through paperwork when a few ghouls stumbled in, "Hey, Isaac." One of them walked over closer and leaned over his desk, "You see what happened across the street?"

Isaac looked up, a concerned look in his eye, "What happened across the street?"

"Vesuvius is closed. Completely shut down. No lights, no dancers, doors all locked up."

"I heard everyone was let off, too. Sucks for them." One of them said.

"Sucks for us, too. That was the nicest club in town." Another said.

"You hear what happened to VV?" The first one asked, "Is she okay?"

The concern multiplied, "No, no…this is not good. Look, I want answers here. I want the three of you to poke around and investigate. Get me a phone number, contact information, any sort of leads as to VV's whereabouts. As well as who did this to her. As soon as possible."

"You got it." The first one nodded, "C'mon guys." They all flooded out of the store, leaving Isaac's head whirling a bit with how something so extreme could happen right under his nose.

* * *

"Rainy, there you are." The second Rainy silently shut the door, Raven rushed over and held her, with the same adoring hug a mother would give to a child, "I was so worried about you…"

"Hi, Raven." Rainy hugged her back, "I was fine. Someone needed help, so I healed them with Obeah."

"You did…?" She gently held Rainy's hands, "Did they see you? Did they ask what happened, what were they? Kindred? Kine?"

"They were Kindred. She's…she's my friend now…I didn't tell her what I was…but…I think she can be helpful. I…I like her…"

"Helpful…?" She asked quietly, "Did she give a name? Or what clan she was?"

"She's Phaedra, of Clan Nagaraja." She said, "I…I might want to see her again soon…"

"Nagaraja?" Her eyes widened, "Is she in the Sabbat?"

She shook her head, "Camarilla."

Raven gave a sorrowful sigh, "No…no, then the risk is too great." She said, "She will know our clan. And if she doesn't, then she will learn. The Prince is a Tremere." She met Rainy's amber eyes with her baby blue ones.

"But…but Raven…"

"I understand she must seem nice, but…" She sat on the bed, "If we're found here…if there are known Salubri here, then we will be hunted, and it will be worse than a Blood Hunt." She said, "Do you remember what happened in Berlin?"

"Yes, I remember what happened in Berlin…but…why would Phaedra lie to me?" She asked, "I just…I just want another friend…someone…someone else to talk to. She…she doesn't know what I am. There would be no risk."

Raven looked over at her with big nervous eyes, "Rainy…I'm not going to be your overseer. I'm not going to tell you what to do or where to go, because I know you won't learn anything if you're…merely shadowing me. But as your sire…I'd…just like you to be very careful. You're free to do as you please, follow my advice or not, but please, be careful. That is my only wish."

She looked at the ground, "I know." She said, "I'm sorry."

"It's okay, Rainy. I only say this because I care about you." She clasped her hands together, "I hope you aren't upset with me now…"

She shook her head, "No, I'm not upset."

Raven stood up and hugged her childe again, "I'm sorry. We can head out tomorrow and look for somewhere else to stay, if you'd like."

"It's okay. I trust your judgment."

Raven looked down at Rainy's predominantly white attire, she wasn't used to seeing it under the robe, then her gaze met Rainy's eyes again, "For now, I think we should get some rest until the sun rises. I was thinking of perhaps staying in Santa Monica…I heard the Kindred presence there is a bit scarcer."

* * *

A/N: *cough* *cough* Romeo and Juliet *cough* *cough* Thanks for reading!


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N:** Here's chapter thirteen! Unlucky or not? Lots of Phaedra in this scene, we know you missed her! Enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs. Also, it gets a little spicy towards the end, if you're not a fan, skim over it.

* * *

Her wraith was no longer needed, at least. Strauss had deemed Tess no threat to the Camarilla, and allowed her to join. Phaedra didn't necessarily mind either way, as with her spying services Strauss said _she_ was a permanent staple to his Camarilla as well. There was something about the long winding corridors and the private rooms that she could get used to.

She heard something from a door that was half open. It sounded like a person splashing water from a running sink in their face, but that could barely be heard with the desperate sounding voice. And the tears.

" _Cosa sono? Che diavolo sono? Chi è il mio lato? Sono parte della Camarilla, o sono un Anarch?_ " He growled at himself. He sounded exasperated, if nothing else, like this wasn't the _first_ time he had given himself a pep talk like that. " _Questo è qualcosa che può influenzare la stessa storia. Vado da lei? Unisciti a mia sorella? O rimango qui con i miei amici?_ " A pause, as more water was splashed vigorously in his face, " _Che razza di uomo sono?_ " He stopped, seeing Phaedra through the opening the door provided him, "Uh…I guess, Angelique…left that open…a little…"

She smiled, "Yes, it seems that way." She said, "Who is she? Family?"

He faced the mirror, scowling at himself. There were little streams of water running down his face all over, Phaedra couldn't tell whether it was tears or just from the sink. Parts of his hair was gradually sagging down too, on account of all the water, "That's a damn long story to tell…"

"I have time. Plenty of it." She walked into his room and looked around, "Lovely place." She sat at the table and crossed her legs.

He rolled his eyes, "So...you're going to let yourself into my room and _demand_ a story from me?" His eye twitched as he faced her, "Look…uh…what's your opinion on the Anarchs?"

"The Anarchs?" She asked, "I can't say that I've met one. In fact, it was _you_ who told me to avoid them."

His face straightened out a bit, in surprise, he was no longer holding his trademarked scowl, "Oh yeah…you're right…I uh…forgot about that…"

She chuckled softly, "Oh, do continue. Though, if it's a long story, something to eat might be nice. Oh, I suppose that would disturb you. In that case, just some blood will do."

"Blood, _and_ I have to spill my guts to you?" He asked, "Yeah, no. Look, I'm just…feeling, torn…right now…that's all…I don't…I don't know what I am…"

"There's no shame in liking men, dear. They've been saying it's genetic, you know. That it goes back centuries…I'm not sure how much I believe that. But, I'm sure it happened, it was just much quieter than it is now. You know, two men or two women together, that would be seen as an illness. Something wrong in the head. How fascinating how that's changed."

Cadmus buried his face in one of his hands, "Oh…my…god…"

She gave a loud laugh, "Oh, you poor thing." She reached over and pet his head. "I'm only teasing, you know." She sat back, "So tell me. What do the Anarchs have that the Camarilla does not? What makes them so enticing to you?"

"My sister." He said, going to sit across from her at the table.

"Ah, so I was right. It was blood." She mused, "And why isn't she in the Camarilla?"

"Beats the hell outta me." He said, "It probably started with her Embrace. I bet she was Embraced by an Anarch…while I chose to join the Camarilla…"

"Hmm…" She raised a hand to her chin, "You'll have to forgive me. I'm fairly new with all this Jyhad business. So, then, she favors the Anarchs, and you…favor the Camarilla. Or do you? That is the question you've confused yourself with."

He nodded, "The entire time LaCroix was in power, I was trying to get her away from the Anarchs. To just…leave the state with her. But now, I'm asking myself…why the hell didn't I just, join the Anarchs when I had the chance?"

"There's always the opportunity to change, isn't there? Or am I mistaken?"

"But…I've made so many friends here…and, in a twisted way, some of the Anarchs I respect, because I've gotten to know them so well." He held his forehead, "Damn it…why do two siblings have to be on _opposite_ sides of a war?"

"Oh, I wish I had a sibling…is it fun?"

There was definitely a look in his eye that said, 'Yeah, no, having a sibling to constantly watch over, yell at, and persuade to get to a safer area of the country to escape the Jyhad is _loads_ of fun', but all he said was, "In the past…" He faltered, "It was fun…when we were alive maybe, but not anymore…"

"The World of Darkness does not agree with you?"

A dark smile appeared on his face, "It never has." He said dryly, "The World of Darkness took my mortal life, bitch-slapped it a few times in the face, stomped on it, then flushed it down the damn toilet. I've been fucked over by every different _aspect_ of the World of Darkness…"

"Hmm. How interesting." She leaned in, "You see, it's done the exact opposite for me. My mortal days were pathetic and dreary. Beyond pointless. But as soon as I was Embraced, I became something. I could do things, make something of myself." She sat back, "You see, the situation is different between us, just slightly. When I was alive, I was a woman. Therefore, my expectations were…to act like a woman. To be a doting daughter, loving wife, caring mother, and then die and become a pile of dirt. But, once I became a demon…" She smiled, "There were no more expectations. Because I was a demon. I could be crazed, deranged, but that fit within my character, because I was a demon." She paused, "But, none of this relates to Jyhad. This doesn't help your case. Forgive me. It isn't as if I am untouchable. It is very likely, now that I am in the epicenter of the Jyhad, that I too, will suffer." She sighed, "Have you, perhaps, considered being Independent, with your sister? You may still have friends and even allies on each side, but you need not work for any."

"Yeah…that's a good point…" He said, "Someone probably brought it up before…I just…I just don't know…" He took a shaky breath.

"Just relax." She insisted, "Do I need to give you a back rub as well? All this Jyhad tends to make everyone so tense. Come sit in my lap."

He raised a brow, "And Strauss is probably going to make me a freaking Primogen…" He went on, "Christ…"

"Primogen?" She asked.

"A Primogen is a part of the Prince's cabinet." He explained, "They typically represent their clan. Usually about six or seven people."

"So, could I be a Primogen?" She asked with a wide grin.

"Uh…no offense, but there has probably _never_ been a Nagaraja Primogen…" He said, "There probably has never been a Nagaraja in the Camarilla…maybe…so…I guess in a way, you made history…"

"How marvelous." She chuckled, "Anyway. Your sister, dear girl. I see her in my head already. I would suggest becoming Independent, and if not, perhaps going out to dinner with her now and again, or inviting her over. Hmm. No, don't do that. Dinner works best, the Prince wouldn't like an Anarch in the red tower."

He thought about it, "Keeping a connection with my sister does make sense." He said, "But this is gonna get ugly real fast once we start getting into heated war…"

"Yes, that makes sense." She thought, "Well, I suppose I'm without sound advice, because I've never had a sibling."

He sighed, "It's either going to be Miranda or me…I mean…we're the only two Ventrue left…the rest died…after the battle of Venture Tower…" He sniffed, "I can't be a goddamn Primogen…what a joke…"

"Please don't cry, sweetheart…" She reached over the table and tapped her hand against the surface to get him to look up, "You'll be fine. Mister Strauss is a very reasonable man. He will select a Primogen who he knows will do the job best. And if that is you, I'm sure he will help you settle in."

"It's Miranda." He said, "I'm not Primogen material."

"Then he will select her."

He nodded, "I think I'll just…tell him to pick her…"

"Only if he voices the idea of selecting you. Otherwise, he might feel as though you're attempting to impinge him."

"Attempting to what?"

"Impinge him…am I using the word wrong?" She asked, "To threaten his power? Step in his way?"

"Pfft, I'm not trying to do that. I'd be helping. With me in that spot, it'd just be a disaster. I mean, Miranda isn't better than me at _everything_ …but, she's used to sitting through stuffy meetings and whatnot with LaCroix."

"Everyone always talks about Mister LaCroix like he's some sort of devil. Was he really that bad?"

He gave a solemn, strict, nod, "You know, I'm actually extremely jealous that you've never seen the bastard before."

She smirked, "As an archeologist, I would like evidence of his existence, and proof of his…insolence."

He crossed his arms, "Well, you tell me, Missus 'Woman', after being controlled all your life by this and that…I just…ran the facts and figured you wouldn't exactly enjoy him, based on the way he treated his staff." He said, "He double-dealt with the Kuei-Jin. He set up a bogus, fake assassination, framing Nines Rodriguez, the Anarch leader, in getting a Blood Hunt on him instead of fighting him like a _real_ man. Oh, and during the entire thing, there was this background affair with one of his ghouls going on. Completely fucking creepy. I could tell she wasn't into it at all. Well, when I put a little stop to his fucking hump-fest, that's where things went downhill…"

She had a brow raised about half way through the tale, "And, how is it that he was hired in the first place?"

"Well, you see…the Jyhad runs deep in all of us. Every reason for everything has some sort of trick behind it, you'll soon find out." He said, giving an angered huff, "Jeez, it really pissed me off when all the inexperienced losers thought that LaCroix was here because he was a 'man of power,' or some shit like that. Mind you, this state was just nothing but Anarchs and Kuei-Jin, in the middle of a war, and later on Sabbat joined in too. No, they _really_ sent him here, because no one in Europe or New York could stand him for long periods of time. So they set him up for failure. And what better place than a four, or sometimes five way war? Of course, that made all of us suffer too, indirectly."

"I see…" She mused, "So, now that Strauss is here, we're really trying to clean the place up."

He shrugged, "More or less. Kuei-Jin gone, Sabbat gone, Miranda killed one of the biggest hunters even known. So it's kinda just us and the Anarchs now."

"Hmm…I see." She sat up, "And what makes the Anarchs so evil now?"

He shrugged, "Well, no one's really the _good_ guys…but…they don't like us in their 'Anarch Free State', so, this isn't something that's just going to blow over."

"I see." She tapped her fingernails against the tabletop, "Well, it is all very fascinating, isn't it? That's what I think at least. Perhaps I will stay here a bit longer than a few years, if this intriguing display continues to pan out in this fashion."

"Well, I'm glad Strauss let you in at least." He gave a small smile, "I'm very interested in sharing the battlefield with you."

"Glad to see I share the same sentiment." She said with a smile before she stood up, "Well, I suppose I should go hunting, if you're not going to grace me with a drink or meal."

He took a blood back out of his jacket and slid it over her way.

She picked up the blood pack, then looked it over and chuckled softly. "Hmm. You really are a Ventrue, aren't you?" She smiled, "Thank you dear. This should tide me over for an hour or so."

"No, thank you…" He said, "I…kinda needed that slap to the face…a reminder of who I am…"

"Well, I will see you around, Vanderbilt. I look forward to our next chat."

* * *

"I'm sorry to take you away from the Last Round, but I might need Nines's personal help with this one, thought maybe you could pass a message along for me." Isaac looked at Damsel from his desk.

"Hey, it's no problem." Damsel said, "If anything, it's Killian's fault for flaking out on us." She muttered, "What did you need?"

"Something's gone very wrong. VV is in trouble, I just know it." He said, "See, I own Vesuvius, and when I was alerted that it was shut down…that someone went behind my back and…cut the cord…so to speak, I knew it wasn't just some sort of kine complaint or renovation. I need some help with this. I sent some ghouls the other day to look into that, but they haven't found anything helpful. Velvet's gone, Vesuvius is closed, almost like they both vanished into thin air." He shook his head, "Whoever's doing this…I just…I just don't know…"

"That's a little fishy…" She muttered, "Killian's disappeared too, doesn't he hang out down here a lot?" She asked, "I'll…I'll do some snooping, don't worry. Some good snooping, better than the ghouls. If I still can't find anything, I'll tell Nines."

"Yes, I just wanted to let you all know that Hollywood is in trouble." He said, "This is the only territory we have now that is completely Anarch…but…it might not stay this way if all this nonsense continues—" A loud siren went off, the sounds of broken glass as well as screams were heard. The latter of which probably belonged to what little staff Isaac had in the front of the store. Isaac stood up, "What the hell is that?" He asked, "That alarm doesn't go off unless…"

The nearby door broke down, as Garret barreled in, armed with a shotgun, "Isaac Abrams." He growled, "It's been a while."

He raised a brow, "Do I know you?"

Damsel quickly picked up her own shotgun and aimed it at Garret, "Hey, pal, back off."

Garret chuckled, "This your little guard dog or something?" He asked, quickly pumping Celerity to overwhelm Damsel with a barrage of shotgun blasts.

Slade crashed through next, with both swords outs, he slashed at Garret, it looked like their Celerity was evenly matched. "Hey!" Garret snapped, "I thought I got rid of you!"

"Don't be so surprised, jackass." Slade said, "I know you have something to do with VV's disappearance…"

"Is that true?" Isaac asked.

"Don't know what you're talking about there pal." Garret snickered, starting to fire at Slade instead.

Isaac joined the scrap, grabbing a gun he kept under the desk for emergencies _precisely_ like these. The three Toreador all battled against each other throughout the entire jewelry store. One Sabbat, one Anarch, and one from the Camarilla. All their Celerity seemed matched, give or take. Damsel stepped back, a bit overwhelmed by everything, but only for a hair. It was time to turn the tables. She cocked her shotgun and activated Celerity, dashing in to the high-speed battle to fire at Garret's head.

Garret was hit by it, and possibly Slade and Isaac's shots too, "Son of a bitch…" He growled, looking around, "Thought this would be a bit easier, Abrams…" He said, "Looks like you got too many Camarilla clowns helping you tonight…"

"So you _are_ Sabbat." Slade crossed his arms, "Where the hell is VV? Start talking."

"Why the hell do you care so much?" He wondered, then he sniffed the air, "Oh no…you can't be…"

"What? Can't be what?"

"She went and had a childe, didn't she?"

He raised a brow.

Garret laughed, "Well, I guess that makes me your grand sire there, pal!"

"Can we save the family reunion for later, shithead?" Damsel snarled, "Where is she?" She aimed the gun again.

"Right here, doll face." Garret lunged at her, armed to shoot her in the face, but Isaac shot him off course. Garret growled, "Well, I hate to end the party so soon…but…I'm sure you'll have enough to pay in damages later…I did my job…" He said, shrugging and speeding away.

Isaac looked around, all the once beautiful jewels in his store were either smashed or scattered all over the room, "Yes…this will…leave the invoices…a little trickier…"

"Yeah…" Slade sheathed his swords, "Have fun with that."

"Listen carefully." Isaac said, "You wouldn't be alive if it weren't for my interference, so before you throw it all away in the Camarilla, I think you should remember where you even _got_ your start from…"

Slade looked at him, unamused, "Yeah, I don't join people who are assholes to my friend."

Damsel bit back a toxic remark, "Look, let's…put your little friend aside for a moment." She said, "I'll go out on a limb and say we'll _forgive_ him too, for the sake of getting your sire back from wherever she is."

"I'm telling Strauss about what happened." He said, starting to walk away, "So you might want to stay on our good side, unless you want to get wiped off the map one night." He left.

Isaac furrowed his brows, "After we…find Velvet from this…joke of a Sabbat…we'll need to eliminate this Camarilla threat…"

"Yeah…" The scowl on Damsel's face was far from pretty as she watched Slade leave, "It's been the hot topic in the Last Round." She gave a determined huff, "We kicked out that fascist prick before, we can knock this one too."

* * *

It was an interesting sight, seeing the poor woman hanging up on the streetlight. Really, Phaedra wondered how she even managed to get herself up there. Did someone help her? Who would help someone commit suicide? Either way, it was as if someone had hung a prime rib on a string and held it in front of a wolf.

She didn't exactly have a way to cut the rope down, until she saw a thug walk by, "Excuse me sir."

The thug turned around, looking miffed, "The fuck you want?"

She held up a hand, a blue glow clouded his head, "Cut down that poor woman for me, would you?"

"Yeah, sure, whatever." He grabbed a gun from his pocket and fired at the rope enough times that it withered away and her body fell to the pavement with a disturbing sound. He then walked away like nothing happened.

Phaedra sighed and approached the body, taking the rope off of her neck, "You poor thing. I wonder what the issue was…" She lifted her up and carried her to the parking garage. She didn't trust alleyway snacks anymore.

After she had finished, she threw the remains in someone's trunk. She made her way out slowly, wiping her thumbs over the corners of her mouth to ensure there was no blood there. Her sire was always a very messy eater.

A bullet whizzed by her eye. And the gunshot sounded awfully similar, to the point where she thought that it _couldn't_ be him again, could it?

Of course, the next voice she heard proved that dead wrong, "Ah, there's the Nagaraja bitch." Sirius snickered from behind her, "Come out here tonight to die, finally."

"Yes, that was my intention." She muttered as she turned around, "I wish you no harm, your people even less. What more can I do for you?"

"I mean, dancing is optional, but the bullets will stick anyway." He said as he drew another pistol out and started firing with both.

Finding herself in the streets again was not helpful, not even in the slightest. She grimaced as the bullets stuck. Her plan would take far too much time anyhow. She lifted up a hand to Dominate him away again.

The blue glow went off, but nothing happened, "Ah, now I remember…" He seethed, "You tried to fucking _Dominate_ me away, you cunt." His sarcastic, smug grin disappeared, "Think you can just wave _me_ away like all your other problems?" He said, then his smile returned, "Ah, who am I kidding, Nagaraja run away from all their problems, right? Shouldn't you be in Korea? North Korea would suit you pretty damn well…"

She snickered, "I feel as though this hatred you're spewing on to me is the same type the bully does to the children at school. That same bully whose parents hit him and call him useless."

"That all you got?"

"Well, I'm simply searching for a source for all this anger. Has a member of my kind hurt you? I am not like the others of my kind. I am an outlier, you could say. Most of my kind concede to the beast, they settle with the Sabbat. I did not choose this curse upon myself, I did not pick this path, especially if I knew what we did to your people."

"So that's it? You're sticking to the peaceful surrender route? Or in this case running away?"

"I'm not going to fight you. I do not succumb to the beast. I never have."

"Tonight you will."

She chuckled, "I wouldn't be so sure. I may eat people, but I've never killed." She paused, "Killed enough to affect my humanity, at least."

"Well, why don't I show you what one of _my_ mind Disciplines do?" He asked, actually putting his guns away.

"In the open streets? Sure, burn away at your Masquerade, I'll gladly watch."

He laughed and laughed, " _You'll_ be breaking the Masquerade, sweetheart, not me." He held a hand out, "It's called Obsession, I'm sure you'll love it." A green glow escaped his hand, as well as a mist of serpents.

Phaedra flinched as her head was wracked with a burning feeling. She had been Dominated before, in fact, by her sire, on their second or third day after her Embrace. Pisha showed her what Dominate did by of course, using it on her, asking her to do three pushups. Pisha found it hilarious, but the nauseating feeling in Phaedra's mind made her feel like she needed to vomit, days after it had even been used on her.

The initial feeling was no different. She stumbled back and held her head as the world spun. But, soon, her vision was clouded with a misty green color, as a whole new whirl of side effects plagued her system.

Lust. It burned in her heart, bled through her veins, and sent a tingling sensation over her entire body. She wanted nothing more than Sirius. All opposition to the man had been scuttled, all thoughts of Pisha, Rainy, Vanderbilt, anyone who she had ever thought about romantically was burned away to dust, only Sirius standing in their place. She wanted to be his, she wanted him to take her. She clutched her forehead tightly, fell to her knees and let out an agonizing scream that sent people in the streets either running, or stopping to stare.

It had never been painful to Phaedra before, desire, no matter how strong it was. But this, this was something else. It started off almost enjoyable, but quickly began to eat away at her mind, until Sirius was the only thing she could think about, and it hurt. It burned so badly and ate away at her entire conscious, leaving her with nothing but the Beast.

Her body transformed into a hellish state, even more terrifying than before. Her nails grew out another inch or so, her teeth were absolutely massive, and those blood red eyes were fogged over and white. Without any other targets nearby, she ran for Sirius to tear him apart.

Sirius chuckled darkly, taking full advantage of the onlookers to shoot at her a few times to give himself a 'good guy' image before booking it completely and leaving her to frenzy by herself.

The frenzy was thankfully for Phaedra, rather short-lived. She stormed about, no one else close enough for her to really attack, before she panted and fell to the pavement, her body receding back into its normal form.

As her eyes opened, she shuddered. Her mind still wasn't her own. No, it wasn't lust, or even the Beast. It was fear. Sirius loomed over her, just about to crash on top of her. She gasped and got to her feet, running, running nowhere, really. She stopped and held her head, moaning softly as her anxiety just kept building and building. She stopped in an alleyway, cornered, then huddled there and hugged herself. Sirius was coming to get her. He was coming, she knew it. He could be anywhere, in front of her, behind her, already in her head, and she would be helpless. She stayed like this, in a tense ball, quite literally shaking herself into exhaustion, until she fell unconscious.

* * *

She felt terrible for lying. But it covered her for the night, and that's what counted. She wanted to see Phaedra again, and since Raven was pretty much a lost cause, she wanted to spend time with her new friend, or, muse was more like it.

Nevertheless, she screamed when she found her in an alleyway. (Although given her voice, not many people heard it). She crouched down, about to use Obeah, but then a thought hit her.

A terrifying one that didn't hit her last time.

What if that snake man was _still_ here? Ready to attack her?

She swallowed hard, anxiety already clutching her heart. She looked around, the red tower wasn't that far away, she was going to carry Phaedra home. She reached under her body, trying to pull her up, "Ooh…dear…you're a big girl…" She said, winded, she let the blood flow through her system, increasing her muscle activity, so she could actually lift Phaedra, then she hurried back to the tower, as quickly as possible.

Phaedra wasn't exactly awake, but subconsciously, she gripped onto Rainy tightly, and, were those tears? Once they were in the light, Rainy could see her makeup was smudged, sure, but those were definitely tear marks streaking down those bony cheeks. As she clutched onto Rainy, she whimpered, " _Madre, madre, nessuno mi ama, madre_." She shuddered and held her closer, " _Yoglio essere di nuovo un bambino, madre_."

Rainy shushed her quietly, making sure she was secure in her arms. She had to admit, the red tower's layout made no sense at all. It took what felt like forever to find Phaedra's room, when she did, she laid her on the couch, running off for another fifteen minutes, then coming back and setting a couple things on the table. She then gave Phaedra big hug, her third eye burst open, and the familiar lightning, blue glow, and harmonious charm of Obeah was heard as she healed Phaedra.

Phaedra gave a soft moan, her eyes opening again, then she looked up at Rainy, reaching out and gently holding her face, "Rainy…"

"You were attacked again…" She said, "By the same person?"

"Yes…" She rested a hand on her own forehead, "Yes…the serpent man…"

"You should really be careful…" She said, "He really knows how to find you…"

"I know…" She sighed, "But…what am I supposed to do?" She held a hand in the air, her eyes tearing up again, "I need to hunt…to get food, I need to find people…and he…he's hunting me as much as I'm hunting them…if I don't eat for one week, I wither away…I could die…"

She shivered, seeing someone like _Phaedra_ so worried and out of sorts, it made her feel just as scared, if not more so. She didn't know what to say, considering everything she said was true, so she gave her a reassuring hug instead.

Phaedra hugged her back, holding her close and hoping that filling her useless lungs with some oxygen might make her feel a bit better. She closed her eyes and grit her teeth, "He…made me frenzy…I've never submitted to the Beast…now he's given it a taste of life…"

"It's okay…is your humanity high? Then you should have no problem." She gave her a squeeze, "I bought some blood for you." She nodded to the table, there were about five blood packs on it, "In case you got thirsty, from the fight…"

Phaedra looked at the blood bags, then held Rainy close again, "You're such an angel…" She combed her fingers through Rainy's hair, gently scratching her scalp as she planted a kiss on her jawline, "I think…I'd like to freshen up first…if you wouldn't mind…"

She gave a quick nod, feeling the black kiss mark on her jawline and smiling.

Phaedra gently stood up and went into the room to the left of the front door, leaving the door open just a crack.

Rainy had cracked open one of Phaedra's books, after browsing her collection. It was a vast collection, really, a lot of biographies of people Rainy had no clue about, as well as historical events plotted out into multiple series, such as a lengthy looking series on the Holocaust, and another section about ancient Egypt. There were also books about artifacts, which, she really didn't think was possible. On a select shelf, she found a rather strange looking collection of tombs, but the books looked so aged, and they were stacked so high on the shelf, she figured they weren't really meant to be read for everyone.

There were also a good many novels, thankfully. Though, at least half of them were in Italian. And it seemed that the ones with the most interesting covers were the ones in Italian. But, she managed to find a few interesting ones she could read, and picked from those, settling on the couch and reading for a little over an hour, until Phaedra came out of the bathroom.

Her eyes were barren of any makeup, but her lips were painted in black, of course. Like it was the one thing she had to apply, her lipstick. She had a black satin bathrobe on, and, was that something red and lacy underneath? She quickly drew her eyes away, meeting Phaedra's face again, her hair was down and loose, a tad damp looking, "I'm sorry." She apologized, "I prefer baths over showers. I find them a bit too harsh and loud."

Rainy smiled, "I feel like they suit you."

She chuckled softly, "Why, thank you." She sat next to Rainy again and picked up one of the blood bags, gently tearing a corner and sipping from it as elegantly as she could.

"I'm sorry…I could have poured that in one of your glasses…it…it was stupid of me…I…I was out here for an hour, I could have made myself useful…"

"Shh." Phaedra smiled, "You saved my life. Again. You've made yourself beyond useful."

"I mean…technically I didn't." She said, " _This_ time. See, last time, he poisoned you…this time, he didn't, you would have recovered on your own, with the typical vampire healing rate…I just…did it…to make you more comfortable, if anything…"

"Well, speaking of comfort." Phaedra put the empty bag down on the table, "I think I owe you something, at least."

She shook her head, "I don't want you to feel that way, remember? That you owe me anything…"

"Oh, but I think you'd like it." She sat closer and gently landed her hand on Rainy's thigh, closer to her knee than her crotch. She smirked and leaned in a bit, "Unless you'd like to keep sending me away."

"Uh…" She started shaking.

Phaedra gently moved her hand away, putting it on her shoulder again, "Relax, dear…I'll leave you alone." She moved her hand away, "Sorry."

"…I can get you flesh too…maybe…to…help you while this…snake guy…is on the loose…"

"No, no…no…" Her eyes widened, "No flesh. You let me worry about that. I will mention the snake man to the Prince, he will take care of matters. Your clan is hunted as much as mine is. I do not need you staining those pretty hands with blood to help me."

She looked at her hands, "But…you need to eat…"

"I will get myself food…" She ensured, "I was…unreasonable earlier. I apologize, I didn't mean to put you through so much stress. Everything will be managed."

"It's okay Phaedra…you were scared of him…that's…logical…given what happened to you twice…I…wouldn't even be functioning if the same thing were happening to me…"

"Shh…" Phaedra insisted, putting a finger on Rainy's lips, before she pulled herself away and scooted away from Rainy, "Ugh, you'll have to forgive me…I simply cannot get my hands off of you…"

She played with her skirt, "So…this…thing…that you owe me…what is it?"

"Well…I had assumed you were uninterested."

"Uninterested in what?" She asked, then her eyes widened, "Oh…I…I think I know…"

She chuckled softly, "It's quite alright." She reached forward and took another blood bag, "I can't blame you. I'm sure with everything that's been going on with Raven, not to mention the running…I understand."

She crossed her legs, "I…I'm sorry…I'm just…not used to women being so…so _forward_ with me…" She said, sounding a little excited now, if anything.

"Forward." She chuckled, "As Miss Pisha would say, _direct_ …yes…" She reached back and combed her fingers through her own hair, "A flaw of mine, I suppose." She turned back to Rainy, "I suppose you should head home before your sire begins to worry about you."

"But…but…I'm not…like Pisha am I? I imagine she's very pretty, nice to look at. I'm not…really much, not when the clothes come off." She said, "I…I have to wear an outfit like _this_ to even get noticed by people…"

Phaedra looked over her, "I have no idea what you're talking about, sweetheart."

"Even in this, I look…plain…"

"By no means are you plain. No means. You are absolutely divine, am I understood?" She couldn't resist reaching over and petting Rainy's hair, "Besides, appearance hardly means a thing. You could be a box underneath those clothes, for all I know, but I would still be completely enamored with you. It's all in the mind, you know."

She half-smiled, "You're way prettier than me."

"Have you seen my teeth?"

"You deserve to be loved, whether you have sharp teeth or not."

"Well, I think you deserve to be loved too, whether you have the perfect body or not." She reached forward and pinched Rainy's cheek, "The perfect body doesn't exist, either, dear."

"What about yours?"

She raised a brow, "My body is far from perfect."

"…it…" Her crossed legs tightened, "No…no…it really isn't…"

Phaedra's smirk curled up just a bit more, "Rainy…" She leaned in, "You're becoming a lot harder to resist when I can actually smell your arousal."

"Then…then let's do it…" She said, "I…I don't know…part of me wants to wait…but…another part of me saw what's under your robe…"

Phaedra looked down at herself, "Oh, have you?" She looked back up, "Well, I'm certainly not going to be upset if you decide to leave. It's your choice."

"I told Raven…I'd be out for the night…so…we won't have to worry about that…"

She chuckled, "A sleepover, then?"

"…at the very least that…" She said, pouting playfully, "A queen is sitting next to me, and you say I'm aroused? Plot twist of the century…"

Phaedra chuckled before she scooted closer, tipping Rainy's face closer to hers so she could gently plant a kiss on her lips. For obvious reasons, she didn't deepen the kiss, but she did let her arms snake around Rainy's back and hold her closer.

Rainy kissed her back, tasting as much of her lipstick as she could, "You…you smell so nice…" She said, "And…and you're so soft…" She snuggled her close, "And…your body is perfect…so…I'm convinced you have it all."

Phaedra's hands gently rubbed over Rainy's shoulders, "I most certainly do not have it all…I'm almost unnerved…you're expecting so much from me…"

"Take the compliment, silly."

"Fine." She smirked and kissed her lips again, "Then you're going to stop feeling shame over your own body for the rest of the night."

"Phaedra…" She shivered, "That…that's hard…I…I almost…I'm almost afraid to take anything off…because you look so nice…and…and…"

"Then I'll take it off for you." She reached forward and started unbuttoning her blazar, "You're so tense, dear, relax. What are you anxious about? It's just me."

"This…this will be the first enjoyable sexual experience I've even had…" She said, "I don't…I don't want to ruin it for you." She said, gently kicking her heels off.

"You're not going to ruin it for me." She insisted, "This will likely be my first enjoyable time as well. I think we both need this very much." Her nimble fingers seemed to dance around Rainy's tie, "Those are fun to disassemble…"

"Good." She smiled, "You're having fun already." She took her blouse off next, working on her skirt and tights as well.

Phaedra's eyes scoured over her, "You're absolutely mesmerizing, dear." She took off her robe and kissed her, Rainy _almost_ shocked to see some red and black lingerie underneath.

She kissed her back, "Who should go first?"

"…go first?" Phaedra raised a brow, "Oh, you mean…" She reached back and unclasped Rainy's bra, pulling the straps off and palming her breasts, gently massaging them, "I'm not sure, I haven't finished learning about you yet."

She bit her lip as her bra came off, a few metal objects hit the ground. Money perhaps. Bullets. Probably both. She gave Phaedra a light squeeze, "I…I need to lie down, for this…"

"Of course…" Phaedra stood up, which confused her, "Let's go to the bed. The couch is not appropriate."

"It isn't?" She smiled as she began to follow her, "The queen needs to be soiled in her bed?"

Phaedra bit her lip and let out a moan, "You're very good at that without the bed…" She opened the door and let Rainy inside.

It was Phaedra's bedroom alright. Even more black and red, even more Victorian designs. But, there were no lights. There were only candles. She grabbed a lighter from the bed stand and started lighting them all, the room actually lit up beautifully. The bed itself looked like it fit a queen, with a beautiful head and footrest, and deep red velvet curtains hanging from the posts above the bed. It was like some sort of red and black sanctuary. The way Phaedra walked inside in her lingerie really fit the bill for her regal title Rainy dubbed her.

Rainy smiled, "Lay down, so I can get started."

"If you insist." Phaedra sat on the bed, then laid back, reaching back and untying the laces of the top of her lingerie, "You also insist I am perfect." She threw the top part aside, "Though I think your chest is much more generous than mine…" She reached her hands out, "Let me feel again."

Rainy swallowed hard, gently climbing on top of her and presenting her chest towards her, "The…the boy in prom, I slept with…didn't even look twice at my boobs…"

"Well, clearly he had no idea what he was doing…" She sighed as she repressed the urge to kiss and suckle at her breasts. She hated her clan. She kept gently caressing them, "Men can be like that, can't they?"

"Um…I should tell you something…before we go on…"

"Of course." Phaedra unclipped her own socks and let them bunch up at her feet, tossing them aside, before she pulled off her panties.

"When we…when we did it at prom…he…he entered from behind…without protection…so…just…just be nice…to it…"

Phaedra's eyes were a bit wide, she nodded slowly, then reached back and gently rubbed her hands over her rear, "I understand." She kissed her lips, massaging her hips, "I would never want to hurt you."

"I appreciate it." She said, kissing her back. She copied Phaedra, taking a hand down and rubbing one of Phaedra's hip, with her other hand, she fondled her boob. Phaedra closed her eyes and let out a sigh, her hands falling to her sides and holding the blankets as Rainy started to take control. She moved back, kissing both her breasts, and rubbing her stomach, being especially touchy by her lower abdomen.

Phaedra closed her eyes and let out another groan, this one sounded much more laden with anticipation. Her legs slowly wrapped around Rainy, her hands reached forward and combed through Rainy's hair. Really, she couldn't get over how lithe and delicate Rainy was, it made her pull her in even closer, "Rainy…" She sighed, "That…that name…it…sounds like a nickname…to me…"

"…well…it's…it's my name…"

"Is it…?"

She gave a quick nod. In an effort to keep Phaedra quiet, or at least make her speechless, she gave her lower abdomen a passionate kiss. She eventually bit down as she massaged her butt too.

Phaedra so badly wanted to keep digging, but really couldn't at all. Not when she was crying out with pleasure, her legs tightening around Rainy's body, one hand tangled in Rainy's hair, the other squeezing the smooth bedsheets.

Rainy was panting just as much as Phaedra was, "Your…your voice…is so hot…I love it…"

"Oh…do you?" She asked, "I…I still want that name…."

"Rainy Fields." She said, "Let me know when you want me to start touching you."

Phaedra figured that she would give up on the pursuit, for now, at least. "When you feel the time is right…"

"Okay." She started rubbing Phaedra's inner thighs, and teasing the area around her womanhood as well.

A deep groan escaped her throat, she spread her legs a bit wider, "Mmm…change of heart…perhaps…perhaps now…"

"I'd ask you to beg, but you're a queen, so your wish is my command." She said, laying her head on Phaedra's stomach as she started fingering her sex. She closed her eyes and relaxed, holding onto one of Phaedra's legs with her other arm to keep her stable.

Phaedra's eyes closed as she felt Rainy's fingers slowly enter her, a gasp taking her voice from her. The experience was so drastically different from what her scattered mortal memories provided her, it was as if she was losing her virginity. She didn't recall screaming, but she heard the sound fill the air, and it certainly didn't fit Rainy's vocal range. Any stress of the night, any tears that were shed, fear, anger, unhappiness at all dissipated to nothing, and was replaced by the fiery sensation of Rainy's fingers inside her, slowly building up the perfect rhythm. And it only got better when Rainy found the sweet spot, the perfect spot inside that made Phaedra reach her climax at an alarming speed.

"You cutie." Rainy giggled, continuing to press against that sweet spot once she found it, occasionally she gave Phaedra's stomach little kisses.

As Phaedra crashed from her first peak, gripping at the mattress to gain her bearings, she felt another orgasm sneaking up on her, building rapidly as Rainy patiently kept working her. She cried out again, this time in the form of Rainy's name, the sensation even more powerful than the last. "That's right…scream in that sexy voice of yours…" Rainy said, starting to suck on her stomach.

Phaedra's voice conked out after a moment or so, where she fell again and attempted to recuperate. She reached down and pet Rainy's hair with one hand, the other reaching for Rainy's hand, as if to stop her, "I…I just need a moment…please…" She begged, "Too much…and I think I'll explode…"

"That was cute…watching you…" Rainy giggled, climbing up to her level and giving her a hug.

Despite how tired her eyes looked, they still seemed full of vigor, "I don't think I've ever come like that…not even during my Embrace…"

She kissed her lips, "Why don't I give you a little rub so we can get some sleep?"

"What…?" She sat up a bit, "But you haven't had a turn…" She paused, "Come to think of it, I'm not entirely sure how I would give you a turn…" She looked at her long nails.

"It's okay. I enjoyed watching you be happy. Why don't we sleep? Or, I could get you again."

"But…isn't that…unfair?"

She shook her head, "Raven Embracing me sort of…made down there…a warzone…out of sorts…I wouldn't want to bore you with it…or…hurt myself…"

The look on Phaedra's face seemed determined, until she mentioned hurting herself, "So…you're…unable to…" She looked down at Rainy's crotch, then back up at her eyes, "To…respond?"

"Well…I can…be sexual…it's just…it feels weird…maybe it's because I've only been dead a few years, and I still think it feels funny…"

"Well…" She rubbed a hand over Rainy's stomach, "If you change your mind, you are always welcome to let me know, and I'll pleasure you until you can no longer sing at all…" She smirked, "I will find a way."

She nodded, melting a little at her touch.

Phaedra rested her head against Rainy's shoulder, "There you are, sweet pea…just relax…" She held onto Rainy like a dear stuffed animal, rubbing her hands over her chest, waist and hips, "Sleep well, dear…you…you mean so much to me…" Phaedra closed her eyes and kissed Rainy's shoulder.

If it was a trap, Phaedra didn't care. It was worth it. Every last second.

* * *

 **A/N:** See, Raven, did I not warn you? They never learn. Thanks for reading!


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N:** Here's chapter fourteen! The everlasting conflict between the Setite and the Nagaraja evolves a bit further! Enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs. Also, there's some rowdy ruckus, if it's not your cup of tea, you can skim over it.

* * *

Moans and groans filled the air of the Hollywood Graveyard, as zombies crawled out from the ground and roamed around freely, seeming to almost enjoy the fresh air for a while, before they'd have painful sounding chats with each other, push each other around, and collapse into the dirt.

When she saw how secluded the place was, Phaedra picked it as the place for her to raise the dead at her free will. A waste of energy? Yes. Most certainly a waste. But something about the zombies made her not feel so lonely anymore.

Not that she was really feeling all that lonely. She had Rainy. Rainy, the mystery girl who was very, _very_ talented with her hands. She cared about the girl dearly, but, did she really care about Phaedra?

The only thing that made Phaedra hesitant about trusting Rainy was if Rainy was after her sire. That would be the only reason Phaedra would break things off with her. But, for now, even if Rainy was planning to kill her, Phaedra would allow it. She wasn't alone anymore.

One of her zombies stumbled over and gave an incoherent moan, holding out a dandelion to her.

"Oh, for me?" She put a hand on her chest and picked it up, "How sweet of you, dear, thank you." She stood up and hugged the frail thing, it grunted and tried to hug her back, before it pushed her away and started pointlessly wandering again. She chuckled softly and left the flower on the headstone she was sitting at, "At least you all manage to give me some sense of dignity..."

She noticed that one of her zombies was donned completely in a Victorian style suit and coat, with a top hat as well. The creature was hunched over, using a walking stick, and bits of flesh fell off of him occasionally.

"Oh, why hello dear. I have to say, I adore that outfit." She was still smiling.

"Well, we must have a similar sense of style, then." He replied, in a hissing British accent.

She quirked a brow. It could talk. And…speak in a rather refined tone. This was not one of her zombies. "Mmm, yes, it appears so." If he was as violent as Sirius, she figured he would have killed her already, a dozen times over. She was practically a sitting duck. And, her zombies didn't seemed threatened by him at all, either. She waved a hand at them and they started crawling back into the ground, and the man still stood there, proving the point that he was not hers, "You'll have to forgive me. I needed a place to play without a Masquerade Violation."

He did what he could to stand tall, a hand on his walking stick, placing most of his weight on it, "Yes, I suppose a graveyard would be a sensible venue for…that sort of thing."

She chuckled briefly, then held a hand out, "Phaedra."

Sam looked at his decaying hand, doubtful that she wanted to shake it, "I am Sam Salamanca." He said, "Strauss has informed me that you have received a Masquerade Violation, while we're on the subject. Reports say you fell to the Beast in the streets."

"Ah. Yes, this is true. You must be part of the Camarilla then, in that case, it's even more of a pleasure to meet you." She crossed her legs, "Yes, I ran into…a particular type of Kindred who had the ability to control my mind…much like in the fashion of Dominate. Though, this particular discipline was rather…different."

He narrowed his uneven eyes in thought, "What do you mean?"

"Well, this man, first of all, is very opposed to my clan. So much so, his goal is to exterminate me. I believe he called himself a Follower of Set."

"A Follower of Set?" He mused quietly, "And you're saying that he played with the internal structures of your mind?"

"Yes, Obsession, he called it. There were, three stages I should say. It was that middle stage that unleashed the Beast. I was functioning completely astray from my will, until hours passed and I recovered."

"Serpentis."

"Serpentis?" She asked, "Yes, that would make sense…he did throw snakes at one point."

He nodded, "It is the trademarked Discipline of the Setite Clan." He said, started to pace, but the way it walked, it just looked painful, "Some Kindred scholars are quick to immediately link it to Protean, but it grants a lot than simply the power to turn into a snake. It gifts the user with all sorts of…arts of corruption, associated with snakes since the days of old." He said.

"Mmm, I see…" She crossed her arms as a breeze tossed her curls and scarf around gently, "And these Setites despise the Nagaraja."

He nodded, "It would appear so. Is that the only reason this person is attacking you?"

"That's the only reason he's brought up. We've never met before. I don't even know the man's name, but I could give you a description, if you needed it."

He thought about it, "And you're saying it was Serpentis that caused you to lose yourself?"

"Yes, that is correct. I've never frenzied before until then. I keep my humanity very high."

"Mmm, perhaps I can bring this up to Strauss. He may be able to clear your record."

"Oh, that would simply be marvelous. It is rather easy for my clan to collect these violations, I've always been so careful to avoid them, but it seems I've met my match."

He looked at the night sky, "You know, if diablerie wasn't a sin…I would _love_ to get my hands on Serpentis." He said, "There are so many options with that Discipline." He looked at his hand, "But, I'm quite deadly as it is…"

"I'm afraid I do not know what clan you belong to."

He chuckled for a bit, "And I fancied you for a Giovanni, when I first heard your accent, and then saw the zombies." He said, "Then I noticed your teeth, and realized that you belong to the Nagaraja Clan. Two of the three clans who have the powers of Necromancy at their disposal. And you're looking at the third." He smiled, "I am of the Samedi Clan. Though, we're really just a bloodline, but I'm sure you're used to that."

"Mmm, of course. Well, it is an honor to meet a Samedi, I can't say that I ever have."

"We're just as hidden as you are, usually." He said, as a particularly big patch of flesh fell off of him, "Somehow we're more horrifying than the Nosferatu…and our origin story…well, that has certainly been muddled up…"

"Has it now?" She chuckled. "Do tell, I'm quite interested."

He shrugged, "Most say that we were a Giovanni experiments, gone horribly wrong." He said, "Or…a necromantic accident…usually that route, though some even say that we're the last remnants of the Cappadocian Clan…"

"Cappadocian? Oh, that was the clan the Giovanni removed of…hmm…I've never been particularly fond of the Giovanni. I've never met one, but I'd prefer not to."

He snickered for a long while, "Do the talks of God and incest not suit you?" He laughed, causing a few crows to fly about in a panic, "See, Samedi and Giovanni have hated each other for centuries now. I loathe the bloody Giovanni…and it would seem for good reason…"

She laughed as well, "I quite like you Sam, it's only a shame we haven't met earlier. Or, is it Samuel?"

"Samuel is my full name." He nodded.

"A lovely name…yes, I will call you Samuel, then."

He did a small amount of pacing, still looking at the sky occasionally, "Have you heard that the Sabbat are back in town?"

"Hmm? No, I was not aware. I suppose I should really stay out of the streets then. They might try and recruit me."

"Yes…supposedly there was a sighting in Hollywood…from one of our fledglings-turned-neonates." He said, shaking his head, "Who knows what _branch_ of Sabbat it is…it could be a few scoundrels, or…it could be packed with Tzimisce fiends, and their LaSombra partners in crime…"

"I suppose one can never tell unless spies are involved."

He nodded, "Hmm…leave it to the _Anarchs_ to have their city overrun by Sabbat. This is what happens if you leave them to their own devises…bloody Anarchs…and their stupid…bloody bars. I keep telling Strauss that I should make an example out of that Isaac bloke…"

She chuckled, "I've only heard such wonderful things about these Anarchs, but I have yet to actually meet one."

"I suggest you keep it that way." He said, "Once they see that you have more than three dollars in your pocket, they assume you're in the 'fascist Camarilla.'"

"Mmm…I have a lot more than three dollars in my pocket…."

He chuckled for a bit, then he looked at her from where she was sitting, their eyes met, "Strauss tells me that you're an archaeologist."

"Yes, that's right. Though, it's been a while since I've been to an actual dig…they have the tendency to do those in the daylight, where they can see."

"Are you skilled at collecting artifacts? Kindred in nature?"

"Very."

He chuckled, "Then perhaps I could bother you with a request."

"Oh, of course."

"There's a stone ring, it looks like part of a handcuff." He said, "If you ever find one, I will trade you an artifact that I believe will benefit someone like you immensely."

"Gladly."

He nodded, tipping his hat, "Very well then, I shall tell Strauss to remove that blemish on your record for you. Goodnight, Miss Phaedra. If you ever need someone knocked off, let me know, as I am very bored, as of late…" He started walking away.

She laughed, "Yes, I'll contact you. Pleasure to meet you, Samuel!"

* * *

"I'm really not used to this room." Angelique sat at the table with a glass of water, "It's even fancier then the last one."

Cadmus sat across from her, "I like it." He said, "I also like having a Prince that actually respects me, and one that pardons my ghoul. These are nice things."

"Yes, I concur." She took a sip of her drink.

"You meet the new chick? Phaedra?"

"No…I feel like there are tons of new people here now, I certainly haven't met them all…"

"She's uh…she's an interesting one…"

"Did you have a meeting with her or something?"

"Uh…well, I've spoken to her a few times, yeah. She's just…a loud person…and very…affectionate…very open…"

"Toreador?"

He shook his head, "Nagaraja."

"…huh?"

"A flesh-eating clan." He said, "Sure…she _looks_ and _acts_ like a Toreador, but…then you notice her teeth…look like shark's teeth…"

"Ew…why is she in the Camarilla?"

He shrugged, "Strauss is letting a lot of new, weird clans join. But hey, if it makes us stronger, then I'm just excited to fight alongside them."

"I guess so…" She muttered, nervous Phaedra's connection to Cadmus would end up putting her on a dinner plate.

"It's fine, Angelique, she actually helped me the other day."

"She did?"

He nodded, "See, when all that shit was going down with LaCroix, I…uh…well, Anastasia asked me if I wanted to be an Anarch…and I…I don't know, I didn't have an answer for her…"

She looked up at him, "You didn't bring it up to me…"

He looked at little worried that she'd be mad, "Well…I kinda am now…"

"…I don't know if I want to join the Anarchs…"

"We're not." He rested his head on a fist.

"Oh…" She gave a sigh that gave away how relieved she really was, "Good…good…that…scared me…"

"I mean, if we did become Anarchs, it would solve the whole, 'my sister is on the other side', stuff…"

"I know…" She said, "But…she's…she happy over there, right?"

"I know she is…but…we're still at war…"

"I know." She crossed her arms, "We'll have to avoid her, then…" Her shoulders drooped, "But who's saying the other Camarilla members will recognize her."

"Yeah…Phaedra told me to do the opposite…" He said, looking at the table, "That I should be Independent and take her out to dinner or something…"

"I mean…I guess you could…"

"Gah! I hate this!" He growled, "Well…I can't be a Primogen…at all, that isn't an option…"

"It isn't?"

He shook his head, "Well, it's going to be either me or Miranda. So…I hope it's her…if I ever want to be Independent or something, I probably shouldn't be holding a title…"

"Yeah…that's a good point." She said, then she stood up, "Did you want to…go sit down somewhere more comfortable?"

"Yeah, it is getting late." He got up, heading towards his bedroom, "I heard there's a new branch of Sabbat that might be coming in…"

"I figured it was only a matter of time…" She muttered, taking off her jacket and throwing it aside, "Let's have sex, take your mind off of everything. You seem really stressed."

He sat on his bed, "It _could_ only be hearsay…I hope it's hearsay."

"It could be." She took her boots and pants off, sitting on the edge of the bed.

He took his coats off, going to hang them up, then he took his shirt off, sitting back next to her and kissing her.

Angelique straddled his abdomen, kissing him back and pulling off her tee shirt. Then she reached out and felt his arms, smiling as she felt the muscles there, "You don't see many muscular Ventrue."

"Eh…it's possible." He said, "I mean, Tremere are the ones who get the physical strength reduction…" She leaned in and started kissing his neck, rubbing her hands up and down his sides.

He reached down and took his pants off, squeezing her close and ruffling her hair a little. She took his hands and pinned them to either side of himself, kissing his lips again before she reached back and unfastened her bra, taking it off. "Like it up there?" He smiled.

"I really do…this is comfortable…" She rubbed his chest, then rolled off of him and stood up, taking her panties off.

His smile grew, as he took his own underwear off, the suspense of watching her stand off the corner taking her panties off was killing him, "Damn…"

"What's the matter?" She smirked and walked over, before she got back up the bed and straddled him, her eyes closing as she felt his abdomen up against her womanhood, "Oh…" She said softly, "Oh…oh I really like this…"

"Do you?" He chuckled, "Well, I'll be damned." He said, "You look good."

Her cheeks blushed a bit, then she dove in and kissed his lips again, slowly grinding against him. He smirked and held her butt, helping her along as he kissed her back. She let out a quiet sigh as her nails dug into his shoulders just a bit, "Cadmus…can…can I stay on top again…?"

"Sure." He gave her a squeeze. She squeezed him back and closed her eyes, kissing his throat and squeezing him tighter with her legs. He sighed, holding the back of her head with one hand, and he started fondling one of her breasts with the other.

She let out another sigh, then grinded a bit harder, "C-Cadmus…?"

He smiled, "Fleance?"

She let out a little moan as her nails dug into him a bit harder, "I want some blood…"

"Uh…sure…I just…might have to get up for that…"

"Uh-uh…just…bite yourself…"

"Angelique…there's a knife in my jacket…"

"Please…"

"Fine, fine…damn it all…" He timidly held his wrist up to his mouth, bearing his fangs and letting them sink into his wrist, "Ow, ow, son of a bitch!" He winced, backing up, his entire arm was shaking, "There, there…all done…"

She attached herself to him with a grip like glue, grabbing his arm and drinking from it, letting out a quiet moan as she kept grinding against him. He closed his eyes, holding his forehead, "Just…let me know when you're ready…"

She looked up at him, "Are…are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah…"

"Okay…" She said slowly, taking his hands in hers and kissing his knuckles, "I'm ready whenever you are."

"Alright, let me just…build the mood back up…" He reached up and squeezed her breasts, letting out a shameless groan. Her cheeks blushed as the idea nearly visibly passed her mind. She scooted forward on his chest and planted his face between her breasts. Given how tightly he squeezed her after that, he seemed to be enjoying himself, kissing each breast over and over again and in some cases, playfully biting them. She sighed and knotted her fingers into his hair, feeling rather empowered with how much he seemed to enjoy himself.

"…your boobs are amazing…"

She giggled, "Thank you." She kissed his forehead. "Your abs are amazing."

"Why don't I show you how amazing I think you are, Fleance?" He grinned, giving her boob another kiss.

She sighed, "Oh…oh yes…please…"

He aggressively pumped blood through his system with blood buff, once his member was ready to go, he shifted her down a little so he could squeeze her down and penetrate her. She cried out, but this time, he noticed she didn't feel quite as tight, she didn't tear up or grunt in any pain. She was still tight, and still squeezed onto him with enough pressure to make him see stars, but it was the fact that he knew she wasn't in pain that made it even better.

He sighed, which eventually turned into a groan, and he kept squeezing her down more and more. His hands kept gravitating towards her breasts, as he would try to get one or both of his thumbs over her nipples. That really seemed to tip her over the edge, she let out more groans and bit down on his chest, her hands gripping his arms so she could feel the muscles there bulge.

Her legs held him tightly as the rhythm increased, until Cadmus had reached a peak and they slowed down. Her panting was music to his ears, as was her racing heart, as she rolled over beside him and wiped the sweat off her forehead. "Jeez…I really kill you with this, don't I?" Cadmus asked.

"It's just…." She kept trying to catch her breath, "You're…very strong…and you have….a lot of stamina…"

"Yeah…that's true…" He squeezed her close and gave her a kiss, "Just let me know if I end up hurting you…like, _seriously_ hurting you…"

"No…no…I'm strong…I have your blood in my veins…"

"Alright." He kissed her again, "Night, Fleance."

"Goodnight, master…" She squeezed him, "I love you…"

* * *

When Sirius got home, the lights were all off in his mansion. It was how he usually left it. Usually Juliet turned them all on, but not anymore. They were all off, except for one in the kitchen that he could see from the doorway.

He muttered a few curses under his breath. 'Wasted all my bullets' this, and 'Nagaraja slut' that. He fumbled around his pockets, looking at his pistols, he would have to restock them soon. Not that it was much of a problem, Serpentis made humans a joke, pretty much. He walked towards the kitchen, the only lighted room in the house.

There was no one there. But there was a note on the table.

"Eh? What the hell is this?" He asked, to no one in particular, he read the note over.

 _Thanks for the help, the food, and the bathroom. I took one of your 10,000 cars and left to go back to my fucking job that you forgot to call me out sick for. Thanks anyway. Good luck with the vampire shit, and your freaky ex. Sorry about getting drunk. I don't know what I said, but I know I'm a bitch when I'm drunk. Maybe we'll meet again._

 _~ Juliet_

"Fucking Christ." He tossed the note aside, going to the nearest phone, "Where the hell does she work, anyway?" He asked, "She's some kinda chef, right?" If it weren't the fact that she gave him the number to call her out, he'd be completely at a loss. He dialed up the number and listened to the buzz of the receiver.

"Bougainvillea Diner, would you like a reservation?" It was a sweet peppy girl's voice, definitely not Juliet.

"Uh, no, that won't be necessary." Sirius said, "You got a girl that works there, named Juliet?"

"Juliet Rhodes? Um…yes…sorry, we don't do personal calls here…"

"What?" He raised a brow. Oh, how he _wished_ Serpentis would work over the phone, "Look, it's important…"

"I understand, sir, but we only have two phones out front, both are being used to take in reservations, and Missus Rhodes is in the back preparing food."

"It won't take long, I promise." He said, "If she's busy, just put me on hold or something…"

"I'm sorry, sir, I'm going to have to hang up, there are other orders coming in. She goes on break in about two hours if you'd like to come and speak to her them." The line died.

Sirius gave an annoyed sigh and hung up. He passed the two hours outside, practicing his aim, then he took his motorcycle and jetted it to Hollywood, once he parked out the diner, he barged right in. The lady up front seemed a bit shocked, he recognized her voice, "Hello, sir? Do you have a reservation?"

"No, I'm the guy who called from before." He said, giving an arrogant smile, "I believe two hours have passed."

Her cheeks flushed a bit, she pointed down the aisle, "To the left of the bathrooms is the Employee Only room."

"I can go in there without causing a ruckus and a half?"

"Please just be quiet."

He nodded, heading for the break room, he barged in there too. Juliet was sitting on one of the sofas, conked out, completely asleep, dark bags under her eyes. Her work outfit was that same lavender blouse with the white shorts, only now she had a pastel green apron on, and her hair was pinned up.

Sirius face-palmed, wondering how long her break actually lasted. He walked over and sat next to her, poking her shoulder, "Hey. Hey."

She moaned softly, her head hitting against the wall, "Put Kevin in there…ten more minutes…" She swatted a hand at him, but it was nowhere near where he actually was.

He leaned forward and said into her ear, "Something's going inside you in a minute if you don't wake up." He said, licking the shell of her ear with his serpent's tongue.

Her eyes flicked open and she screamed as she saw Sirius there, "How the hell did you get here!?" She scrambled back.

He crossed his arms and sassily crossed his legs, "See…this little sheet of paper with words on it found its way to my kitchen table…wanna explain to me what the hell it means?"

She put a hand on her chest, still trying to calm down, "It…it means I'm getting out of your way and going back to my life…I'm starting over." She said, "I'm saving up to buy a new place, sold everything…I'm doing double shifts, I don't know what the big deal is. I don't need you to survive."

"Did you forget that I have to wipe your memory first?" He raised a brow, "And what about the car you jacked from me? I'd like that back too." He shook his head, "You can't just _leave_ , _without_ me wiping your memory. That's like, seven broken Kindred laws right there."

"The fuck? I'm not gonna tell anyone, it's fine. I don't know anyone. I'm alone. I know my boss, and the little seventeen year old shits who work here so they can get laid. What, am I gonna tell them about my cool vampire friend?" She asked, "You're fine. You'll be fine. I'm not an idiot."

"Look, I'll just wipe the part about me and all the shit I told you, okay?" He said, "You'll still know your husband is dead and that shit, wouldn't leave you _that_ in the dark."

She crossed her arms, "What if I live with you?"

He looked confused, "What?"

"If I live with you, I'll save a lot of money, and I won't…have to have my memory wiped." She said, "And…you won't get lonely? I dunno, you could drink from me?" She asked, "I'll do your laundry? Clean up the place?"

"I mean, you could just…be my ghoul…but…I thought you didn't want to hang around me." He said, "I thought you'd rather just forget about me and go back to a normal life."

"Well, I mean, that was the plan." She muttered, "But I'm twenty seven…I just sold everything I owned…my parents are dead, everyone I knew is dead…" She sat back down, "I think it's too late to start over."

"But this little plan is going to go to shit really fast if we can't stand each other."

"If we can't stand each other then I'll just…go somewhere else." She shrugged, "Find somewhere else to live. I just think for now it's more convenient."

He looked down, giving a smug grin, Juliet wondered what the hell he was smiling about, until he said, "I know you like me."

She raised a brow, "Okay…what, did I tell you that you were hot when I was drunk?" She asked, "I mean, just cause I think you're hot doesn't mean I want to marry you." She waggled a finger at him, "Learned that the hard way."

He snickered, "You and me both." He said, then his smile grew, "So I'm hot now?"

She looked even more confused, "Yeah…I thought we made that clear _way_ earlier…you're acting like this is something new."

"It is." He said, "In fact, when you were drunk, you said even more things on that subject."

"Oh, Jesus Christ, now you're taking the words I said when I was out of my fucking mind like the goddamn bible? Uh-uh. Look, I thought the note made it pretty damn clear that I didn't mean anything I said."

"So we're not having sex?"

"…what?"

He held his hands up in the air, "What can I say? I was pretty excited." He said, "Got my hopes up and everything."

She blinked a few times, her shoulders drooped, "I told you we were having sex last night." She said, her tone implying that in no way did she believe this, "And you're going along with it."

"We should do in the breakroom."

"…in here? Where…there are cameras? I don't think Jeff the camera man needs that much of a thrill."

"Jeez…they really have cameras in here?" He asked, "Shit, didn't have cameras in every little nook and cranny in my day…course…they didn't really have many televisions either…"

"I mean…I could cut the cords. Or…just fuck it and do it anyway."

He lost it with laughter, "You're actually thinking about doing it!"

"Uh, of course I am…" She said, "When am I going to have some hot guy actually here…wanting to have sex with me? That's like…picking a plate of broccoli over a bowl of ice cream. I'm not passing it up." She grabbed a pair of scissors on the table, then went over to the corner of the room where the wires that lead to the camera were, "I mean in my defense, they put the cords like…right in fucking plain view."

"Wait, Juliet, stop." He said, "I was just fucking around, this isn't something worth losing your damn job over."

"I mean, if I'm gonna be living with you in your fancy-ass house, then I might as well…"

"Huh…didn't think of it that way…" He said, standing up, "Look, they're probably going to bug you to…go back to your shift or whatever, so I'll head home…you just take that hot rod back to my house, alright?"

"So you're gonna get me all hot and bothered, then leave me here in the dust?"

"You really would make the same mistake that would get you into Colby's arms twice?"

"Okay, well, you're a vampire, so you literally cannot knock me up. Even if the condom slips or the pills are expired, I'd be fine."

"But I wouldn't." He frowned, "I don't want to rush into anything after Natalia." He said, "Which, you had quite a few things to say about when you were drunk too…"

"Did I?" She scratched the back of his head, "Ugh. I'll see you when my shift's over then, alright, sweetheart?"

"Alright…just…" He put a hand on her shoulder, "Be safe, alright?"

She gave a little smile, "Yeah. Thanks. I'll be back soon."

* * *

 **A/N:** An interesting pair, what do you think? Let us know with a review! Thanks for reading!


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N:** Here's chapter fifteen! Time for the first Primogen meeting! Sorry. Spoilers. Enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs.

* * *

The doors to the Prince's office burst open, as Cadmus walked in, "I need to have a word with you."

Strauss stopped the paperwork he was looking at, "Mister Vanderbilt…" He said, "How may I be of assistance?"

"You need a Ventrue Primogen, right?" He asked.

He nodded, "I assume you have come here to ask me for the position?"

"No. Give it to Miranda."

"…you… _want_ me to give it to Miss Frost?"

He nodded, "Look, Strauss. I'm a fighter, you need someone killed, or a whole warehouse of something killed, I'm your guy, but…I can't do this. I can't be in a…governmental position…it…it wouldn't suit me." He said, "Miranda would do better than me at it."

"Of course." He nodded back, "I appreciate your…concern in the matter, Mister Vanderbilt."

Cadmus nodded. After he departed, Strauss called Miranda, informing her that she was the new Primogen of the Ventrue Clan. He then had to get prepared for the first ever meeting with his cabinet. So not long after that, he called up his six representatives, and waited patiently in his desk. He made sure to set up six chairs facing his desk as well, one for each member.

Miranda entered first, a slight dazed look in her eyes, "Am I really the Ventrue Primogen?"

Strauss nodded with a slight smile, "Glad to see you here so early, Miss Frost. Yes, let us just say that…you received a recommendation from within our organization…"

She gave a slow nod, having no idea what it meant, nevertheless, she bowed, "I appreciate it, sir. I will do what I can to serve the Camarilla's best interests." She said, taking a seat in the chair furthest to the left.

Victor came in next, "Greetings, Mister Strauss." He smiled.

"Greetings, Mister Madison." He smiled, "I'm glad to see you here, tonight."

"Victor." Miranda looked at him, "You're the Tremere Primogen?"

"Well, someone had to take Strauss's vacant spot, didn't they?" He asked, with a smile as always, as he sat next to Miranda, "And I suppose that makes you the new Ventrue Primogen."

She nodded, a little embarrassed, "Thought I must say, I'm probably too young."

"Nonsense." He swatted a hand, "Fifteen years under your belt isn't _too_ young for these sorts of things. Besides, you're a well-known name. You did kill Grunfeld Bach, after all."

The doors opened again as Therese walked in, "I apologize if I'm a bit tardy…it's quite a drive from Santa Monica." Her heels made a pleasant clicking sound against the floors before she sat next to Victor, "Nice to see you again, Mister Madison."

Victor did his best to keep a poker face up, "Yes, indeed, Miss Voerman."

"There's nothing to apologize for, Miss Voerman." Strauss said, "The three of you are all quite early, I appreciate the punctuality."

She gave a little head bob, then turned to Miranda, "I don't believe we've met."

"I'm Miranda Frost." Miranda held a hand out behind Victor's back, "You must be the Baron of Santa Monica."

"Yes, that's right. I have heard your name before. It's a pleasure to finally get to meet you."

"The feeling's mutual." Miranda smiled, facing ahead and crossing her legs.

The doors opened again, and Prospero and Goddard came in next, "Huh…look at this." Prospero said, "Oh, it's funny…the entire cabinet practically got replaced, didn't it? Well, at least this side did." He laughed, taking a seat on the end, Goddard sat next to him and took a book out.

Therese adjusted her glasses and watched as they came in and took a seat, setting her purse down beside her chair and watching them like a hawk. "Excellent, now we just have to wait for Mister Golden, and all will be set." Strauss said from his desk.

"It'll be interesting, seeing Gary again." Miranda said quietly.

Victor chuckled, "Yes, the last time we saw him was in the warrens…"

Therese looked beside her, at the only other empty chair, then felt chills go down her spine. She was going to be sitting next to him.

The doors opened a final time as the man walked in, "It's been a while since I've been allowed in here." He chuckled, "Oh, do I get to sit next to Voerman? What a treat." He sat next to her, "How nice it is to see you again, Strauss. It's been some time."

"Indeed it has, now, we shall commence with tonight's meeting…although…" His eyes flickered around, "Perhaps some introductions are in order?"

Prospero smiled, giving a wave, naturally he was the one most comfortable to break the ice, "Prospero Kingston." He said, "Brujah Primogen."

"Goddard Chamberlain." Goddard said, turning a page, "Toreador Primogen."

Gary looked intrigued with the both of them, "Gary Golden. I'm sure you've all heard of me." He sat back and crossed his legs.

"Therese Voerman." She waited a beat, "Malkavian Primogen, Baron of Santa Monica."

"Victor Madison." Victor said, "Tremere Primogen."

"Miranda Frost." Miranda said, "Ventrue Primogen."

"Excellent." Strauss said, "Now, let me address the one and only item on this meeting." He said, "There was rumored to be a Sabbat attack, down in Hollywood, a few nights ago."

"They're back so soon?" Victor asked.

Gary tapped his nails to his chin, "So that's what all that thumping and bumping was up on the surface." He paused, "I can't be the only one who isn't surprised. It was only a matter of time before they heard that Prince LaCroix was killed. They might not even know there's a new Prince."

Strauss thought for a moment, "I'm not even sure it _is_ the Sabbat, in all honesty. Witnesses there were…severely lacking…it could be an Independent brute…working alone…"

"No one saw the attack?" Victor asked.

"I did not say that. It was merely that this attack took place steeped in Anarch territory, as is such, the only ones who have observed the activity was the Anarchs. With one exception."

"Being?" Prospero asked.

"One agent from the Camarilla was also present on that night. I have called him to my office, and he will be here shortly to tell us what he saw."

"An agent in Hollywood, eh?" Gary mused, his mind leading him to only a few faces, "How interesting…"

"Yeah, who is this guy, anyway?" Prospero asked.

Slade walked through the doors, to answer his questions, though he was a little daunted by all the Primogen, he only really knew half of them, "Greetings, Mister Lockwood." Strauss said, "This will only take a moment of your time."

"Right." Slade nodded, moving towards the center of the room.

"Tell us about this assailant, and what he was after."

"Well…he attacked Isaac's jewelry store out of the blue. He seemed to be out to get the Anarchs, if not, more so, than us." Slade said.

"Did he…state his affiliation?"

"Well…no, but…he…he sort of…had the workings…of a Sabbat."

"I see. Do you know his clan or…other significant features?"

"Toreador."

He raised a brow, "You seem so sure."

He nodded, "He's VV's sire."

His eyes widened, "Velvet Velour's sire? I…I could not foresee such a thing even if it was as plain as day before me."

"Yeah, Hollywood's all messed up now because of it. Vesuvius is completely shut down, VV hasn't been seen in a while…I think the Sabbat are gradually taking over Hollywood, I don't know how they're doing it, but this guy really embarrassed the Baron of Hollywood in no time at all."

"What a funny little show." Gary mused, "I wouldn't be surprised if they come after us next. Well, that is, if they don't want to dirty their Oxxford suits."

Therese shook her head, "I…I don't understand, what use would they have for taking over Hollywood?"

"Well, if you're going to climb the ladder of power, you have to start somewhere." Gary said.

Strauss gave a nod, "That is all, Mister Lockwood, you have my appreciation for taking the time out of your day to tell us your tale."

Slade nodded, heading for the door, "Watch out for the Anarchs, though."

Strauss looked puzzled, "The Anarchs?"

He nodded, "From what little I heard from Isaac, they're not too happy about you taking power. They might…they might start something, assuming this Sabbat ruckus dies down." He opened the door, "Goodnight." He left.

Prospero chuckled, "The Anarchs." He said, "I'm playing a little game with them right now."

"He may have a point." Miranda said, "How many Primogen were lost under LaCroix's cabinet, three? Four?"

"No Anarch would be foolish enough to endure the wrath of a Blood Hunt on them." Victor smiled, "Besides, I believe Prince Strauss selected his Primogen with the best intentions. There certainly isn't an Anarch in this state who can defeat me."

"The Anarchs may be too scared to kill one of us…" Prospero started, "But the Sabbat certainly wouldn't be. They're not afraid of Blood Hunts, given that they openly diablerize, rape, steal, kill, break the Masquerade. They're not afraid of our Primogen status."

"I don't even think they _know_ what a Primogen is…" Gary muttered.

"Yes, but how big a scale of a Sabbat are we speaking about?" Victor raised a brow, "We cannot just…write _one_ errant Toreador off as…a Sabbat attack, and be done with it. There needs to be more research on the matter."

"So, you're suggesting more field agents." Therese said.

"Well, not so much as that. I have no interest of spreading our resources thin." Victor said, "Unfortunately, the only way we're going to learn more about…this…ruffian…is if he pops up to attack or destroy something else, seeing as how the Anarchs are not being forthcoming with us on any of this."

"Hmm…I rather think their time in this city is coming to an end." Miranda frowned.

Strauss looked at Gary, "Perhaps one of your clan-mates should solely dedicate their cyber-related searches for, suspicious, or, dangerous activities."

"One step ahead a' you, boss." Gary said, "We might have our distracted tendencies, but we're running daily checks on the computers to ensure ultimate security. You'll be the first to hear of anything."

Strauss nodded with a smile, "I appreciate the enthusiasm." He stood up, beginning to pace slightly, "Then, I will adjourn this meeting, I do not wish to take any more time from you all than I already have. Be wary, of Sabbat and Anarch activity. My first wish, is to rid them all from this city, and my next, is to finally start working on the Red List. Good evening, everyone."

* * *

"All I'm saying is I think it'd make your life a lot easier."

"It would not. I like being a ghoul."

"Oh, yeah? You _like_ bein' able to choke? And bleed to death? Get shot in the head and _die?_ "

Angelique hugged herself, "Yeah, but that wouldn't happen with all you guys here…"

"Oh, so yer relying on all of us, huh?" Ferrum sat back and crossed his legs, "What a damn burden you are."

"Shut up!" She spat, "You need me as much as I need you. We're equals."

"I don't get what the big deal is." He crossed his arms, "Cadmus can be your damn sire, if you're that attached to 'im." He said, "Then you won't have to suck 'im dry every month, you won't have to rely on him as much either."

"I'm sorry, but my relationship with cereal is too strong for that."

"Yer shitting me."

"You wouldn't get it, you've never had cereal." She said, "It's like…all the best flavors you've ever had, piled into one food."

He raised his brow, "I think you just like to get high off of sugar."

"Hey, that is _not_ true." She pointed at him, "At least I don't kill people over beef jerky."

"Beef jerky was fuckin'…the best thing…on the planet. Hands down. I'd kill anyone over that. Maybe not you."

"Oh, thanks." She sat back, then took a sip of her chocolate milk, "So…" She looked up at Miranda, "How was that meeting?"

"Oh, dreary…" She said, "But I expected as much."

"By the way, thanks for talking about food, guys…" Cadmus said, "Rubbing it in my face…showing off…"

"Don't be so grouchy." Miranda smiled, "As Primogen, I have to watch you and make sure you're attended to."

"Pfft, but I'm still your senior." He said, "So how the hell does that work?"

She gave a shrug, "I have no idea, I doubt anything like this sort of thing has ever happened."

"Yeah, _two_ Ventrue in all of one section of a Camarilla…" He shook his head, "Part of me likes it though, makes me feel unique."

"So, in this new Camarilla, are there any Gangrel?" Ferrum asked.

"There are no Gangrel in the Camarilla, dumbass." Angelique said.

He snarled at her, "I was just _asking_ , lay off."

Miranda gently put a hand on his shoulder, "The Gangrel formally left the Camarilla about six years ago. They're seen as a widely Independent Clan, now."

"I really wish I knew what the reason was." Cadmus said, "But…like everything else in the Jyhad, it's a damn mystery…"

Ferrum sighed, "So even if I wanted to officially join, I couldn't."

"Who even sired you?" Angelique asked, "One day you were human…the next…you weren't…"

"It was during one of those wipeout raids. Well, that's what we called 'em, at least. Where we'd go around and Embrace whoever we could get our hands on. I was 'shopping' that day—"

"Killing people who had money."

"Shut up and let me finish." He snapped, "Anyway, I was getting food for you, I was out of the way so you wouldn't get hurt. Good thing, huh? They grabbed me and Embraced me. I don't know who it was."

"Well, they're probably dead."

"Apparently they died in the same raid, funny enough." He said, "Damn, makes me wonder how many childer I have out there. Eh, they all probably died…"

"You never diablerized someone, right?"

"No." He crossed his arms, then muttered, "I could never get the soul down. I was too weak."

"Ha."

"Shut up! That's a good thing, right? My aura ain't tainted or nothin'."

"You're asking the wrong people." Cadmus said, "Sadly, none of us have Auspex."

"You should be fine." Miranda said, "But…if you want to join the Camarilla, you should…" She smiled, "Lots of Gangrel are still in the Camarilla even though the majority of the clan is not—"

"Not sure about 'lots.'" Cadmus said.

"Well…you know what I mean…if you joined…it…it would be nice." She looked at Ferrum.

"So I won't get my ass beat if I try to join?" He asked.

Cadmus shook his head, "Bullshitting a story that you were never Sabbat might help."

"I've already got that covered." Miranda smiled, "He's my ghoul. Or…my childe, even." She nervously looked at Ferrum, then back at Cadmus.

"…huh…see, I'd buy that, but you guys are nothing alike…"

"So what?"

"I mean, whatever." He threw his hands in the air, "As long as Strauss buys it, it doesn't matter."

Ferrum narrowed his eyes in thought as he looked at Miranda, "What if I started wearing a tie?"

"I don't think that would solve your case." Angelique muttered, "Your hair has a gravitational pull."

"It does not…" He grumbled, "It's cool."

"It is not _cool_. It's gross. There are things living in there."

"There are not! I wash it. And comb it. Bet you don't even do that."

"Yeah, I also cut it, so it's manageable."

"Pfft. You cut it so people wouldn't recognize ya. Cause you screwed yourself over with that little assassin game."

"It was not a game. It was how I made money." She took a sip of her milk, "Unlike you, you jackass."

He started snickering.

"What? What's so funny?"

"You have a mustache."

Her cheeks flamed as she wiped the milk from her upper lip, "Shut up."

There was a gentle knock on the door.

"Shit." Ferrum hissed under his breath, "You got a shower I can hide in?"

"No, it's alright." Miranda smiled, "You're my guest."

"It's open!" Cadmus shouted at the door.

A pair of familiar ghouls entered. Harper looked as stressed as always, but Mercurio seemed rather laidback. And, were those hickies on his neck? "Good evening." She greeted them, surprised that so many people were there. She folded her hands in front of herself, "I apologize for the disruption…"

"It's no problem." Cadmus smiled, "Have a seat."

She seemed a bit surprised, before she timidly pulled a chair over, "Well…um…you see…the two of us have…run into a bit of a predicament…we were going to ask you for some help."

"New regnants?"

"Um…yes…" She said, then she quickly added, "We…we really only have a day or two, at most…"

"Yeah, she'll be fine, but I'll kick the bucket." Mercurio said, "Really, it's no big deal, I mean, I lived a full life."

"Don't say that." Harper insisted, then turned back to Cadmus, "I know I wasn't always the…most polite to you. You usually found me in…my moments of weakness. But, you saved my life…I…I trust you more than anyone else."

"I mean, he's already got a ghoul." Mercurio motioned to Angelique, then looked at Miranda, "Unless you wouldn't mind helpin' out."

"Oh, yes, of course." Miranda smiled, "It's, the beginning of April, isn't it? You two don't have much time left at all. I'd gladly help." She said, "My, I've never had a ghoul before…this is almost exciting…"

Cadmus and Miranda exchanged a glance, "So, I guess, we each get one?" The former asked.

Mercurio chuckled, "I guess you can pick your favor—"

Harper lunged over and squeezed Cadmus, "I choose Cadmus."

Mercurio's shoulders sunk, before he looked over at Miranda, no doubt flustered a tad at her appearance, "I don't know if we've ever met anyway."

Miranda smiled at him, "Cadmus, I'll need your knife."

"One…second…" Cadmus said, if he had to breathe, he would have suffocated by now.

Harper let him go, then pounced on Mercurio with the same type of hug, "We're going to live! We're going to live! I do! I do!"

Mercurio was floored, "Jesus, we're hardly dating!"

"See." Angelique took a sip of her drink, "Being a ghoul is fun."

"Tch." Ferrum rolled his eyes, "It's the same thing, if ya ask me."

Cadmus took one of his knives out and slit his wrist, sliding the knife over to Miranda, "There ya go."

Miranda slit her own wrist, and both Ventrue held their arms towards Harper and Mercurio.

Ferrum watched as they drank, "Yeah, see, that's…that's just weird."

"It's not weird. It's weird if you make it weird." Angelique muttered.

He gave a dry sigh, "Whatever."

Harper stood taller as they both finished, "Do you feel better now?" She bounced on the balls of her feet. "I do!"

"Yeah, I guess so." Mercurio wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, then turned to Miranda, "Uh…so…" He scratched the back of his head, his heart racing from the new blood bond, "I sell weapons. Anything, I got it. I'll getcha anything you want for free, and give ya a cut a' the profits, if ya want. It's the same deal I had set up wit LaCroix."

"Ooh, that sounds nice." Miranda smiled.

"He sells damn good weapons too." Cadmus said, "If you…if you want a second opinion…"

"Well, you don't have to worry about giving me _too much_ of the profits." Miranda said, "If…if you run into trouble or something, and need it, then you hold on to it."

"Hey, thanks." He smiled, before Harper nearly tackled him again.

"Let's go make babies now."

His face turned bright red, "Jesus woman, would you take things a little slower?" He stumbled back and tried to keep his balance, before turning to Cadmus and Miranda, "You twos are lifesavers. You need help, jus' call."

Cadmus gave him a salute, "Gotcha."

"Night." He waved as he left with his girlfriend.

"I think you made her night." Angelique said.

"I mean, I wasn't gonna let either of 'em _die_." Cadmus said, then he looked at Miranda, "So that Sabbat attack, the one in Hollywood, is it legit or not?"

Miranda shrugged, "They have no idea. All we have is what Slade witnessed. He says that Velvet Velour's sire attacked Isaac Abrams jewelry store, and that Vesuvius has been shut down."

"Damn…that could kinda be anything…"

Ferrum sat back, "If it was Andrei's Sabbat, they'd go right to the Tremere, so…either the Chantry or this place. Either that, or they'd start pulling hits on everyone involved in his death, but, that's less likely."

"The Anarchs are supposedly just as fired up about us." Miranda said, then she frowned, "But, they're a bunch of fools. I'm not beneath killing them if they get out of line…"

Cadmus seemed _much_ less willing to kill Anarchs, by the look on his face, "Uh…yeah…" Angelique reached over and held his hand.

"Sounds like I'll be able to get back to fighting soon…" Ferrum said, then he grinned at Miranda, "Know what that means, princess?"

Miranda smiled at him, "What does that mean?"

"I get to help you out with Fortitude. You'll be as much of a tank as I am! Well…" He rubbed his chin, "You won't have as many muscles, but I'm sure it'll work."

"Oh yeah, that's right." Cadmus smiled, "My Fortitude was always better than yours. I'm sure Ferrum's is too."

Miranda rolled her eyes at Cadmus's taunt, "And my Dominate is better than yours, so maybe if you respect your Ventrue Primogen, you might get a lesson or two."

"Ugh, now I regret opening my mouth."

She smiled at Ferrum, "I would love for you to teach me."

He gave an excited cackle, "Finally, I'll have something better to do than sit around on my ass all day and read!"

"Just be careful with her." Angelique said, "Don't treat her like you treated me."

"What? Please, I'm not as dumb as I was back then."

"Uh huh…" She muttered, "Miranda, you have all right to Dominate him into giving himself a wedgie if he hurts you."

"Aw, c'mon…" Ferrum said, "I ain't gonna hurt her."

"Yeah, yeah…"

Cadmus looked ahead of himself, at the three people he was sitting with. This was the new age. Where LaCroix was dead, and everyone was happy, right? But, how come whenever someone brought up the Anarchs imminent destruction, he always had this sinking feeling?

* * *

"This place is nice, Catalina…" Cissy wandered around, then took her jacket off and threw it on the couch, "So, I can use your shower, yeah? I still reek of dumpster."

"Mmm-hmm…go ahead." Catalina said.

"Thanks a bunch. Ooh, I wonder what kinda soap Catalina uses…" Cissy said mischievously as she swept her red and black hair over a shoulder and wandered into the bathroom. Catalina, meanwhile, cleaned off her many katanas and machetes.

After a half hour, Cissy came out in a black towel, her hair pinned up in a high ponytail. She almost looked like a different girl, "Love the cherry smell, by the way, but I need clothes. Red flatters me, and so does black, but I'll take whatever. Crop tops, ooh, I love those. No shorts, though, the boots chafe."

"Uh…yeah…right…let me see what I have…" She left the room, leaving her weapons scattered all over the table, she returned after a few moments, "I laid some clothes out on my bed for you. Pick whatever you want."

"Ooh, perfect." Cissy dropped the towel, stark naked, as she walked across the room. Her bellybutton and left nipple were pierced, but Catalina did her best to look away. "You have some nice shit." She grabbed a pair of jeans, "Let's hope I can squeeze into these…" She said as she tried sliding into them, grunting a bit, "Oh god, it's like putting pants on after Thanksgiving…"

Catalina raised a brow, "I'm sure I have something looser…"

"Too late." She brushed her hands over them, "I think they look good." She turned around and faced Catalina, "What do you think?"

Catalina averted her eyes, "A shirt…" She said, "And a bra…"

"I mean the pants." She said, "My tits are great, but I'll cover 'em up, don't worry. What cup size are you?"

"No."

"What, I want to know if I'll fit into one of your bras? I'm a thirty-two C. I guess I could go braless…but, like…I dunno…" She looked at her tops, "I just thought the girls might poke out a bit."

"We should've just gone clothes shopping…" She said, "That would've been so much easier…"

"Oh, please. What, scared I'm gonna tell everyone what bra size you are? I could tell the guys you're eight megabytes and they'd be impressed."

"Your boobs will be fine, in one of my bras…alright?"

She snickered, "Alright, I'll snag one then, but I need you to give me one, you didn't put any on your bed."

"No…" She sighed, "I didn't…" She said, "I just…didn't think the dumpster stank permeated all the way to your underwear…" She dug around for bras, throwing a few on the bed.

"Oh yeah, it got everywhere… _everywhere_."

"Yeah, thanks Cissy."

Cissy grabbed one that looked the fanciest and looked at the label, smirking before she put it on and tightened the straps, "I think I'll manage." She grabbed a crop top and threw that on too, "Hot. Mmm, and it smells like you too." She said as she unpinned her hair and let it fall down around her shoulders, "So, where are we off to?"

She stared at her for a while, a long while. Minutes passed by. Honestly, Cissy thought she was going to get backhanded again, but instead, Catalina hugged her. This part also lasted a few minutes, until she finally explained herself, "I'm sorry…again…for burning you…"

"Hey, it's alright, sweetheart…" Cissy's shoulders melted as she hugged her back, "I understand…I mean…I was trying to bite you…"

"I know…but…you didn't know what you are." She said, about to break the hug.

Cissy held her tighter, then reached back and squeezed her butt firmly.

"Okay. This hug is over."

"No it isn't."

"Get off."

"C'mon…" She grinned and leaned in her ear, "You know you like it…"

She tore herself away, "I just think…if you want to steal something again…just…do it more discreetly…make sure no one sees you. See, it's harder for us now that we're vampires, if humans know we exist, we get in big trouble."

"Yeah…" Cissy said, as Catalina was facing away, Cissy grabbed a nice looking bracelet on the table and snuck it into her back pocket, then grabbed a necklace and tucked it into her bra, "So did you want to go out somewhere or not?"

"Where did you have in mind?" She turned back around.

"I dunno…my pockets are still empty. Er, _your_ pockets." She said, "Let's go out to eat somewhere."

"We can't eat."

"Uh…yeah we can…" She said, "I've done this dozens of times, made hundreds. Go to a nice place, feed on a waitress, steal her uniform, collect tips and bills." She shrugged, "It's great. As long as you don't get caught, you're golden."

"Wouldn't I just get in the way of that?"

"Hmm…well, if you wanna get us a blood doll to set up for the future, I'll give you half the cut."

She smiled, "Sounds nice."

"There we go. Jeez, finally got you on board with something." She said as they left, trailing Catalina, "So you like minor crimes then. I'll help you get up to the bigger stuff, ugh, it'll be so damn fun, you'll regret even thinking about ditching me."

"I don't like killing or ruining people's lives unless I really have to." She said, "If you kill an innocent human, you lose a piece of your humanity, it could make the beast take over."

"I don't kill people." She said, "I don't like getting blood on my hands. That shit's hard to wipe off. Fraud isn't as difficult. I'll steal diamonds, cars, insurance, shit like that, but I don't deal with people's lives. You should see me on a computer. Eh, I guess taking people's insurance is kinda cruel…I dunno, I love it."

"Just be careful, with the crimes you commit." She said, "If the Beast grabs hold of you, you lose control of your body."

"Lose control of my body, huh? Guess the Beast grabs me a lot." She smirked.

"Ugh…not what I meant…" She rolled her eyes, as Cissy laughed.

They a saw a figure in an alleyway, with red hair slicked back, and a fur coat, "Evening, ladies…" He said in a low growl.

"Can I help you with something?" Catalina asked, when there was a pause, she rolled her eyes, "Move."

He aimed a shotgun at them, "Don't think it's a good idea to talk to me like that, princess."

"Whatever." Catalina said, but before she knew it, the man sped around at incomprehensible speeds, filling Catalina full of shotgun shells in record time. She coughed up blood and fell over.

Cissy's eyes widened as she stumbled back, grabbing her machine gun that she thankfully decided to bring with her. She aimed it at the man and just started firing, a green glow surrounding her, "You after me or something, jackass?"

The man's Celerity was almost dizzying, he shot up Cissy a few times before he went back to Catalina, who had an absurd amount of holes in her. "Son of a bitch…" Catalina coughed up more blood, taking her pistol out with a trembling hand. The opponent had to reload his shotgun, but Celerity made even something as slow as this pretty quick.

"Why the hell is he so fast?" Cissy spat, holding hand out to send a horde of ravens after him.

"Aw, son of a bitch!" The man had to stop to shoot at any nearby ravens.

"It's Celerity…" Catalina said, wincing as she shut an eye, "It's…vampire super-speed…makes him almost impossible to hit unless you have Celerity that matches him…or a targeting Discipline…"

Cissy took the time to reload her machine gun, "So he's a vampire too?"

Catalina nodded, holding out her hand, she was coated in a red glow. The red-haired man flinched, as blood seeped away from him, "Hey!" He snapped, "Did you just steal my blood!" He growled and started flashing around, shooting at her more, "Damned Tremere!"

Cissy flinched, her aim complete crap as long as he was darting around so quickly. She held a hand out, a mist clouded the street a considerably stretch away, "Shit, shit!" She called out, where the mist pooled, a police car was left, "It's the cops!"

"What?" Catalina asked.

The red-haired man smiled, he dashed over and kicked at the window, stunned when he instead fell over and nearly face planted the ground. "What the hell?" He shot at the cop car a few times, then his eyes glowed red, "This car is fake!" He growled.

Catalina took this time to steal more blood from the enemy, she glowed red as she held a hand out. Their opponent seethed with rage, "Stop doing that!" He ran over and shot Catalina a few more times. Catalina choked out blood a few more times and collapsed on the ground.

"Cissy…" She rasped, "If…if I die…just…leave me…keep going…you need to…to find out what you are…"

"Like hell, I'm not getting anywhere without you!" She said as she scooped up Catalina and booked it as fast as she could.

"Cissy…" Catalina coughed, "Running is pointless, remember?" She asked, "Celerity?" Sure enough, Cissy was shot in the back about six time, before their foe had to reload. Catalina took this time to reach out and steal more of his blood.

"What the hell are we supposed to do?" Cissy urged, feeling blood leaking down her back.

"I'm going to make him run out of blood." Catalina said, "He'll frenzy, but he'll lose the speed boost…can you keep holding me like this? How is your Fortitude doing?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." Cissy said blankly, her mind running off of adrenaline, not having a clue as to what was happening. She just kept holding onto Catalina, taking as many bullets as she could for her.

Catalina winced, using her high-level Quietus power one last time, sure enough, their foe frenzied, but lost his edge, causing the two of them to escape.

"Alright…" She panted, "Set me down…" She said, once they were far enough away, "I need to see if I can walk…"

Cissy gently let her go in an alley, feeling absolutely exhausted. Her knees felt like jelly, her arms felt like splintery wooden boards, and her head felt like cotton balls and thunder clouds. She leaned up against a brick wall, the wounds on her back screaming in her head as the rough surface grated against them, slowly she sank down until she was sitting. Her eyes watered, not even to her knowledge. "Catalina…I'm gonna die, aren't I…?"

Catalina paced around a few times, "No, you're going to be fine…unless…did he shoot you near the heart?"

She put a hand on her chest and shook her head, "Not really…"

"Then you should be fine." Catalina got to her level, their eyes met. Catalina's face was scarred and in some cases had holes or bullet casings on them, though she looked as spirited as ever, "You okay?" She noticed her tears.

She swallowed hard and nodded, sitting up a bit so she could hug her, "I…I didn't know how many vampires there were…" She whimpered, "How powerful they could really be…"

Catalina winced, her wounds crying out in agony at the sudden contact, nevertheless, she played it off, "Yeah, it is a bit concerning. I've never met that guy. You've never met him. I need to find out what his deal was…maybe Akeem would know…" She said, "Look, Cissy…I'm sorry about…how much we sucked, in that fight, it's all my fault, to tell you the truth…"

"Your fault…? For what?"

"Because…" She hesitated, as if she didn't admit this to many people, "I have Celerity too…but…but mine sucks…if…if mine was good, we probably would have killed him…"

"Hey, it's alright…I sucked too…I sucked a lot…"

"Hey, you were good." She smiled, giving her a squeeze, "We make a good team. We combined our powers and…and at least…held him off, for the time being…"

Cissy hugged her back before they stood up, "So…did you want to…go back to your place?"

"I think we should feed first." She said, luckily they were still in the back alleys of downtown, she smiled as she spotted a couple walking down their way, "Luckily we have two capable patrons." She held a hand out, as a red ring surrounded the couple. They both passed out, with blood pouring out of their _skin_ , "Enjoy." She smiled at Cissy.

"…what, do we just…lick them? Even for _me_ that's a little gross…"

Catalina chuckled, "That's fine, I know I need it." She grabbed one of the pair and started sucking from his neck, the wounds on her began to close up.

Cissy grabbed onto the other and watched Catalina do it before she did it herself, closing her eyes and actually seeming to enjoy it.

Catalina slumped her meal against the wall, licking her lips off, "Just make sure you don't drain them of everything."

Cissy nodded and let go of them, "Thanks…they were…really filling."

"That's because I made their bloodstreams all hyper." She smiled, "Shall we go back?"

"Yeah…let's."

* * *

 **A/N:** Cissy the mystery…wonder what clan she is. Thanks for reading!


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N:** Here's chapter sixteen! Sorry for the delay in updates. This chapter has some serious tension, hope you enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs.

* * *

"This will be your room, son."

The architecture was nice, sure. Expensive. There were wine glasses full of blood visible in the fridge, since it had a glass door. It almost reminded him of Voerman's apartment, in that it was completely empty.

His apartment was always cluttered. He couldn't even remember what color the walls were, because he had them chalk-full of paintings. He bought shelves and tables just for all his sculptures, and painted all over the furniture. There were no canvasses lying around, there were no paint brushes, no empty bottles of beer from four years ago that his ex, Tina, would challenge him into binging. There were no scratches in the tabletops where he stabbed a knife into, no holes in the walls where he punched.

No hooks on the walls from Lark's organization kick that lasted a solid month.

It was neat and clean, with pale yellow walls, almost sickly looking, black carpets to hide the stains. A set of two chairs and tables in the corner, windows that were completely smothered out by curtains. A chandelier, no flickering lights that Killian could throw pears at when he got frustrated with their short lives. It was quiet, no running sounds of a computer with way too many half-finished emails, no washing machine set on extra delicate that still pulled buttons off his shirts.

No needles and thread lying on the counter where Lark would sew the buttons back on.

He felt his father's broad hand on his shoulder before it left, he almost missed the presence of someone warm, someone with flowing blood, someone with a beating heart, "I'll be back at midnight." The door closed silently.

Killian didn't notice the girl sitting on his bed until she turned and faced him. The curly red hair draped down just to the nape of her neck, the eyeshadow and red lips were undeniable. She was in a black fur jacket from what he could see, but what was on her legs was hidden by the bed. "…V?"

"Hello Killian." She said softly, her voice didn't sound like hers. She had nothing else to say.

"…what the hell are you doing in my room?" He walked in slowly.

She looked up at him, "You…you don't know?"

"Know…know what?"

"Why I'm here."

"No…"

She looked down at her hands, then back up at him. She'd been crying. Her eye makeup was flawless, but there were little red veins in her eyes that were swollen, too much to be normal, "What has your father told you?"

"He told me I'm…working for the Sabbat. And…this is my room. He's introducing me to his boss at midnight…as well as the others."

"He didn't tell you about…me?"

"No."

VV turned her gaze out the sealed off window, hugging herself closer with the huge fur she was in, "He's…a real master at his work…isn't he?"

Killian sat next to her, leaving a reasonable space, "I think he's a jackass."

"Then why are you working for him?" She looked up at him.

"I don't have anyone else, do I?" He asked, "You left me. 'Stasia left me. The Anarchs want me dead, I don't belong in the Camarilla…" He looked at his hands, "I'm his son. He's the last thing I have left. He's a jackass, and a bastard, and everything else under the sun, but…he's something. He's something that will lead me somewhere. I'm not nobody as long as I'm with him."

"You're a shadow."

"For now." He said, looking up, "I'll rise up. I have amazing Potence, and my Celerity is pretty damn good too. I'll get a higher position than that geezer in the first meeting I go to."

"You want to rise up in the Sabbat ranks?"

"I mean, why not? Maybe they'll care about me. Maybe I haven't found my people yet. Maybe they're my people."

"And maybe they're not. Maybe they're going to use this drive for their own good."

He looked over at her, "The hell do you know?"

"Your father's boss is my sire." She said, her eyes full of pain. She couldn't hide it anymore. "He is Sabbat, and he is evil."

"I don't believe in evil." He said gruffly, "There's right and wrong, but there's no evil."

"If you insist…" She looked away, then let a shallow sigh fill her lungs, "Killian, I'm here because…I'm here. For you."

"…what?"

She looked up at him, "Everything with Slade…it's in the past." She said. Speaking the truth didn't hurt as much as she had thought, "I moved on from him. It was a moment of weakness, then. I took it out on you."

"Yeah…it…hurt…"

"I understand that." She said, reaching over and gently touching his arm. "I hate everything that's been happening…and…I hate everyone who's been involved. But…not you. I don't hate you. I don't hate you at all." She said, "I know it's a strong word…but…" Her nails dug into his skin a bit, "I _hate_ your father." She looked up at him, "He has done terrible things to me, to your mother, and especially, to you and your sister. A man like him should not be alive."

"I get that V, but—"

"I want to…" Now is where the lies started filling in. But, she didn't want Archie to cut her head off and hand the ashes to Isaac on a silver platter. Not yet, at least. "I want to be with you, in this time, because I know…I know you'll be the best one to help me…"

"Wait…" He shook his head, "The hell is going on? Why are you in my room? Why are you here? What do you want?"

"Relax." She said, pulling her coat over tiny frame a bit more. He was relieved to see the straps of her lingerie underneath. At least the world wasn't falling apart at the seams _yet_. "I sought out your father."

"You…you were the one who brought him here?"

"Yes." She said, "Because I knew you were having a difficult time. I couldn't…simply apologize for everything that's happened. It would be too much…I knew you wouldn't forgive me. I thought…perhaps, if you saw your father…if he invited you into the Sabbat, you could find a purpose for yourself…and…" She scooted a bit closer. "And, kill the Sabbat. Then…perhaps the others would…go back to respecting you…or at least managing with you."

His eyes darted around as he looked down at her, "VV, this is dangerous…this could get both of us killed…"

"I know." She said softly.

"You…think I can do it?"

"I know you can." She reached up and took his hands, "It's the only way."

He rubbed his thumbs over her bony fingers, "The Sabbat isn't a game. They can't be…infiltrated that easily. They'll know if I'm playing around."

"Then don't. Play with them. Play with them long enough for them to dismiss you as a threat."

He looked away, then snickered, "I never took you as the master strategizing type, V."

"I want Archie dead…and Garret even more. I don't want to think about the stress on Isaac's shoulders…"

He paused, "You realize…in order to play Sabbat, I'm going to have to kill Anarchs."

"I understand…" She said softly, "But I suppose that's…that's what war is." She looked up at him, "Your father doesn't know about this. This…part of the plan. I told him I was your girlfriend, and I refused to leave your side. He was willing to make arrangements, and let me live here with you." She looked up, "You must not let this slip, under any circumstances, am I understood, Killian?"

"Yeah." He said softly.

She sat closer to him and took his hand with both of hers, "I'll be here, safe. Quarantined from the rest of the world. I will be here for you, even…even if you kill everyone around you."

He wiped a tear out of his eye, "Dammit, V…" His voice broke, "I don't want to kill anyone…" He whimpered.

"You're going to have to. Either that, or try, but…the Sabbat aren't very fond of failures."

He pulled her close to his chest and let the tears roll down his cheeks silently, "Dammit V…never leave me again…"

She closed her eyes as her head rested up against his, "I won't." She rubbed his shoulders, "N-Nothing lasts forever…"

* * *

"I feel like we shouldn't do it without Killian." Damsel crossed her arms.

"I think this is the best we're gonna get." Skelter said, "Besides, Catalina ain't here either."

"Well…yeah…but—"

"But what, she's not a _real_ Anarch?" Skelter jeered, "And you taunt _me_ for being bitchy. You're just jealous there's another redhead here who's got a few more inches on you."

"That is not true."

"Eh…sounds pretty true to me." Nines shrugged.

"Would you shut up!" She swatted his chest.

Skelter grabbed the darts and looked back at Sirius, who was sitting up against the wall, up against the dart board, "Anyway…this was something Jack started, years ago. Something we do with all the newbies."

"It's not gonna be as fun, he's already got one eye." Damsel said.

"Don't make him blind…" Nines rubbed one of his temples. "C'mon."

Skelter snickered and tossed one of the darts up and down, "They call me Skelter for a reason, you know."

"That doesn't even make any sense…" Damsel muttered.

"Only rules are, you're not allowed to move." Skelter said, "Got it?"

"Eh, Christ…make it snappy…" Sirius crossed his legs.

He snickered, then threw one, it went right through his hair. Everyone laughed, "Hell, how much hair do you have?" Skelter asked.

"Even if he didn't have any, he'd have more than you." Damsel snickered.

"Hey, I have hair!" He snapped, "It's just…short."

"Yeah, okay." She rolled her eyes.

"Come on, man." Sirius ran a hand through his hair, "Hit me with your best shot!"

"Awfully enthusiastic…" Anastasia muttered.

Skelter closed an eye, "You ever want piercings?"

"Not this again…" Damsel muttered.

"Sure, why the hell not?" Sirius shrugged.

Skelter laughed and threw one, it went right threw the cartilage. Damsel applauded, Nines gave a few half-hearted claps.

"One more." Nines said.

"Well, gotta get the other one." He said, hitting just about the same exactly location on the other one, "Alright, who's up?"

"I guess I am." Damsel said, "But my aim's shit."

"Yeah, we know…" Skelter said bitterly.

Sirius tried to worm the ones in his ears out, "Alright, hit me with your best shot."

She took the darts back, then stood back by the scuffed boot mark Jack most likely left behind. "No pressure." Nines said.

"Shut up, jackass…" She grumbled as she closed an eye and peeked her tongue out, building momentum before she threw the dart.

It stuck right in the wall.

"Jesus, Damsel, what are you aiming for, the floor?" Skelter asked.

"Shut up…" She moaned with frustration, then gave the darts to Anastasia, "I can't do it, I pass."

"I don't think I'll be much better…" Anastasia muttered.

Once she missed every shot, Sirius laughed, "So Skelter and Nines are the only two I gotta worry about in a gunfight, huh?"

"Yeah, if you gotta take away any lesson from this, that's gonna be the one." Nines said.

"Cool." He stood up and cracked his neck, "Now what?"

The doors burst open, "Guys!" Catalina said, "Guys…guys…guys…"

"Jesus…out with it already."

"Yeah, what happened?" Anastasia asked, a bit sweeter.

"My friend and I…" Catalina said, still a bit winded, "We were attacked…by this freak!"

"Malkavian?" Damsel perked up.

Nines held a hand up to her, "Freak, what do you mean? Kindred?"

Catalina nodded, "Yeah, Kindred…uh…let's see…he had, Celerity…and Auspex. Jeez…maybe he was Sabbat or something…I…I didn't think there were any Sabbat in this city…anymore…"

"What makes you say he was Sabbat?" It seemed once Nines started asking questions, the others just listened, but they listened in like hungry dogs.

"I…I don't know…he just…seemed to have _no_ regard for human life…he…had a growly voice…the…the fact that he attacked us for no reason…"

"Celerity and Auspex, around here, no less? Sounds like a Toreador to me." Nines said.

"Hey…did he have red hair? Really expensive looking coat?" Damsel asked. Catalina nodded. She grabbed Nines's arm, "That was that dick who ran into me in Isaac's shop! Velour's sire!"

"You're sure?" He asked.

"It has to be. He randomly came in and just started shooting at us, and he had Celerity, and he had red hair and a coat—"

"And there've been no other Sabbat sightings?" Nines looked over at Skelter.

"None that I found." He said, "It's been quiet. Too quiet.

Nines turned back to Catalina, "You okay? What about your friend?"

"Yeah, we're both fine." Catalina said, "I…almost died…but…but I stole some his blood…so…I made him run out…so he slowed down."

"Stole his blood?" Sirius asked, "Oh yeah, you guys have that blood magic thing, right." He said, "Damn, if it was me, the bastard would be dead by now."

"We'll have to send more troops out." Nines said, "I'd call Isaac but…I'm sure he's already on it." He said, then he smiled at Catalina and put a hand on her shoulder, "Good work, kid. You saved us a lot of trouble. Thanks."

Skelter raised a brow as Damsel gave her a death glare, he badly hid a chuckle. "Uh-huh, thanks." Catalina smiled.

"I didn't think the Sabbat would come back here so quickly." Anastasia said.

"Yeah, sure is mysterious." Sirius shrugged.

"So…I guess it's time to put her on the board." Skelter said.

"Skelter…" Nines rubbed one of his temples.

"Put me…on the board?" Catalina repeated.

"Yeah, go sit over there so I can throw darts at ya." Sirius said, Catalina loudly protesting.

"Enough." Nines held a hand up, "Give her a break for tonight. Tomorrow." He said as he went upstairs, muttering something about a new plan.

Skelter followed him up and made it halfway up the stairs before the door swung open, "Anastasia!"

"Oh…Christ almighty…someone get the pepper spray…" He grunted.

Jeanette walked in with that familiar swing to her hips, strutting over towards Anastasia, "How've you been, dearie, hmm? Sweet as pecan pie…?"

Anastasia tried everything she could not to instinctually cling to Skelter, "Uh-huh…fine…"

"Who is this?" Catalina asked.

"Who am _I?_ " Jeanette put a hand on her chest, her eyes raking over Catalina, clearly undressing her in her mind, before she did the same with Sirius, "Where's Killer? I didn't know there was…fresh meat…"

"Nines's upstairs. He don't want to be bothered by the likes of you. Go back to your club." Skelter said.

"But I haven't seen him since before the Blood Hunt! I just want to say hi. Where's Killian?"

"Up your ass and around the corner. Out."

"Hi Damsel."

"Jeanette!" Skelter barked impatiently, "Just get the hell out of here!"

Anastasia quickly followed Skelter upstairs, Sirius and Catalina exchanged a glance, following the others up eventually. Jeanette was about to follow when Damsel stopped her, "Enough. They don't want to talk, okay?"

Jeanette pouted, "Look, I won't bother Anastasia, okay? I'll…just put it on the backburner. I want to see the new little puppies! They're so cute!"

Damsel sighed and leaned against the doorframe, "Fine."

Jeanette squealed with excitement and ran upstairs, then she ran forward and hugged Nines. The force made him spit out his cigarette and nearly stumble to the floor, "Killer!"

"Voerman…" He choked a bit, "It's…been a while…" Clearly he didn't want to share in her embrace at all.

She gave him some space, dusting herself off, "Still muscular as ever. I'm glad you're alive."

"I am too."

"Oh, you're still funny too. You're always welcome on the second floor, kay?" She winked.

"Yeah."

She turned to Sirius and Catalina, honing in on the latter first, "I am Jeanette."

Catalina gave a polite chuckle, masking her inner nervousness, "Uh…right…hi…" She said, while Sirius, from the chair in the corner where he normally sat, was content with just taking everything in.

Anastasia's hands shook, she decided to stand close to Skelter, but not _too_ close to warrant observation. Considering she blew her last time trying to keep it a secret with Killian.

"Are you scared, or just excited to see me?" Jeanette batted her eyes.

"Have you…been in the Anarch movement long?" Catalina asked.

"As soon as Killer showed up." She looked over at Nines, "He really gave the movement…a good kick in the pants. Oh, but I'm sure you know all about how wonderful he is."

"Yes, he is a rather charismatic figure. Once I knew he was in this city, I searched him out to join."

"Have you ever met Jack? Five out of five stars."

"Uh…" Catalina looked over at the others, "Remind me who Jack is?"

"He was here right before you two joined." Anastasia said, "Did a lot to get rid of LaCroix…blew him up…then he left."

"I miss him to bits." Jeanette leaned back, "But Therese doesn't like him. Says he leaves the bed smelling strange." She swatted a hand, "Therese is my sister. Primogen now, did you hear?" She faced everyone else, "So now she has more power, like she needed it."

"Ah, so Therese is Primogen now, huh?" Sirius asked.

"Mmm hmm…" She stood tall after patting Catalina's head, then she sat across from Sirius, "And what was your name? Or should I just call you Eye Candy?" She winked.

"Sirius is fine." He said, as a snake's tongue flickered out of his mouth, "I'm just surprised Therese let you out of your damn pen today."

Her eyes widened, but, as did her grin, "Ooh…a bit fiery, are we?" She leaned in, teasing one of his feet with hers, "I've always had a thing for scars. I used to play when rag dolls when I was little, tear apart the little stitches and scars…Therese was always the doctor, so she needed someone to tear her patients apart…oh was it fun…"

"Don't you have a thing for everything?"

"Right again, Eye Candy." She reached over and patted his arm, "Or, forgive me, _Sirius_." She purred his name.

"Alright." He backed off, "Enough of that."

"A shame it has to be that way…" She whimpered, a pout on her face as she stood up, "Killer, your new puppies are all bark and no bite. I want a wolf, like Jack…"

"Then go find him." Nines crossed his arms.

She rolled her eyes before she looked over at Anastasia, "I'm still hunting." She hummed before she left.

"Shit." Skelter crossed his arms, "Someone's gotta knock her off already."

"Do you know how messy that would get?" Nines muttered, "First of all, I don't even want to think about how old she is. Second of all, Therese would go insane. And I mean it. She'd come here herself and kill us all, even if it wasn't us."

"I could kill 'em both." Sirius said. When everyone looked at him he said, "What?" Then he added, "Oh…yeah…Primogen status…blah, blah, blah…"

"You'd get a Blood Hunt." Nines said, "And with Strauss, who knows how serious it'll be. They're especially keen on getting rid of us."

"Pfft, would you guys really rather Jeannette just come in and harass us?" He asked, "Come on, we should at least kill her." He looked around at how uncomfortable everyone looked, "No one here likes her. It's clear to me this Jack guy was the only one to even _tolerate_ her."

"Jack fucked any girl who gave him the chance." Skelter muttered, "I just don't think killing Voerman should be on the top of our to-do list."

"Then what the fuck is?" He asked, "Seriously, aside from giving me piercings and playing cards, what is our to-do list?"

Skelter looked over at Nines, who smothered his cigarette into the wall, yes a new one, "You let me worry about that, kid. When the time comes, I'll let you know about our plan of attack. With the new tower, we can't exactly storm in there when no one's expecting. There's gonna be traps."

"I'm not saying we should storm in or nothing, with torches and pitchforks…I just thought…given the situation…we're kinda lax right now. You realize _eventually_ those Primogen gotta die, right? Because if we conceivably kill Strauss, one of those fuckers will just, take over."

"I understand that. You can't start at the top, you're right. We start in the middle and work our way down." He crossed his arms, "I'm waiting."

"For what?" Skelter asked, clearly this was new information for him as well.

"The right time to move."

"You gotta be more specific than that."

"Says who? You guys can go do whatever the hell you want, but I won't take responsibility. I know you already have a habit of that." He glared at Skelter.

"Got shit done, didn't I?"

"And almost cost us your life. You know Kingston hasn't dropped that case yet. He picks it up and finds a single piece of evidence, you're as good as dead, and so are we."

"You think I don't know that?"

Nines sighed and turned back to Sirius, "All you need to know is that we're waiting. This is a waiting period. As soon as the right time comes, we'll be up in arms again. Isaac's got troops in Hollywood to get rid of the Sabbat, but for now, we don't need to waste our energy bringing any up here. There's a few stragglers here and there, but as long as there's no Sabbat, there's no reason to clog our streets with potential Masquerade Violations."

"So we're waiting?" Sirius summarized.

"Welcome to Jyhad."

"He's probably been in the Jyhad all his life." Skelter muttered, "Just on the sidelines."

"Well, when we can live forever, there's usually a lot of it."

The doors were heard closing downstairs. Skelter looked up at Nines, "Killian?"

"I'd hope so."

There was a brief pause, before a figure walked upstairs, eying around everyone, then looking right at Skelter with a particular look in their eye.

She was tall and curvy, not exactly thin, but muscular. Her skin was dark, her hair was black as night and tied up in a bun on top of her head to keep it out of her face. Her eyes were a bright auburn color, and she wore mostly earth tones. She had two swords strapped to her back, pointed ears, and a particularly long set of nails painted black. "Skelter?" She asked, her voice soothing and deep.

"Yeah…" He said slowly, "Who's asking?"

"Maya." She said, "From my understanding, you were quite close with my sister." She smirked.

His eyes went wide, Nines smirked. "Uh…yeah, I knew her…" He cleared his throat, "I never thought I'd see you. I heard you were around, but I never thought I'd meet you."

She looked over him, "I suppose I can't blame her for liking you. You are somewhat attractive."

He seemed far from flattered, "Why are you here?"

"I heard about the Anarch movement here. I've been living further north, it's far more boring. I thought I'd come here to make a difference." The tone of her voice sounded like she was constantly sleepy, or trying to lull a child to bed.

"Make a difference…so what, you're here to stay?"

"If that's alright." She looked over at Nines, "I know Rodriguez is the head of the department, so to speak."

"Welcome aboard." Nines nodded.

She looked at the others, before she introduced herself, "Forgive me for my rude intrusion. I am Maya Kayode."

"Anastasia." Anastasia said quickly, looking from Skelter back to Maya.

"Catalina." Catalina smiled and waved.

"Sirius…" Sirius said slowly, "Jeez…didn't mean to offend anyone with that crap before…that girl…Jeanette…really pissed me off…"

"Is it me, or does she just have _no_ sense of personal boundaries?" Catalina asked.

"She doesn't." Anastasia said, as if that were all that _needed_ to be said.

"Well, she's surprisingly sane for a Malk, at least…" Skelter said, still a little upset from just seeing Maya exist, "I thought she was a Toreador for a good few months before someone told me otherwise."

"Who is this?" Maya stood beside Skelter.

He looked at her, then back at the floor, "Jeanette Voerman."

"I'm afraid I've never heard of her."

"Good."

"I'll say." Sirius said, "If I get bored, I'm killing her." He said, then a beat, "Don't worry, I got Obfuscate."

"And she has Auspex." Catalina said.

"…fucking hell…"

"Just be careful." Nines warned, "It cannot look like we had anything to do with it. We can't risk Therese knowing a damn thing."

"And she's nosier than a bloodhound." Skelter sighed.

Nines looked out the window before he stood tall, "I think I'm gonna head out."

"See you, man." Skelter said.

"Good luck." Nines smirked as he left, making Skelter curse quietly under his breath.

"We done for the night?" Sirius asked, "Guess I'll go too."

"Yeah, I need to get back to my apartment." Catalina said.

Anastasia waited for everyone to leave then she looked at Skelter, not wanting to blow their cover in front of Maya. "You got a place?" Maya leaned in a bit towards Skelter.

"Yeah, not interested." He stood up, "We'll uh…see you around."

She seemed a little surprised. "Yes. Nice to meet you both." She turned and left.

"Nines is a lucky son of a bitch…" Skelter muttered.

"What do you mean?" Anastasia asked, "Who is she, James?"

"I never met her. She's…that girl's sister. The girl from Bangkok."

"Oh…" She said, "So this…already sounds hella awkward…"

"Yeah….well…" He took her hand, "You don't gotta worry about anything, alright?"

"Okay." She squeezed his hand, "Don't forget, I'm here for you, okay?"

He smiled and kissed her, "Yeah, I'm here for you too."

* * *

"I don't think it's fair to do delivery." Harper looked up at her boyfriend, "Not one bit."

"Makes more cash. If you don't like it, go back. I don't like you here neither."

"I don't want you to get hurt."

"If I get hurt, I'll be fine. You on the other hand? I dunno." He said, then put a hand on her shoulder, "Look, Harper. It'll be fine. No one's gonna get us. What would they want with two ghouls anyway?"

"I don't know…" She looked back at the road, overall her voice sounded much more animated, "Why do they want you in the tattoo parlor?"

He shrugged a shoulder, "Privacy?"

"More like…so they can kill you…and then rob you…"

"Harper, that just ain't gonna happen. Jus' relax, I know how dis stuff happens. I'll walk in, meet the guy, give him the stuff, you take the money, we leave." He said, switching his briefcase to the other arm, "In and out."

"Okay…" She whimpered.

"I'm not gonna let nothin' bad happen to you. You know that."

"Uh huh…" She followed him into the tattoo parlor, feeling her blood pressure spiking higher and higher.

They noticed that the entire place was abandoned. Mercurio strolled in, Harper grabbing onto his arm, "Hey!" He called out, "Anyone home? I got your delivery!"

She hushed him and pulled on his arm, "Don't _shout_ like that!" She hissed.

"What?" He said, "They ain't gonna hear if I don't shout."

"Help!" A young child's voice called, "Help me! Where my mommy?"

Both of them stiffened in complete silence. Harper tugged on his sleeve, "It's like every damn horror movie out there…Mercurio, we have to go, _now_." She pulled him towards the door.

"But…the kid needs his mommy…"

"Mercurio! Don't be an idiot!" She let go of him, "Let's go, it's a trap!"

"Gimme your gun."

"What?"

"Gimme your gun, if it's a trap, I'll kill the sonofa' bitch, just gimme the gun."

"Then what will I arm myself with?"

"…your…nice rack?"

She scowled, "You have a gun in that suitcase, don't you?"

"But…it's new…"

"I swear to fucking god."

"Fine, fine." He opened the suitcase and took out the little machine gun, "You're comin' wit me then, yeah?"

"If you insist…" She took out her handgun and followed him downstairs.

The stairs got a little, squishier, as they headed down further and further, until they reached the basement, in which the entire ground sagged. Then they noticed how tan everything was colored, as well as the blood everywhere. The entire basement of the tattoo parlor was made of flesh.

"Mommy!" A child ran over to them, but he, or she, was horribly disfigured. There were no eyes on its head, the entire skull was squashed down and made longer, resembling some sort of animal or monster, and there were an absurd amount of appendages coming from all over the child's naked torso. The mouth at least worked perfectly fine, "Where's mommy? Did something happen to her?" He sniffed, about to cry, or at least _try_ to cry, what, with the disaster of a face and skull he had, "Mommy!"

The creatures around the child provided no sense of solace whatsoever. Most of them were severed heads, torsos, and arms, hastily glued together, and running around like spiders. They hissed and shrieked erratically, especially at seeing new guests. It was clear that this people were too far gone at this point.

A pair of yellow eyes opened up in the distance, "I see you answered my call…" Lafayette chuckled deeply. He leaped out of the shadows, a red glow from his hands as he began to flesh-craft Mercurio. His bones began to rebel first, piercing through his flesh.

Mercurio grunted and dropped the gun, holding his chest as he looked down at himself in terror, "The fuck is dis!?"

Harper looked inches away from fainting, before instinct kicked in. She grabbed the gun Mercurio dropped and aimed it at Lafayette's head, firing away. Lafayette stumbled back, hissing, he swatted one of his horrid creations, "Kill the girl!" He screeched, while he himself continued running at Mercurio to attack him with Vicissitude.

Harper's eyes widened as she backed away towards the stairs, firing at the monsters to fend them off. She gave one last forlorn look to Mercurio, who was looking less and less like Mercurio as the seconds ticked by, before she ran up the stairs to the upper level.

LaCroix had screwed her over for fifteen years of his life, but in those fifteen years, at least she learned how to tune out trauma and push through with cutting calculations for even the chance to survive. She supposed he was useful in _that_ aspect.

She made it to the second first floor and grabbed the phone, mashing the numbers as quickly as she could. As the monsters chased her upstairs, she shot at them with one hand, holding the phone with the other. She cussed out every single ring there was, until she heard the familiar gravelly, "Vanderbilt."

"Cadmus." Her heart raced loud, she was sure he could hear it. Maybe not over the machine gun rounds. And then the gun drew up empty. She cursed under her breath, "The tattoo parlor, Santa Monica, first and second floor, Tzimisce invasion, likely Sabbat, Mercurio and I located the area, report immediately with reinforcements. Full flesh creations—ah!" She yelped as one attacked her, but she kicked it off and pinned it to the ground as it clawed away at her bare legs. She grimaced and held onto the phone for dear life, "Full flesh creations as well as the Tzimisce behind the attack, do not hesitate!" She gasped for air, "One casualty, please, please come ASAP!" She mashed the phone down onto the table and reloaded the machine gun as quickly as she could, still firing away at the monsters as she was slowly cornered into the wall.

Now it was up to Cadmus arriving in a timely manner, as more and more monsters came up. It was possible Lafayette was just, making more, and that Mercurio was already finished. She shuddered to think what would it come to if _Mercurio_ was one of the monsters.

Harper was panting, shooting them for what felt like years, until the gun ran out of ammo. She figured this would happen. She lived in Santa Monica, furthest away from everyone, she would have a better shot just running, but she didn't even want to think about the innocents that would get injured if she left. She started using her pistol, but it was pointless. The monsters ganged up on top of her with ease, she felt their teeth and claws and whatever other parts tear into her. But she didn't bother screaming, because she knew the Tzimisce would enjoy it far too much.

The door burst open, and Cadmus ran in, looking around, his eyes widened as he saw all the monsters, for they resembled creatures he had to fight not too long ago. He pulled his axe out and sliced the monsters attacking Harper to ribbons. Once they all turned to ash, he held out a hand to help her up.

She gripped his hand and weakly stood to her feet, "They're…they're downstairs…" She said breathlessly.

"I was next door, getting blood." He said, "If I was any further…" He shook his head, "I don't wanna think about what you'd be." He ran down the stairs, arming himself with a green glow once he saw his opponent, "Holy shit…" He said, "There really _is_ a Tzimisce down here…"

Lafayette snickered, "Greetings, envoy of the Camarilla."

Cadmus held his axe firm, "You said _they_ …who's the other person?"

She bit her lip and put her arms around what was left of Mercurio, but the only thing recognizable about him was his suit. His eyes were swollen shut, his face turning shades of purple, his arms and legs disfigured, but she still felt a pulse in there somewhere. It almost hurt more to know he was alive.

"Go…get outta here." Cadmus said, "I'll hold this guy off." Something about that line sounded familiar. She did her best to carry Mercurio off with her and run.

Cadmus smirked at Lafayette, "Alright, give me your best shot, freak-show. Anything you whip up at me, I'll turn to ash."

"Oh, do not mistake me, childe of Caine." Lafayette snickered, "I need not make new creatures…I'll just change an existing form!" He ran at Cadmus, flesh-crafting him.

Cadmus growled, eventually letting out a scream as Lafayette began to tear and break down his body. He pulled a few knives out, throwing them at Lafayette. In the interim of his distraction. He ran out of the tattoo parlor, trailing Harper, "We need a cab to the red tower! Now!" He said, wincing, as his body was not supposed to be running, or even upright with this many lumps and openings in his flesh, "Don't worry about what we look like, I'll wipe their memory with Dominate!"

She nodded and waved a hand out, then jumped in the road when nobody stopped. Only then did a cab pull over, looking them over and wanting to book it before she tore the door open and threw Mercurio in, "New Venture Tower." She spat out, "Drive."

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 **A/N:** Which strategy will work, working from the bottom, or playing the waiting game? Thanks for reading!


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N:** Here's chapter seventeen! The chapter of mystical healers…enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, the characters in Bloodlines, the characters in the mods, (Akeem, a few more to come in the future) and, this may be a bit obvious, but I also don't own the chracters from White Wolf itself (Kemintiri, Ur-shulgi), but I do own my OCs. Additionally, there is content in this chapter from the Clan Quest Mod, we do not own that content either. Also I feel like I remember writing a lemon in there too, if you're not a fan, you can skim over it.

* * *

The only sound that complimented their ride was a somber rock ballad, as the ride from Santa Monica all the way to downtown wasn't exactly a short one. After the driver asked what the hell was wrong with Cadmus and Mercurio, Cadmus held a hand out, "What are you talking about? There's nothing wrong with us." A blue glow came out, "We need you to take us to the red tower."

"Yes, sir." The driver said, speeding up a bit.

"There." Cadmus said, "Now I protected the Masquerade, and we don't have to pay." He said, "Well…I guess we don't…typically pay…for…whatever…"

"LaCroix used to cover my tab…" Harper muttered, "He had me on my feet so much, all over his domain, it would have ended up costing me thousands…" She rambled nervously, keeping her eyes away from both of them. She couldn't stand the sight of looking at them, it'd feel like a punch to the gut, "Of course, I don't expect you to pay for any of my taxi fare, now that I'm…unemployed, technically, I have no reason to leave Santa Monica…"

"Technically unemployed?" He asked. Cadmus was in much better shape than Mercurio, but he was still not a sight for sensitive eyes. Some of his bones were jutting out and there were weird lumps in his body, but he only looked slightly in pain, and, as demonstrated before, he could still use his Disciplines.

"Well, I'm no longer being paid…I'm…no longer in the Camarilla…he removed my files, he got rid of everything, after I announced my execution…I have yet to really…involve myself yet. I'd ask Strauss if he needs any help, but…I don't know if he'd want that…"

"I mean…you are my ghoul now…" He winced, something about a rib slicing his flesh wasn't exactly pleasant, "Getting back into the Camarilla, wouldn't exactly be hard. Same goes for Mercurio."

Harper turned to Mercurio, her expression melting a bit as she felt him weakly squeeze her hand and give a soft moan. She looked away again, "Mmm hmm."

He swallowed hard. What was he going to do, tell her everything would be okay? In his twenty years of service to the Camarilla, a Tzimisce _never_ attacked him or anyone else for that matter at close range. He had no idea what to do, what to expect, was he going to be stuck like this forever? "What the hell ever happened, anyway? Did he just, pick you two off the streets and start attacking you?"

Harper held the other ghoul's hand tighter. "Mercurio still works." She started off softly, speaking in the dull tone she used when she worked, "He'll answer requests from people for firearms, they come to his room, pick them up discreetly, he makes a good deal of cash. A…bad habit from his mafia days, I'm sure." She muttered, "Well, someone called in a request, but they wanted a delivery. He hasn't ever…performed many deliveries. Not any that were very successful. So I came with him…in case something like this happens. He was there when we arrived. It was a trap, and I have no clue as to why he selected two ghouls that were hardly involved in the Camarilla. Unless he wants…all traces of LaCroix's blood gone, but even then, it hardly makes sense."

"He probably wanted to kill you both and give all the weapons to his allies." He said, "But you're right…that's a…a weird…tactic…there." He said, trying to cross his arms, but, too many of his bones were sticking out for it to be comfortable, "Strauss is _not_ going to be happy that there's another one of these guys running around…"

"No he isn't…" Harper sighed before Mercurio let out another sound, this time it looked like he tried to sit up, but something had been twisted backwards, and he physically couldn't. She gently wrapped her arms around his shoulders and helped him sit as tears rebelliously tumbled down her cheeks, "You know…I thought after Dalton…" She said softly, "Fate might lend me a hand…but it's only done worse…it's taken from me again, even sooner than before…" She sniffed, "At least I can hold him in my arms as he goes…"

Cadmus grit his teeth. They really were too peas in a pod. He could only scarcely imagine what might happen if _Angelique_ fell to this, this Tzimisce monster. The car finally skidded to a stop and Cadmus rushed out, opening the door for Harper and helping her and Mercurio out. He flinched once they entered the building, only having the ability to move into the lobby. He fell into one of the chairs, "Son of a bitch…this isn't good…"

Miranda stepped into the room, "Cadmus…goodness…" She looked from Harper, to Cadmus, to what remained of Mercurio, "What in the world happened?"

"Tzimisce…" Cadmus fumed from his seat, "We need help…"

Ferrum was trailing Miranda, then he walked closer and scooped up Cadmus, "Uh…you got a lot of money?"

"Money…?" Harper asked, "Why?"

"There ain't a way outta this but surgery…lots of it." Ferrum said.

Harper sat up, "But…Mercurio…"

"Uh…" He swallowed hard as he looked at Mercurio, who was slumped over Harper's shoulder, "…uh…"

High heels were heard clicking along the floors, "Quite a bit of commotion going on in here." A familiar Nagaraja, to Cadmus, walked in. "Vanderbilt? Are you getting married?"

"Who the hell is this…?" Ferrum growled.

"Put me back in the chair, I'm fine." Cadmus grimaced.

Miranda looked Phaedra up and down, "I'm afraid I don't know her either…is she…new to the Camarilla?"

"Sort of…" Cadmus said, as Ferrum reluctantly put him back.

Miranda was about to say something to Phaedra, but she almost screamed at the sight of the nearly gelatinous blob, " _That's_ Mercurio? No!" She ran over. "My…my ghoul…can't already be dead…can he? What if…what if I give him my blood? That will fix this, right?"

Cadmus coughed, some blood came out, "If vampire vitae was the solution to this damn problem, I think my ribs and my tibia would've gone back where they were supposed to freaking go by now."

Phaedra stepped closer and looked at Mercurio. "Hmm…" She turned to Cadmus and looked him over as well, "I have a solution."

"W-What?" Cadmus asked, holding his wounds in pain, "Can Nagaraja flesh-craft too? When you fix me, can you make me a little taller?"

She chuckled softly, "No, I cannot play with flesh like clay. I can resurrect your dead for you, but I'm sure you wouldn't want to see them anyway." She stepped back, "Keep that man's vitals in order, understood? How long does it take to get to Chinatown? Seven minutes? Give me fifteen, then." She left the building.

"Uh…who's the creepy demon lady?" Ferrum asked, "And why does she have shark teeth?"

"Nagaraja." Cadmus said from his chair, "Her name is Phaedra. She's part of the Nagaraja Clan. They have to eat flesh in addition to drink blood. She's new to the Camarilla…I wanted her to feel welcome."

Miranda chuckled, "That's why you shrunk away from her so." She said, "I have to admit, it's rather charming."

"She's like, fifty, you know."

She swore under her breath, "Fifty?"

He nodded, "So, technically, she's our elder."

She clearly had mixed feelings about that, "I wonder why she needs to go to Chinatown…is she going to get a Kuei-Jin to help us?"

"I doubt it." He said, "I trust her judgement. Honestly, I can't wait to fight alongside her. I want to see what her Disciplines are."

Ferrum grunted, "I don't like her."

"I know, it's an acquired taste." He said, "I'm sure I'll get used to her at some point."

Mercurio wheezed something that sounded like Harper's name, but she just turned and held onto him, closing her eyes, "His heartrate is getting faster…" She said weakly, "Too fast…"

"Damn it, what the hell do we do?"

"She's…she's coming back…in how long…seven, ten minutes?" Miranda asked.

Cadmus nodded, "That's our only hope. Come on, Mercurio, you didn't give in during the beach house mission, and you're not going to give in now."

He gave another wheeze before he reached an arm up, very slowly and painfully, wrapping it around Harper, who did her best to make her crying hidden, but failed under the pressure of everyone watching.

Ferrum looked back at Cadmus, "Who did this? Er, what did they look like? Sound like? Act like?"

"A crazy Tzimisce bastard. Black and yellow eyes, all blue…creepy skin, like an exoskeleton, psychopath, serial killer voice. It seems he already made the tattoo parlor in Santa Monica into one of his little houses or horrors." He said, "Why, what's on your mind?"

As he thought, he growled deep in his voice, like a dog of some sort, "That's gotta be him."

"Who?" Miranda asked, then her eyes widened, "You don't mean?"

"Someone wanna fill me in here?" Cadmus asked.

"Andrei had a childe."

"…you gotta be shitting me." He said, "So now they're here for revenge?" He asked, "Christ…that makes too much sense…the resemblance was uncanny…"

The doors opened as Phaedra walked in with Rainy, "I made the little driver man speed. Lovely man." She said, then looked up at Rainy, "You think you can manage with these two?"

Rainy swallowed hard, hiding behind Phaedra, like some sort of deer or gazelle. "Who is this?" Miranda asked.

"I got nothing." Cadmus said.

"Don't worry about who she is." Phaedra gently pet her hair, "I think you should heal him first." She pointed to the rapidly declining Mercurio.

Rainy was shivering, "No one can see me work." She said, only loud enough for Phaedra to hear.

"Ah. I see. I'll take care of it." She kissed Rainy's cheek before she turned to the others, "I'm afraid in order for the ritual to work, no one else can be within the vicinity. Or else you'll all be affected by it, which could cause complications. Yes, Vanderbilt, that includes you." She started wafting them off into a small public library.

Cadmus frowned, "Wait a second…I can barely move…I'm going to need help—" Miranda yanked him up and helped him out of the room, Ferrum, and Harper left too.

Rainy looked at Mercurio, "You need to go with them." She said softly.

"Of course." Phaedra nodded before she stepped into the library with them.

Rainy took a deep breath, holding her hands out, as her mystic, third eye opened, and blue lightning came from her body. Mercurio's injuries gradually healed, and the curse of the flesh-crafting Tzimisce were broken. Rainy smiled as Mercurio came too, "If…if you c-c-c-could tell…whoever's n-next…to…to come in…"

As his eyes opened, he smiled, "How the hell did you do that?"

She recoiled, "Uh…uh…uh…p-please…the…the n-next person…"

He chuckled as he stood up, dusting himself off, "What, the magician never reveals 'is tricks, eh? Fair enough, I guess…" He muttered, heading into the library, "Hey, Cadmus, you're up."

Harper gave a squeal of joy and nearly tackled him to the floor as tightly as she could, "I thought you were dead!" She kissed his face over and over, saying 'I love you' each time, which quickly became undecipherable.

"She's happy." Ferrum muttered, "Wonder how the hell he got fixed that fast…I never met someone who could…un-flesh-craft…" He scratched his chin, "Andrei-Junior's gonna be pissed."

Cadmus uneasily plopped into the chair opposite of Rainy, "So…how's this gonna work? You gonna hypnotize me or something?"

"Close your eyes." Rainy requested.

"…what?"

"Close your eyes, please." She shivered. Cadmus was arguably the most awake person she had healed recently, and he would _definitely_ notice the third eye opening and closing. Cadmus obliged, and he was healed, similarly to Mercurio. He burst into the room everyone was waiting, Rainy following after him.

"I'm back to normal!" He smirked, then he nodded at Rainy, "Hey, thanks."

Rainy gave a polite bow, "I should really get back to Chinatown."

"And I need to tell Strauss about this Tzimisce." Cadmus said, walking off.

Phaedra stood up and hugged Rainy, rubbing her back, "You need to get some blood." She said softly, "I can go fetch you some for your troubles."

"I don't want to be a burden."

"You wouldn't be." She assured, "I'll be right back." She walked off, her voice could be heard calling for Leonardo.

Ferrum looked up at Rainy, certainly surprised with how she looked. He was expecting the Tzimisce's foil to be a bit more equal and opposite of them. Not a little timid girl. Rainy shrunk under Ferrum's gaze, taking a few steps back and shrinking a little, if not, downright cowering.

"Skittish, isn't she?" Miranda asked quietly.

"Uh huh…" Ferrum looked away, scratching the back of his head. He didn't exactly have the friendliest gaze, in fact, even an innocent look from him came off as intimidating. "What clan were you again?"

"Uh…uh….." Rainy backed away more, feeling the wall behind her as she backed into it, as if she wanted to climb into it and hide forever.

"Caitiff?" He asked, "C'mon, I'm not gonna bite, sweetheart, just curious." She swallowed hard and hugged herself, crouching into a ball.

"Is she having an attack?" Miranda asked, getting to her level, "It's alright, we won't hurt you."

Phaedra walked in with a few bags of blood, "My goodness, what are you doing to her?" She looked accusingly at Ferrum and Miranda then back at Rainy, slowly approaching her, "Here, I brought the blood. You can head back home now, dear."

"Thank you." Rainy gulped, taking the bags and running off.

Phaedra sighed, then turned to the pair of them, "She's rather shy."

"Yeah, we got that." Ferrum sat back, "What the hell clan is she?"

"I'm not sure. She hasn't told me either." Phaedra sat across from them, "She's healed me quite a bit, out of nothing but the compassion from her heart."

"So you know nothin' about her, and you let her in?"

"We're very close."

"Who the hell are you, exactly?" Ferrum's eyes narrowed. There wasn't an ounce of patience or tolerance in his voice at this point, it had been burnt away to dust.

"I could ask the same of you." She looked him over, keeping her deep voice light and calm as always, "You don't look Camarilla."

"And you don't look Kindred. You look zombie." His lips were curved downward in an unforgiving scowl.

She laughed, surprisingly, "Oh, how sweet you are." She stood up, "Lucky you have a face I will not forget."

"Let's…keep this friendly, shall we?" Miranda asked.

Ferrum sat back, grumbling some sort of half-assed apology. Phaedra snickered, before she held a hand out towards him, "Phaedra."

He shook her hand, meeting her gaze before he pulled away from the handshake and offered a sound that was a mix of a snort and a grunt.

"Something about you reminds me vaguely of my ex-husband." She mused before she looked over to Miranda, "Nice to meet you, as well, dear. That dress looks very nice on you."

"Phaedra." Cadmus's voice said. They all turned to look at him. It was strange, his usual scowl wasn't there. If anything, he looked _terrified_. "Prince wants to see you." He squeaked out, "Immediately."

"Does he?" Phaedra turned to face Cadmus, "I see…." She said slowly, "Thank you, Vanderbilt." She pat his shoulder before she went upstairs to visit the Prince.

Strauss even looked a little perturbed as she entered, "Greetings, Miss Kokinos." He said, hands folded on his desk, "I was told recently that you've breached the Masquerade…"

"Mmm, yes." She said, "I had spoken to an assistant of yours, he had mentioned removing the Violation. You see, it was after a run in with a Follower of Set, who used Obsession on me. Seems we have unfortunate clan history."

"Yes, indeed." He said, "Luckily, I have already wiped the violation away. I realize you fell to the beast _as a result_ of this assailant's powers." He said, "It's fortunate you were able to survive the attack."

"Thank you for being so understanding, sir."

He gave a slight nod, before switching subjects entirely and bringing a new topic to the table, "Mister Vanderbilt has just informed me that a new Sabbat, and in turn, Tzimisce, has been seen running rampant around my city. A proficient user of Vicissitude, and aggressive too."

"Yes, it appears that way."

"He…" He paused, "He also informed me that…a _friend_ …of yours…cured Kindred and kine alike of these ailments."

She smirked, "Yes, this is true."

"Who is this woman?" He asked, with rapid urgency. "What is her clan? What are her powers?"

"She's a very skittish girl. Took me hours to pry out a name, even then, the name she has given me doesn't seem to be real. I believe it is a pseudonym. She hasn't told me her clan, or her powers, but I know she can heal."

" _Heal?_ " He looked taken aback, "Then your next task is going to be finding the answers to these questions, Miss Kokinos. Am I clear? Kindred with the ability to wipe _Vicissitude_ away as if it were a stain do not come around often in these lifetimes. In two nights, I expect answers."

The look on Phaedra's face was imperceptible, "And if I cannot get these answers?"

"I wish you the best of luck in this endeavor, Miss Kokinos."

She chuckled softly, "You misunderstand." She crossed her arms, the Prince was certainly shocked with her audacity, "I'm not one to make things difficult, I certainly don't mean to. I'd merely like to know why her clan is of importance. She has made it clear to me that she is hiding. Running. I'd like to know why. I will not be able to answer your questions if you don't tell me what it is you are looking for. After all, I doubt the poor thing is just going to _tell_ me what she is. I'm going to have to deduce from what she tells me whether or not your…checklist, if you will, matches up."

"I'm sorry neonate, but it is not my place to, disclose such information, especially considering the circumstances." He said, "But, if she does…need…a _reason_ …" He conceded, "I suppose you can sight it under 'Camarilla safety.'"

"Excellent. I can assure you, then, I will do everything possible to disclose this information…" She said, "It…isn't as if you're planning to kill her, right?"

"That would depend on her clan and her intentions." He said, "Especially is she is to be a…recurring guest of yours."

"Oh, her intentions, of course." She said, "Very well." She turned around and started walking off, "I wish you a lovely evening, Mister Strauss. I'll return before two days pass."

He gave a small nod, then he said, "Wait." He looked up from his paperwork, "Just another moment of your time."

"Oh, of course." She turned around, "Anything."

"It would seem that in my haste to get you to reveal your friend's information to me, I neglected to notice that I had already assigned you to another task."

"Ah, and what is that?" She smiled.

"In our previous battle with the Sabbat, there was a particular house in King's Way, on the hills, located by Isaac Abrams." He said, sounding a little annoyed at the end, as if Isaac was just another speck of dirt he would have to flick away eventually, "It's owner was Andrei, a notable Tzimisce and leader of the previous Sabbat occupation here. Mister Vanderbilt told me a curious conspiracy, in which this Tzimisce is actually the _childe_ of the aforementioned Sabbat leader. The house should be largely vacant, as of now, but there have been complaints over it recently. I want you to go to the Hollywood Hills, and search this house. I want to see if this…childe of Andrei, has followed in his sire's footsteps. Once you return, you can speak to your friend and try to ascertain the truth of her origins."

"Of course. King's Way, I've never been there before…" She chuckled a tad, "If I get lost, I'll do my best to find my way back in a timely fashion. Will that be all, sir?"

"Yes, for the moment." He said, "I will send one of my Tremere agents with you, so you're better equipped, should you be ambushed."

"How kind. Yes, I would appreciate that. I find the struggle with using my zombies as shock troops is time. It simply takes too much time for them to arrive, by then, a potential threat could land an attack."

"Yes, indeed. It is most likely why that power is better suited when fighting with allies. They will be able to provide you sufficient cover."

"Of course. Thank you for this opportunity, sir."

"Of course. Good evening, Miss Kokinos."

Phaedra left through the double-doors, seeing Cadmus leaning against the wall of a nearby hallway, looking down with closed eyes, and his arms crossed. It was almost as if he wanted to hear what the principal yelled at the fellow student for, "So what'd Strauss say?" He looked up.

"Well, three things. The first was my Masquerade Violation." She counted on her fingers, "The other was the timid girl with magical hands, and the last was about a task I am to accomplish involving the Tzimisce."

His eyes widened, "You…you broke the Masquerade?" He asked, "And…and who is that friend of yours anyway?" He asked, "And…you have a _mission_ involving that psychopath? I…I have way too many questions…"

She chuckled softly, "Did you want to go somewhere to chat?"

He nodded, following after her as she walked, occasionally he would look up at her, still annoyed at how much taller she was than him. "You sure make your presence known fast. All that crap happened to you so quickly…"

"These are reasons my sire thinks my lifespan will be very short."

"So what the hell happened?"

"With what? You're going to have to tell me what it is you want answers to."

"All three. Your Masquerade Violation. Your friend. Your mission."

"Well, the Masquerade Violation was handled. I no longer have one." She smirked at the simplicity of the statement, "A Setite used Obsession on me, but I myself was innocent. Strauss was very understanding."

"A…what used what?"

"A Setite. Follower of Set. A clan derived from Egypt. Apparently the Nagaraja have wronged them in the past…add the fact that there are…really, no Nagaraja in the past who have a clean résumé, and, well, he wanted me erased. So he used Obsession, which is a form of Dominate, if you will. Similar to Dementation in the sense that the specifics are altered ever so slightly. For Obsession, the victim experiences three phases of mental trauma: lust, frenzying, and terror. Afterwards they are rendered unconscious."

"Jesus…who the hell is this guy?"

"I was not given a name. He's handsome, tan, dark hair, reddish, though. Dresses very well, a wealthy individual. He only has one eye, the other has been sliced, it seems, from the large scar there."

"I guess I'll be on the lookout for him." He said, "Is that what Strauss was so antsy about?"

"No, he was upset about…my friend, as he put it."

He looked up at her, "What did he say?"

"He said that I am to place her clan and report to him in two days." She looked at him and smirked as she raised her brows briefly, "Or else."

He faced ahead, "Huh…must be serious if _Strauss_ is concerned, I've never seen him lose his cool, over anything. I wonder what's bugging him. If I were Prince, I'd be happy that someone magically cured all my Kindred and ghouls."

"Mmm. I asked him what it was he was looking for, and he told me he could not supply such information to a neonate."

"Hmm…maybe it's more complicated than at first glance. Darker. Hmm, if Strauss is concerned, then there's definitely something at work here."

"There was something he said that I was not…comfortable with. But I like to live and breathe air, so I decided not to mention anything else to upset him. He said if her clan was what he had thought, he will kill her." She crossed her arms, "But in my opinion, her clan is not something she can control. Her intentions are pure, I'm certain. She's a wonderful girl, and would never do any harm, despite the history her clan may share."

"But we don't know what her connections are. Who she's with. Who her friends are." He said, "Strauss was probably just looking at the bigger picture of things. I don't know, he's not the type of guy to just…systemically hate an entire clan for no reason. Unless they're Tzimisce…but…Tzimisce and Tremere have hated each other for thousands of years. He probably just wants information, because we know next to nothing about this girl and what she does. It's just a trust thing."

"I know the girl. I know the girl very well, and she would never do harm to a person."

"When did you meet her?"

"Not very long ago. But, we spent quite some time together. She's very talented."

"Uh…right…" He said, "Well, I guess we'll just, wait and see what happens."

"Mmm, seems that way."

"So what'd you say to Ferrum and Miranda?"

"Hmm? Ferrum and Miranda? Was that the couple downstairs? Hmm. Ferrum. Does not fit that man. Miranda was lovely, though I don't think she quite received a good impression of me."

"They just…didn't look happy, when I came to get you." He said, "Wait, what do you mean, doesn't fit the man?"

"He's…he's quite the brute. Very rude. What is it you say here, he has no filter? Says what comes to mind? Part of me finds it amusing, the other part was wondering how he made it here."

"So…like me?"

"You're a gentleman. To me, at least. He called me a zombie."

"And I called you a demon."

"So did he." For once, there was no amused smirk on those lips. She looked genuinely peeved.

He sighed, "Look, Ferrum and Miranda are my friends, we've been through a lot…I just…hope you guys can get along…"

"I'll gladly give them another chance." She said, "So, tell me more about the Tzimisce, since I'm going to be dancing with them very soon."

"What? The clan?" He asked, "They're…flesh-crafters…it doesn't even matter how powerful your Fortitude is, they can just…mold you into whatever they want. Typically they take humans and vampires and flesh-craft them into monsters."

"I see…so, what about this particular one, Andrei? And his childe?"

"Andrei was a Tzimisce we killed a month or two ago. He was the leader of the Sabbat. I guess this guy I just fought is his childe, with a whole new wave of Sabbat."

"I see…hmm…sounds interesting." She chuckled softly.

"Just…make sure he doesn't touch you…or else you'll end up like me."

"Ah, I see. Thank you." She nodded, "I'll do my very best to avoid it."

* * *

"It's weird." Slade said, "This city…doesn't _look_ like its Sabbat…yet…" He said, looking around the streets of Hollywood.

"It doesn't." Tess said, "It still feels Anarch…" She mused, "Besides the dim lights at Vesuvius."

"Did you hear what happened recently?"

"Hmm?"

"They found a Tzimisce in Santa Monica." He said, "So it's official." He added, "The Sabbat are back."

"In Santa Monica…?" She asked, "At least…it's far. A…A bit…"

He sighed, "This is going to start all over again, isn't it?"

"Not if we squash it before it builds." He thought about it for a moment, then he popped into the Red Spot, without any warning. She stopped, then backtracked and entered the Red Spot, "Slade…?"

"Yeah?" He asked, peering the shelves.

"What's in here…?" She asked, "Groceries?"

"Eh, I'm kinda just browsing…"

"Uh…right…"

Three thugs barged in, all in ragged, biker clothing, they aimed their guns at the man at the register, "Put your hands up! Put your fucking hands up right now!" One of the robbers demanded.

"Open the register!" Another robber said.

The man at the counter held his hands up, "I…I…"

"I said open it, motherfucker!"

One of the customers began to cower, "Oh god…oh god…" She shivered, dropping all of her purchases in shock.

"Goddamn…you're pretty…" The third robber loomed over her with a hungry look in his eyes.

"Please don't hurt me…" The woman shuddered.

"What are you doing, man?" The other two robbers looked at the thug licking his lips over the defenseless woman.

"Just having some fun." He replied.

"Please…please…" The woman begged.

"Yeah, that's right bitch, beg for it."

"Look, just leave her alone…" The cashier said nervously.

"Shut the hell up and open the register!" One of the robbers screamed.

Slade disappeared. He flashed over and killed one of the robbers with relative ease, the one looming over the girl. He screamed in pain and died after a few simple sword strikes. Tess pulled out a handgun and fired at the other's head.

As the second robber died, Slade and Tess made short work of the last robber, earning the awe, and the respect of the cashier and the customer. "Thank you, oh, thank you, I was so scared. I just stopped off to buy some milk for the baby. Oh god, I can't believe how close he was to getting me. Here, please, take it, I insist." The customer handed Slade a few large bills, which he shared with Tess.

"I wish you the best of luck." Tess called to the woman.

"Whoa…Jesus man…Jesus…" The cashier said, "You were like…Jesus…I never seen anything like that…what do you say for payback, I share with you some of my skills?"

"Skills?" Slade asked.

"Seriously bro, I got mad skill haggling down a price."

He shrugged, "Eh, I'm kinda a cheap bastard, anyway."

"Alright, man, suit yourself."

He looked at Tess, "Why don't I show you the red tower? Now that they finally let you in."

She turned to Slade and nodded, "Yes…yes, I'd like that. A lot."

They took a cab to downtown, Slade leading her to his room in the red tower, "I actually haven't been in here yet." He said, looking around at the lavish living room and kitchen, "I wanted to wait until you joined…so we could share it together."

She looked around, "It's to die for…" She walked around, looking around, combing her fingers through her hair, "It makes me feel like royalty…"

"Want to be treated like royalty too?"

"Please?"

He gave her a tight hug as he walked closer to her, giving her a fierce kiss on the lips, and rubbing a hand up her shirt. She closed her eyes and held his shoulders, leaning in towards him as she mashed her lips back onto his, sighing through her nose.

"I was looking to see if they had jelly."

"…hmm?" She peeked an eye open.

"You know…like…lube…"

"…in the Red Spot?"

"…I don't know…I thought…maybe…it'd be there…"

She smiled against his lips as her fingers quickly flicked his tie off, "What, do I not…produce enough for you…?" She asked, "Or…were you thinking of…some rear entry…?" She closed her eyes, "I'm wet just thinking about it…"

"I don't know…I just…ever since we've been together…my mind has been…down the gutter more…I…I want you in so many different ways…" He shuddered, tearing his shirt and pants off, "So where do you want to be plowed?"

"Did you want to do oral?" She unbuttoned his shirt and walked two fingers up his chest.

"But…you're a vampire…I was gonna ask this the last time you mentioned it…"

"I won't bite. I never bite. I don't want to _hurt_ you."

"No, I mean…if…if…if stuff comes out…"

"I'll spit."

"Alright." He smiled, kissing her, "Whatever you want. Now why don't you take off some of those clothes and your heels so you can really relax?"

She reached down and unhooked her heels, "Where are you going to defile me…?" She took her blazar off and let it drop to the ground.

"Where did you want to go?" He asked, "Bedroom? Couch?" He smirked, "Miscellaneous?"

"Hmm…" Her smirk grew, "Miscellaneous…"

"Uh…the floor? A…uh…one of the tables? Countertop?"

"Ooh, countertop…countertop…" She took her top off.

"Alright." He led the way into the kitchen, "Uh…might be hard to do…with the sink…there…"

"There's plenty of room…" She rubbed his shoulders, "Do you want me to…take care of your needs first…?" She reached back and took off her bra.

"I want to rub you down first."

She grinned, "Of course…" He helped her sit on the counter, then he took her skirt off, lunging forward and kissing her stomach, massaging her lower abdomen.

Her eyes slowly closed as she knit her fingers into his hair, resting her head back against the cabinets as she let him do whatever he pleased. Her legs slowly found their way around his chest as he continued, letting him continue with ease. He kept kissing her stomach, biting it occasionally, reaching up and kissing the underside of her breasts occasionally.

She moaned out his name, gripping onto the tabletop. He groaned back, kissing her stomach even harder, and reaching up to fondle her boobs. She sighed his name and squirmed a bit on the counter, reaching down and holding his head closer. He started licking too, in addition to his biting, clamping his hands on her thighs and bum.

She bit her lip in anticipation, begging him quietly to continue. He slipped both his hands between the waistband of her panties, trying to slide them off slowly. She pushed herself up a bit so they could slide off, "Please…please, please, please…"

"Please what?" He snickered.

"Get…get in there…"

"Uh…right…" He took his underwear off, rushing the blood through his system.

"You…you don't have to use that, Slade…"

"Did…did you want me to finger you? I…I don't know…maybe I could stick something phallic in there instead…"

She closed her eyes, "Surprise me…"

He leaned in and kissed her stomach again, reaching out and touching her sex. She bit her lip and shuddered, her fingers squeezing the countertop even more. He kissed a little harder, using his teeth, exploring her womanhood even further. She let out a scream as he finally entered her, then she hit her head against the cabinets again, "Slade…" She sighed, "Slade, I want…to go on the couch…or the bed…so I can move…"

"Alright." He picked her up and went to the bedroom with her, laying her on the bed. She more or less pinned him down onto the bed, pulling his boxers off before she straddled him, rubbing his chest in little circles. He sighed, relaxing on the bed, "That feels nice…"

She smiled and held his face, kissing his lips before she continued with both hands, "Slade…I love you."

"I love you too…" He kissed her back.

"Do me, Slade…"

He closed his eyes, feeling the blood flow through his system again, "Alright, I'm ready…"

She spread her legs and held his face as she kissed him one more time. He pulled her in, an unforgiving grip on her butt as he moved her in to penetrate her. She cried out his name after such a long night of anticipation, gripping her legs around him with ruthless force.

He gave a loud, angry groan as he kept thrusting inside of her, pushing her harder and harder against her. Her voice eventually fell hoarse as he continued, she simply hung on and reveled in the ferocity of his movements.

Their lips mashed together in between his groans, and occasionally he would run his fingers through her hair. As she rode out his remaining thrusts, she moaned lowly and shuddered a few last times, combing her fingers through her hair and cuddling up beside him.

"You're…very good…" She smiled.

"So are you." He smiled back.

She chuckled softly and wrapped her arms around him, "I can't wait…to sleep the night here…in the Camarilla with you…"

"Yup." He said, "We'll be allied forever, under the same banner."

* * *

A burly shoulder covered by a leather jacket interrupted Cissy's thoughts. She saw a strange blue creature with yellow eyes. He snickered as a smile spread across his face, "Greetings, young Cainite."

Cissy's eyes widened as she slowly turned, "Uh…hey…" She said slowly, "Something…I can help you with?"

He chuckled a bit more, folding his hands, "From which section of Caine do you find yourself, childe?"

"…huh?"

"Are you new to your beastly Embrace?"

"Uh…yeah…k-kinda new…" She crossed her arms, "Month or two…"

"Then I suggest you join me in the Sabbat." He said, "We are the true heirs to Caine's dark legacy."

She raised a brow, "…Sabbat…?" She asked, "Uh…is that…some kinda gang? Look, I've spent my time in gangs, alright? I'm done. I'm…I'm happy pulling my heists alone for now."

"You reject us? The Sabbat?" He asked, "We are more favorable than the contemptuous Camarilla." He said, "They wish to _hide_ amongst mortals. They fear them. We wish to conquer the pathetic kine. We will rule the earth." He said, "Surely, you see which sect is the greater of the two."

"Camarilla…? I don't know what that is either, hun…I feel like you should be looking for…smarter recruits."

"Now, now, we in the Sabbat are not choosey with our soldiers." He smiled, "So what will it be? A soldier for us, or a pawn for the Camarilla?"

"Uh…neither?" She raised a brow, "I don't work for people." She crossed her arms, "Almost always ends with me getting fucked over sideways and stabbed in the back."

"I see." He said, "So you do not seek the Sabbat's protection?"

She ran her fingers across the strap that held her machine gun to her back, "I think I'll be fine…but thanks for asking." She grinned.

"It's unfortunate you feel that way. I was going to let you work for us with your willpower intact." He ran towards her, holding out his claws, as a red glow appeared within them.

"Fucking shit!" She stumbled back and fell on her bum, her arms getting clawed up before she grabbed her gun and aimed it at his chest, "Hey, piss off, asshole!"

"I do not think so." He said, his Vicissitude connected, distorting the flesh and bones in her arms to muck up her aim.

She gasped and dropped her gun, screaming in pain. She really just hoped the louder she screamed, the sooner people would come to her aid. She grit her teeth and weakly held out a bent arm, Lafayette felt the feeling of a brace around his throat. This would have been much more terrifying if he had to breathe, but since he didn't, it really only served as a distraction. She took the moment as a time to hobble off as quickly as she could.

Lafayette growled, lowering himself to all fours and chasing her like some sort of bizarre insect, after a bit of chasing, he sent out a handful of bats, which drained a portion of Cissy's blood pool and gave the blood back to their master.

She stumbled to the ground and gave another hopeless scream for help before she saw his shadow loom over her. She glowed green and tried to hold herself in a ball as tightly as she could. "Now I will bring out your beast and you will work for the Sabbat as an unwitting slave to my commands!" Lafayette held both hands out, flesh-crafting Cissy and deforming her more and more by the second. Her cries of attention turned into those of pain as her body moved against her command.

The sad part was, she wasn't scared of death, that wasn't the part that bothered her. It was the pain, the burning that consumed her mind. She wasn't afraid to throw in the towel, she just wanted to be able to.

A crash was heard, followed by Lafayette screaming. Then there was a scuffle. Lafayette's voice was heard, but so was Catalina's. Eventually Cissy was scooped up, "You're going to be okay." Catalina said, "I just need to find Akeem."

She gave a soft moan, not wanting to open her eyes in fear of her appearance. Like how a person could be missing half their body but feel fine, so long as they didn't see the other half was gone. "Cat…" She moaned softly, "Fuck…I'd be…fucking…dead…without you…"

Cissy passed out not long after that, when she awoke, she was laying on the ground, seeing a few strange symbols on the pavement around her, "Rise childe." Akeem's deep voice said, "I have cleansed your body."

She gave a soft grunt before she reached up and held her forehead, then sat up, "Huh…I'm all better…"

"I guess the Sabbat really _did_ come back to town, with a Tzimisce here…" Catalina said.

"It does not surprise me." Akeem said.

Cissy slowly got to her feet, then hugged Catalina, "Thanks a bunch. You're the best person ever." She reached in her top and pulled out the bracelets she stole, "Here. I took these earlier. You can have them back…I can't steal from people like you."

Catalina blinked a few times, "Right…thanks…" She said, trying to fumble them into her pockets.

She looked over at Akeem, "So…is this your…" She wafted a hand in the air, "What do you call it, your sire?"

"No…no, no, no." Catalina said, "My sire…is…is someone different…" She said, "Oh, that reminds me…Akeem…we were trying to figure out what clan Cissy was…she has…Animalism…Fortitude…and…and she can…make these illusion…things…"

"Ravnos." Akeem said.

She looked stunned, "But…aren't they all dead?"

"It would seem a few of them survived. She also just mentioned stealing, which is an activity Ravnos particularly enjoy doing. All Ravnos have a specific criminal activity in which they are addicted to. It is their clan weakness."

Cissy raised a brow, "Oh, honey please, I've been stealing since I came out of the womb. Started with my mother's milk." She snickered, "Ever since I was turned and became practically bulletproof, it just became more fun." She shrugged.

"Right…well…maybe being Ravnos…increased…the stealing…" Catalina said.

"So I'm Ravnos…" She said, "If we all died, then how am I here? I don't remember my sire at all. I don't know if it was a he, or a she, or an it, or a monster, I don't know…it still doesn't answer a lot of questions about anything."

"Your Antediluvian arose and consumed most of your clan." Akeem said, "To better wage a war against the Kuei-Jin, Ravnos around the world were granted intense psychic power, but it eventually devolved into a cannibalistic frenzy. You and your mysterious sire are proof that there were some survivors from the attack."

"Uh…" She looked over at Catalina, "Translation?"

"Antediluvians are the founders of the clans." Catalina said, "Yours woke up, was so intent on killing his or her enemies, that they started eating its children for power, in some cases they granted the other Ravnos more psychic powers, but, it backfired quite terribly. It's called the Week of Nightmares."

"Oh…so…my sire was a survivor. Must have been someone…pretty strong then. Or lucky as all hell. I'll take it."

Catalina smiled, "Did you want to come back to my place?"

"That'd be amazing." She said, before she turned to Akeem and held a hand out, "Thanks for the save. It was nice to meet you and…get some answers."

"The pleasure is mine, young Cainite." Akeem briefly shook her hand, "Have a pleasant evening."

* * *

 **A/N:** Cissy must feel so much better with those answers now…what do you think? Thanks for reading!


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N:** Here's chapter eighteen! The four in red, and the conflicting signs of love, hope you like it!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs. And, yet again, there are some fiery fabrications in this chapter, if you don't like it, you can skim over it.

* * *

First, the stupid Nagaraja wouldn't die, and now his terrible meeting with the Anarchs, it often made Sirius wonder if he was always destined to come home in a foul mood. He angrily muttered to himself as he maneuvered around to the kitchen, the only lit room in the house.

Juliet was leaning up against the counter, still in her work clothes, or at least, her worn frame of mind. The look on her face was jaded and irritable, but then again, it was always like that. She had a blue muffin in her hand and a glass of wine in the other, "Hey. Jeez, you look pissed. Rough day?"

"Yeah…that seems to be happening a lot…" He sat at the table, "Hey…" His eye zeroed in on her wine glass, "The hell you get that?"

"I bought some." She stirred it around, "I'm not gonna get drunk again, don't worry. I just like wine."

"Tch…alright…" He said, "I don't know what'd I do with myself if you got hammered again. I'd probably just submit."

She rolled her eyes, "Pfft, yeah, okay. That'd be a blast."

"You know it."

She rolled her eyes again at his lewdness, "You have any plans for the rest of the night?"

"Not particularly."

She nodded, then put her glass down and threw the wrapper of her muffin in the trash, "Did you want to talk about…whatever the hell happened at wherever the hell you go every night?"

"Eh…we're making battle plans…that's all." He said, "Well, no, _I'm_ trying to make battle plans, everyone else is being a pussy about it."

She snickered as she grabbed a cloth and cleaned the counters, "What, are they scared?"

"I don't know what they're thinking, they want to wait for something…but it sounds too convenient. I almost wanted to tell them 'you realize in war, you have to kill the people on the other side, right?'"

"Yeah…" She sighed, "I dunno, you're asking the wrong person."

"Man, and this bitch really pissed me off too…" He said, "It's like our group is at the mercy of a horny, teenage Kindred…"

"That _really_ sounds like a blast." She snickered, "Maybe you should take over."

"Pfft, I don't think it'd be that easy." He said, "Besides, sometimes, watching in the shadows is fun. In some cases, it's basically my job."

"What, you mean, like a spy?"

He nodded, "Which is why a lot of people hate me, which, is why you should never interact with Kindred other than me, unless I make an exception."

"Ah…so you fuck with people…alright, thanks for the heads up."

"Is that so surprising?" He smirked, his snake's tongue flickering out.

"Nah, considering how you act around me, I'm not surprised at all." She threw the rag in the sink and stretched, reaching her arms over her head as she closed her eyes and yawned, "Fuck, I'm beat…"

"They really work you that hard over there?"

"I'm the head chef…so…yeah." She turned around and brushed her fingers through her hair, "Someone comes in wanting a gourmet meal, I cook it. Anyone wants an appetizer or dessert, that's not my job, that's the other guys."

"Damn, it's times like these I wish I could still eat…"

She gave a little smile, "So does like, blood have different qualities? Or like flavors? Or is it just, blood?"

"Yeah, it's different." He said, "A rich little bastard from the office tastes way better than a bum. Depends on how healthy the person is. A lot of vampires rant and rave to me about prostitutes…but…I personally think they're shit. There's so much gunk in their blood, and then I can only drain a little anyway, or else she'll die. It's kind of a pointless waste of money."

"…so if someone eats, like, a five course meal…they taste pretty damn good?"

He shrugged, "Depends on what they eat. Fast food and that shit will just clog their blood with useless plaque and shit, but…I guess if they were well fed…" He pondered, "But…I have a special power…my eye can freeze humans solid in their tracks like, stun them. So, feeding isn't really a problem for me."

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense." She said, "Never mind." She walked into the foyer and took her heels off, rubbing at her ankles.

"Were you going to offer your neck to me again?"

"I mean, I just feel shitty for not making you dinner or anything, but you're probably already full."

"I mean." She heard that he was right behind her, even though she didn't hear him move, "I can suck something _else_ out of you, if you want."

Her cheeks flushed pink, "Ugh, you're like a teenage boy." She turned around and put her hands on her hips, "I can't tell if you're flirting with me or trying to piss me off."

"I'm a lot older than just a teenage boy, for one."

"Yeah, I got that. What are you, like five hundred?"

"Christ…uh…kinda lost count…got Embraced…little after world war two…uh…so…I'm probably like…seventy…if I were to combine my human and Kindred years…"

"Hmm." She reached forward and pinched his cheek with a smile, "You age well."

"Hey." He smiled back, "Now _you're_ flirting with _me_."

"Uh huh." She put her hand back on her hip, "You don't seem to mind."

"Why would I mind?"

"Cause I'm a cow?"

"…when did I say that?"

"You didn't…but…" She looked down at herself, "You don't have to."

He blinked, actually looking _genuinely_ confused for once, "Uh…I don't get it…you trying to say you're ashamed of your appearance or something?"

She raised a brow, "Well, I mean, I guess you do have one eye…so you're kinda half blind…" She muttered, before she put a hand on his shoulder, "Honey, my mom had octuplets, she was the size of a blue whale. That makes me a beluga."

"Pfft, I'm not _blind_. That's not what the problem is, I think you're being too hard on yourself."

"Not so sure about that. My kids used to draw me as a circle with red hair."

"Pfft, yeah, I don't think children would really draw _me_ in a positive light either…" He said, "People gave me shit about having one eye…I mean, more back then than now. People are…more accepting now, but, I never gave a shit back then. If fuckers have nothing better to do than point and laugh and do name calling, then good for them."

"People gave you shit about it? I think it's hot."

He snickered, "Really?" He asked, "Maybe I think the same about the thing you're bothered about."

"…you think my fat is hot?"

"Juliet, you're not fat. You're curvy." He said, "And what's so wrong with that, anyway? Curvy chicks look way better than skinny chicks."

"…you think so?"

He shrugged, "I mean, it's an opinion, it's not…the law of the land, but…yeah…I think you're stressing over something that can ultimately avoided entirely."

She crossed her arms, "Well…thanks."

"You're welcome." He smiled, "Anything else you need to get off your chest?"

"I…don't think so."

"Right." He said, "I guess we'll go our separate ways, for the night."

"Uh huh…" She scratched the back of her head and lingered for a moment.

He started walking away, then he stopped, "Need something?"

"Uh…" She rocked on her heels, "You wanna have sex?"

"Eh…I don't…I don't…know about that…"

"Yeah…okay…my bad…" She looked at the floor briefly, then waved, "See you tomorrow." She headed for the staircase.

"Juliet, wait."

"Yeah?" She paused as her hand slid down the railing, her dark red tipped nails slid down against the surface slowly.

"I think it's safe to say that we're both attracted to each other."

"Yeah…I…I guess so."

"I don't mean to push you away…because I don't like you…or anything…I…uh…I don't know, after Natalia and I…I'm just a little more cautious…but…I don't know, maybe it's stupid. You're not Natalia. You're already sweeter, kinder…actually trustworthy…I shouldn't be punishing ourselves like this…"

"We don't have to…maybe you're right. Maybe…maybe it'll be bad for me. Maybe I want to do this to take my mind off things, and that wouldn't be fair to you…I just…" She sighed, "I feel like nothing happened. I feel like my life with Colby and the kids was real…but my life here with you is some kind of…lucid dream that I don't want to wake up from…"

He went up the few steps and gave her a hug, "I…I like being with you, though…I like…having someone I can share what happened in my night with…it's nice…if you…really want to be my ghoul, I'd like it. But, I can always wipe your memory too."

"Hell no." She hugged him back and closed her eyes. "I'm here to stay."

"I just…don't want you to feel like a prisoner here." He said, "But…it'd be better off if you didn't meet other Kindred. If…if they figure out that you're connected to me…"

"I get it. It's dangerous. I don't mind going to work, that's enough socialization for me."

He nodded, "You should get some rest. I hope the bed is comfortable."

"…don't ghouls like, drink blood or something?"

"Yeah, did you want to start that tonight?"

She smiled, "Yeah, I'd like that."

He took his knife out, slitting his wrist, "There we go, just like last time."

She took his wrist and brought it to her lips, drinking from it as she gripped onto the railing. She licked her lips afterwards, then paused, "So…did you want that back?"

"Nah, its fine. Just relax and get some rest."

"Okay." She looked in his eye again, before she smirked and turned to go up the stairs, "Enjoy the view."

"Hey, that's not fair." He frowned, but it only lasted a minute or so, before he laughed, "Night, Juliet."

"Night!"

* * *

"Have you ever been here?"

"I can't say that I have. I've…only heard bad things."

"Sounds interesting."

Delilah looked up at Phaedra, surprised at her gall, "Everything there is made from flesh."

"Is it?" She asked, "Everything?"

"The walls, floors, ceilings, furniture…" She sighed, "If only they had burned it to the ground."

"Curious as to why they left it standing then. Like leaving an empty bird's nest out in the grass, of course they're going to be drawn to it."

Delilah scrunched her nose up, pulling on her hat, "I can already smell it…"

"Mmm, so can I." She mused, "Smells like the piers in Greece when my husband would leave the fish out overnight and forget about them during the day." Delilah wasn't sure how to respond, until Phaedra looked down at her, "I like your outfit. Witch-like, yes?"

"Oh…um…yes. That…was the…idea."

"Very cute." She smirked, "You don't usually see Tremere with such a lovely outfits."

"Yes…well…" She gave a little sigh, "When I first started attending the Chantry…Iphigenia took me around the town…one of the Anarchs laughed at us and called us 'Satan's-witches'….so…I started dressing like a witch. Because…it's what we are." She looked up at her with a smile, one that looked slightly hopeful, yet saddened, "She hasn't really spent much time with me since then, but I hope she understands the sentiment."

"Iphigenia, what a beautiful name…sounds Egyptian."

"I think it is…I wouldn't be surprised." She said, "She's one of the apprentices in the Chantry, have you met her?"

"I haven't. I've met Leonardo."

"Have you met the Magister?"

"No. I should really stop by, I adore the Tremere."

Delilah giggled a bit, "You're always welcome."

Phaedra turned her attention back to the house they were approaching, "Oh dear…looks…" She trailed off.

"Uh huh." Delilah swallowed hard, "I suppose we should…enter."

"You'd like me to lead." Phaedra chuckled, "Not a problem at all. Keep close behind me, your disciplines at ready. Do not let them touch you."

"Yes, of course." Phaedra reached for the doorknob and stepped inside, looking around.

The inside of the house actually looked normal. It was surprising. They had heard all these legends about how gross and vile the house was, but it had been cleaned out. The only spookiness left that the house had was how quiet it was.

"Hmm." Phaedra looked around, "Delilah, dear, were you stretching the truth?"

"No, I swear…or…at least, that's what I overheard…from Mister Madison…" She twiddled her thumbs, "There has to be someone in here." She whispered.

Phaedra's eyes flashed brightly as she used Auspex to peer around. She saw the aura of one lone Kindred in the house, up on the second floor. "Upstairs. Kindred." She said softly, "Let's go." Delilah bobbed her head nervously as she followed Phaedra like a nervous puppy.

The figure seemed to have noticed them just as quickly as they noticed them. They got up and headed out to face them. Walking down the stairs was a girl dressed in head to toe in red. Red boots, tight red pants, red coat, with a red hood. She halted at the halfway point of the stairs, perhaps daunted by Phaedra's height. This woman was not the vanguard of height, Delilah could've been taller than her. Phaedra seemed a bit surprised, "Hello, dear."

Delilah nervously tipped her hat, "We…we mean no harm."

"Well…" Phaedra smirked, "That is yet to be determined." She chuckled softly, "We'd simply like to know your intentions."

"I would like to know who you are first." The girl sputtered, in a small, timid voice.

"Phaedra." Phaedra said, "This is an associate of mine, Delilah. Nagaraja and Tremere, envoys of the Camarilla. We're hunting for the presence of malignant Tzimisce."

"Camarilla…" The girl said to herself, "Targets…are…" She got quieter, "Nagaraja, and Tremere…expect…expect…Necromancy…and…and Thaumaturgy…what…what are their generations…physical limitations…" She kept quietly muttering to herself.

"Targets?" Delilah hissed nervously, "Miss Phaedra…I don't think—" She was quieted with a wave of Phaedra's hand.

"We're not going to hurt you if you simply let us conduct a very brief search. We will not invade your property, pry into anything here…it's…rather difficult to hide a Tzimisce, I think."

"Lord Lafayette's wishes are my own!" The woman snarled, although very quietly. She lifted her gloved hand from the staircase to hold it out towards the duo.

"Antoinette?" A growly voice asked, as a man entered in through the window, in a fur coat, with his hair slicked back, "What the hell is going on, what's with the two whores?"

"Camarilla…" She whispered eerily, holding her head, "Camarilla!" She shrieked, looking about inches away from a mental breakdown.

"Ugh…don't just stand there…take them out!" He cocked his shotgun.

"Yes, Garret…" She held a hand out towards Delilah, the purple mist and insane laughter of Dementation could be heard, "Squirm in pain, for you are nothing but a nest for the bugs inside your body! Quiver in fear as you are consumed from the inside out!"

Delilah's eyes widened as she looked down, then screamed as she started twitching and thrashing.

Phaedra looked over at her with wide eyes. She then backed away and held her hands up. It was as if she was conducting some sort of dark symphony, slowly the ground beneath them began to rumble.

"Don't stop there, get the tall one too!" Garret yelled.

Antoinette held a gloved hand out towards Phaedra, the purple mist went around Phaedra's head, but nothing happened, "T-Too old…" She shivered, backing away, up the steps, from Phaedra.

"Then I'll kill her." Garret growled, dashing forward with Celerity to shoot her a few times.

Phaedra grit her teeth as the bullets lodged in her body, but by then, a few zombies had made it to the surface, and started lumbering over towards Garret. She then held a hand out to Antoinette, "Sleep." She demanded as a blue glow clouded her hand.

Antoinette thudded to the ground, "Christ…" Garret muttered to himself, he was too fast to be hit by most of the zombies, so he just concentrated his firepower on Phaedra.

She clenched her teeth as she felt herself grow weaker and weaker. She then sent out a wraith, something that could fly a lot faster. It reached for him with its bony claws, screeching in a horrifying manner.

Garret backed away from the wraith, his eyes began to glow red, to give him better aim, as an orange glow came off of him. He tried to keep shooting at Phaedra, his Presence felt a bit more powerful than Sirius's, as occasional bullets pelted her body.

Phaedra looked over at Delilah, who was still going mad due to the hallucinations. She pitied the girl, but at the same time, felt frustrated that she was left alone with someone she couldn't do much against. She held a hand out and attempted the same procedure that she used on Antoinette.

The blue glow went around Garret's head, but nothing happened, "Nope." He snickered, getting in close and shooting at her at close range, occasionally he would have to stop shooting, or else the wraith would get him.

She winced as another round of bullets found their way into her skin. She couldn't handle this feeling of uselessness, relying on her blood pool and nothing else. Where was she going to even find the flesh to bring this back? She had to take a risk. She wafted away at the wraith, and used more blood to summon a specter, which really looked like it was ready to do some damage.

"What the…?" Garret tried to shoot at it, but the bullets either went right through it or barely did a thing. He growled, shooting down most of her zombies as target practice, then he reloaded, trying to outrun the specter with Celerity while at the same time shoot Phaedra.

She grunted as she was hit again, but she couldn't keep it up any longer. She knew finding flesh would be hard, and she already lost just about every bit of it she had. She ran for Delilah and scooped her up, booking it with her.

"Ha, ha, ha! Camarilla scumbags! You better run!" Garret shot the ceiling a few times, "Trying to take our turf away from us! You're lucky that runt's sire wasn't here, or else you'd both be dead and he wouldn't even have to break a sweat!"

* * *

May tumbled onto the couch and held her forehead, "I don't think I've ever seen so many papers in my life."

Prospero laughed, sitting beside her, "Would you rather model?" He bent over and kissed her forehead.

She smiled, "Certainly not." She leaned up against him and held his hand with both of hers, "I can't thank you enough for this job. I just…feel bad for April. I've been sending her money…but she's living alone with Angel…"

"Yeah…I…uh…meant to ask about that…I could make her a ghoul too…"

She nodded, "I think she would need that. I think as it is, she's inching closer and closer to suicide."

"Suicide? Jesus…I had no idea it was that bad…she seems so nice…"

"Well, she's certainly on a good deal of antidepressants…" She sighed, "It's my fault. I pulled her away from her friends and moved somewhere cheaper, because I couldn't afford things as they were. I pulled her away from her boyfriend, too, she hasn't seen him since. She hasn't bothered finding anyone else…"

"Hmm…it's tough to go through that…she probably feels lonely…lost…"

"Very much so. I always hear her crying herself to sleep."

He swallowed hard, "We need to do something. Like…now…"

May sat up and reached in her purse, which she threw on the couch next to her. She pulled out her phone and called the first number there, sitting back and crossing her legs, kicking them up on the table. She was in a white dress that stopped at her mid-thigh, and was rather low cut. It seemed to be a theme of hers, that and those navy blue heels that matched her dark blue finger and toe nails.

The line rang a few times before she picked up, "Hello April."

Prospero heard a tiny voice, "May?"

"Hello dear. How are you?"

"I'm okay…how is the new job?"

"It's simply marvelous. Would you like to work here?"

"I…I can't, May…remember the—"

"I can't stand to leave you behind like this. At least move in with us."

"…in California?"

"In California."

"But, isn't it expensive…?"

"Arrangements have been made. I'm making more than I have before. You can live with Prospero and me."

"….won't I be a third wheel?"

She chuckled softly, "You're family, April, don't be silly."

"…are you sure?"

"I'm positive." She put the phone down and looked up at Prospero with those mischievous dark blue eyes, "You think I could bring Angel here?"

He looked ahead, "I'm not even sure we can bring _April_ here." He said, "We'd…we'd _have_ to ghoul her…and, I'm not sure Strauss will let me…"

"Why not? She wouldn't do any harm. She's _April_."

"I know she wouldn't…but…I was already pushing boundaries with you…I don't think we need _two_ secretaries…in our vampire society. Strauss is looking for warriors…" He said, "Maybe she can live in my old house. It's pretty close to town…you and I could pop in and out if need be…"

She gave a little nod and picked up the phone again, "April? You there?"

"Uh huh."

"Prospero has a house on the edge of town. Much closer. We'll pay for everything. Would you like to live there instead? We could visit.

"Yes, yes, I would love that."

"Excellent." She smiled, "You just sleep tonight, then, okay? I'll help you pack your things tomorrow when my shift's over."

"I can't wait!"

May giggled, "Ta-ta."

"Bye May!" The line ended.

May smiled and shut her phone, "She likes moving."

"You'd think she'd hate it, given that it tore her away from her friends and boyfriend." Prospero said.

"Mmm, well, I'll never be able to figure out what goes on in that little head of hers." She sighed and sat back again, then looked up at him and smiled, "I love you."

"I love you too." He gave her a hug and a kiss.

She rested her head against his chest, "I can get used to this life."

"Glad to hear it." He kissed her lips again, running his fingers through her hair.

She gave a little sigh, closing her eyes before she gently leaned in and kissed his neck, just beneath the jawline. He smirked and held her head there with one hand, then rubbed the back of her head with another.

She let out a louder sigh and kept kissing him there, secretly reveling in the feeling of his scruff up against her soft skin. The kisses became less gentle and loving and more passionate, her hands slowly rubbing his shoulders. He held her head there with both hands, occasionally rubbing her temples.

She repositioned herself so she was sitting in his lap, rubbing her hands up and down his biceps. "Like those?" His smirk grew.

"Mmm hmm." She sat up, "Alright, I'm going to go to bed…" She stood up, "Goodnight, Prospero."

"What? Go to bed?" He asked, "You're kidding…"

"Kidding? I'm quite tired."

"I…uh…I just thought…well, that something was about to happen…but…if you want to go to bed, we can go to bed."

"Something was going to happen? Whatever could you mean?"

He raised his eyebrows, "Seriously?"

She gave a devious smirk.

"Alright, if you want to go to bed, that's fine by me." He said, getting up, and purposely stretching, it seemed he was purposely flexing as well.

She raised a brow, watching over him, then she unzipped her dress and let it fall to the floor, "Mmm hmm." There was absolutely nothing beneath that dress.

She expected a joke or a snarky one-liner, but instead he just said, "Holy shit…"

She chuckled softly, "Goodnight." She waved a hand and headed towards the bedroom.

He followed after her, "Hey May." He said, "May." When she finally turned around, she saw that he was naked too, aside from his underwear. She also noticed three huge scars that took up the entirety of his chest, they were parallel, claw-like, as if he had it out with a huge bear or lion long ago.

Her eyes widened as she looked over him, her eyes lingering on his chest, "Did you wrestle alligators in your free time?"

"Werewolf."

"Werewolf…?" She asked, before she stepped forward and traced them gently with her fingertips, "They can't still hurt."

"No, because I got them when I was alive."

She gave a little nod, then she looked up at him and kissed him, letting out a shameless moan as she pressed herself up against him.

He laughed in between kisses, "What happened to 'goodnight' there, huh?"

"I think we'll have a wonderful night together." She said through breaths, rubbing a hand down his chest, "You seem like the type to…have a lot of…stamina…"

He snickered, "Alright." He laid back on the bed, "Get on."

"Get on?" She snickered as she crawled onto the bed on her hands and knees, "What if I wanted _you_ to dominate _me_?"

"I wouldn't mind." He said, "I…I just don't want to crush you. You…you've been eating, right? One of the biggest reasons why I didn't want to at first, was because I didn't want you to faint, or get a fever, or die in the middle of it…"

"I've been eating." She smiled as she kissed him, "I've just been fantasizing about you…spanking me the way you did my car when you 'checked for bombs'…"

"I thought you didn't care much for that."

"I was jealous."

"Oh, really?" He asked, "I don't know, spanking such a little sweetheart wouldn't feel right."

"Me…? A sweetheart…?" She asked, before she sat on his abdomen, "I can stay here, if you'd like, I just didn't think you would…want to pass up the opportunity."

"Well, if you bend forward and lay down on me, I could probably grant your wish."

"Oh no, no, I want you behind me, if we're doing that. On your knees, taking it all in." She smirked.

"You want me behind you?"

"Please…?"

"Sure." They repositioned themselves so her butt was right in his face, he looked at his hand, "Alright, how hard should it be?"

May rested her weight on her forearms, "However hard you want…"

"God, you sound so turned on." He reared a hand back, spanking her a few times.

She closed her eyes and bit her lip, the first few times she was silent, but after a few more she let out little grunts, resting her head on the pillow and panting.

"Want more, or should I stop?"

"I want…I want to touch you…" She turned and practically pounced on him, kissing under his jaw again while she started grinding against one of his hips.

He snickered, holding her tight and moving her butt and lower back up and down, to help build friction. She let out a shameless cry as her nails dug into his back, more than enjoying the feeling of his chest up against hers. "That's right, let everything out." He gave her butt a few pats.

"Prospero…" She gave a shaky sigh, "I am…completely drenched for you…"

"Oh, is that right?" He snickered, "Want me to, help you out a little?"

She met his gaze, "P-Please…?"

He gave a hungry grin, "Alright, just give me a few seconds." He laid her back on the bed, trying to be careful as he got on top of her. He kissed her lips hungrily and held her breasts, somewhat gentle, as they could probably get sore very easily. She was then surprised to feel his length press against her inner thigh, only separated by a thin layer of fabric from his underwear.

She gasped, her lips froze in the kiss as she felt him up against her, then she groaned deeply into his mouth. Her hands instantly jumped to his hips, where she pushed him down to grind against her.

He took his underwear off, then he quickly found a way into her sex, penetrating her with a heated passion behind it. May let out a long moan as she felt the burning coil of lust deep inside her that had finally started to unravel. It slowly took a hold of her as she felt herself stretch around him, and as soon as he started building up the rhythm, she let out a cry of pure ecstasy.

He gave a few quiet sighs, grinding himself into her and holding her both closely and dearly so she could feel every second of it. The friction brought her to the edge quicker than she could have anticipated, that, and his physique. She listened to the sounds he made, watched the looks on his face, and they nearly came at the exact same time.

When her mouth wasn't occupied, he kissed her equally as passionate, until they both calmed down. This was after quite some time, which gave her plenty of time to enjoy every bit of him. Her panting filled the air around them as she held onto him dearly, kissing his neck when she wasn't catching her breath.

He chuckled, "So you enjoyed yourself?"

She nodded, "Mmm…mmm-hmm…"

He gently rubbed her chest, "Want me to get off?"

"No…you…don't have to…"

He kissed her forehead, "Goodnight May."

"Can…we do that again, tomorrow…?"

"I don't see why not."

"Tomorrow when we wake up…?"

"Sure." He smiled, "Anytime, you name it."

She kissed his lips, "I love you, Prospero…" She closed her eyes.

"I love you too."

* * *

 **A/N:** Ha, thought you'd get a Sirius and Juliet, but we gave ya these guys instead…Thanks for reading!


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N:** Here's chapter nineteen! Difficult deals and newly discovered feels, hope you like it!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs.

* * *

The taxi ride to Santa Monica was mostly quiet, at least at first. No doubt were Ferrum and Miranda heavy in though with their newly acquired mission. Although Miranda was anything but at ease. They were going to go to the tattoo parlor to try and kill Lafayette once and for all, but was it really possible? After all, Phaedra and one of the Tremere just failed at a mission to fight two regular members of the Sabbat, and yet Ferrum and Miranda were supposed to take out their leader so easily?

Ferrum pulled his hair back with the hair tie she had given him, "I wouldn't worry about this so much, princess." He broke the silence, "I worked with Andrei, remember? I know how he works, what he'd do. Andrei-Junior's gonna be similar. He's gonna try to flesh-craft us. And he's probably gonna succeed." He looked over at her, "And he's prolly gonna have some monsters there too. But if we're fast and we come up with some sort of plan, we just might dust 'im. 'Specially if that zombie-chick brings her little 'friend' over to heal us. Then we don't gotta worry about dying." He looked back out the window, "We just gotta do what we can."

"I…I know…" She said, "But…didn't you see what happened to Cadmus and Mercurio?"

"Yeah," He said, "We're gonna get the shit beat out of us. But that ain't gonna matter if we kill him. Then sent the two of us after him for a reason."

She didn't know how sure she was of that. After all, LaCroix sent _six_ people out to get Andrei, but, Andrei had a few teammates of his own.

The taxi halted in front of the parlor, Miranda stepped out first, reaching into the front of her kimono to pay the driver. Originally, she would Dominate him, but she was interested in saving her blood for the battle.

Ferrum shut the door and looked at her with a wide grin, "You ready to get your hands dirty, princess?"

She grabbed the handle of her sword, "As…ready as I'll ever be…"

He grabbed the door of the parlor without hesitation and stepped inside, looking around. It looked sort of normal, at first. Miranda was a bit surprised, as there were merely blood stains on the floors and walls, but Ferrum's olive eyes narrowed, "Smell that?" He growled lowly, "Smells just like home. Er, what home used to be." He said, "I smell Andrei's blood downstairs." He looked over at her, "C'mon." He started down the stairs downstairs, grimacing as they squished beneath his boots.

He heard a gasp from behind him, turning to see Miranda, "Ferrum…" She choked. _Hands_ had grown out of the fleshly walls and stairs to grab Miranda and hold her down. The clawed, dirty hands and arms pulled Miranda back, a few of them around her neck.

His eyes widened, "The hell…" He grew beastly features and ripped away at the hands with his claws, pulling them from the walls to try and free her.

Once her arm was free, she pulled her sword out and sliced down the remaining arms with her sword, "That…that was dreadful…" She said quietly.

A shadow loomed over them at the top of the stairs. It was a large, fat creature, with pustules and other signs of plague all over his body, a disgusting green gas oozing from his drooling mouth. Both his arms were replaced with sickles. He ran, or eventually tumbled down the stairs, the gas getting smellier and smellier.

Miranda gave a loud, girlish scream, which Ferrum would undoubtedly never hear again in his lifetime. She slashed at the creature with her sword, but it was a hardier beast. It got up and fought back with its sickles.

Ferrum's body lit up green as he got in for close combat. He knew taking the head off would really do nothing, but he did aim for areas that would weaken it the most. Part of him bubbled with fear, if this was just the stairwell and they were already getting swamped with monsters, then what was the actual bottom floor going to be like?

The creature eventually died and turned to ash, Miranda scurried down the stairs first, eventually met with a set of yellow eyes. They certainly _heard_ monsters prowling around, but the lightning was so poor, they could hardly make anything out. Save for Ferrum, who's Protean was giving a heat signature of all his enemies, so he could make out the form of Lafayette and his monsters. "Greetings, young Cainites." Lafayette said, "It seems the Camarilla sends me visitors more and more often in these nights."

Ferrum looked him over, "You even look like 'im, don'tcha?" He snickered, "I can't wait to smother my boots in yer ashes for all the shit your little sire put me through…" He growled.

"I'm afraid I'm not sure as to what you mean."

"I used to do his dirty work, Andrei…" He said, "He was the guy who named me Ferrum, after he'd send me on all sorts a' raids and I'd come back again and again…" He gave a hellish cackle, "I'm just impossible to get rid of, a lesson he learned first-hand, which I'd be more than glad to show you…"

Lafayette's eyes widened, " _You_ are his Gangrel associate…what…what on Earth are you doing with them?"

"I'm not part of the Camarilla, or the Sabbat, or the Anarchs. I'm my own man, and it's gonna stay that way, got it?" He scowled, "Choosing the Sabbat was the worst mistake of my life. Power was never attainable, whatever the hell yer after is nothing but a waste of time and energy!" He barked, "So I've decided to make myself useful and just get rid of you, get rid of all of you. So of course I'm going to ally myself with people who will actually help, people who got hearts somewhere, who got incentive that's beyond selfish hunger!"

"That's unfortunate, Cainite." He said, "Then I suppose I will have to have you work for me whether you enjoy it or not." He leaped towards Ferrum, holding both hands out in an attempt to use Vicissitude.

Ferrum jumped back and snickered, "You ain't layin' a finger on me, her either." He protectively held an arm over Miranda, then turned to her, "You take care a' the monsters, I'll deal with this clown." Miranda nodded, going over to take care of the creations. Some were simple head runners, others were a bit more complicated, and in some cases, they were those obese oafs who had the diseased slime in their mouths. She grit her teeth, activating Fortitude to better fend off against them.

Lafayette growled, trying to keep up with Ferrum in order to flesh-craft him. It was pretty much a standstill, Ferrum couldn't let Lafayette touch him unless he wanted to turn into one of the monsters, but he also couldn't lay a hand on Lafayette. He grit his teeth as he felt his blood pool boiling away, before he held out a hand and summoned a horde of ravens down onto Lafayette. While Lafayette was distracted by them, Ferrum got around behind him to pin him to the ground.

It was dangerous, Lafayette could still very easily reach back and grab him, but Ferrum did everything he could to manage his time wisely, leaving deep scratches in his back that he wouldn't be able to defend.

Lafayette flinched, even with his hardened, alien, Tzimisce body, there were scars running up and down him, "Impressive work, young Cainite." He tossed his jacket off, "Or perhaps I should just refer to you as Ferrum." He said, sending out a flock of bats, which drained part of Ferrum's blood, they then gave it to Lafayette. Ferrum stumbled back and growled, "The hell you think you're doin', taking my blood…" He grabbed a monster that was about to run for Miranda, then whipped it at Lafayette to floor him again.

Lafayette swerved out of the way, "It's unfortunate your tenacious attitude will only get you this far…" He reached behind himself, Ferrum saw a large duffle bag on the ground, he pulled some hunks of flesh out and tossed them on the ground, like he was making a pizza, a red glow came from his hands, as he began to bind the flesh together and create a new monster, "You'll thank me for ending your miserable life."

Ferrum grit his teeth, "Like hell I will, you're not gonna end the life I've just made for myself, pal." He ran forward to tear into the beast he made, also keeping an eye on Lafayette.

The monster resembled a raptor, quick, agile, thin. He hissed and ran forward to tear at Ferrum with his claws, while Lafayette arguably did the same, from a different angle, clearly trying to hit him with Vicissitude while his guard was done. Ferrum grunted as he started taking hits, his Fortitude could only soak up so much of the attacks. He prioritized escaping Lafayette's claws, but that left him much more open for the fleshy raptor. He knew Miranda was busy, so he did the best he could to stay defensive.

Lafayette began to back away, calling on his powers of Auspex next, which, Ferrum thought was a little random, until Lafayette pulled out an impressive, high-grade machine gun, he began firing away at Ferrum from afar. "Fuck!" He spat as he felt his back get littered with bullets. But, as long as Lafayette had that gun, he was going to be a bit less trigger happy with Vicissitude. He turned back to the raptor and focused on getting rid of that while he had the window of time.

Lafayette was unamused, surely, Ferrum would defeat the raptor in the next few moments, "Now then, shall we deplete the last of your blood?" Lafayette sent out another horde of bats.

Miranda leapt in the way, which at first confused Ferrum. Wasn't she supposed to be taking out the monsters? But, when he saw that there was nothing left, and that Miranda was bloodied and scarred, (her hair was quite messy too), it all made sense. The bats drained her blood pool instead, giving what the collected back to Lafayette.

"Princess…?" He panted, raising a brow. He didn't have time to thank her, he just focused on tearing into the raptor, "Just," He grunted as he was hit, "Don't let him touch ya…"

Miranda ran at Lafayette with her sword out, but Lafayette tossed his gun aside, holding both hands out in an effort to flesh-craft her, but she would jump back, thus, turning their battle into a satanic game of cat-and-mouse.

Ferrum laughed as the raptor collapsed. He then turned to Lafayette, his blood-covered form and sinister sneer lit up with that characteristic green glow. "Two against one, kid, make your move."

"Do not assume that there are two of you, and one of me, that you have any sort of advantage." Lafayette lectured.

"Then what's it gonna be, huh? What are you gonna do now?" He punched a fist into the palm of his hand, "Cuz I gotta' fist that's achin' to find its way in yer face."

"And that's your weakness, is it not?" He smirked, "In order for either of you to get near me, I am therefore allowed to mold your body. Even those who prefer firearms, I have my advanced Animalism. I have built the perfect defense mechanism for both forms of combat."

"Well, I don't think neither a' us are chicken enough to run off with our tails between our legs." He growled, "I hate fuckin' standstills…" He ran forward to punch him in the face at point-blank range.

"Goodbye, childe of Caine!" Lafayette held a hand out, but he flinched, coughing up a lot of blood, as Miranda slashed him away, "The sword of the Tal'Mahe'Ra…" Lafayette seethed.

Ferrum looked over at Miranda, "Hey, thanks for the save…" He said, she could see him scheming, before he put Fortitude and Protean down. He held a hand out to send more ravens after Lafayette, "Now, princess!" He barked.

Miranda nodded, running over and slashing at Lafayette numerous times, he screamed and fell back, being completely vulnerable thanks to the ravens. He scowled at Ferrum, sending bats at him to completely finish off his blood pool.

"Shit!" Ferrum swatted at them, then grunted as he fell to his knees, doing everything he could to keep the Beast at bay, "Princess…" He coughed out, "I think we might have ta…make a run for the hills…"

Miranda nodded, grabbing Ferrum's hand and running away with him. Lafayette snickered, sending more bats to suck out some of Miranda's blood pool. He then feverishly made some creations to chase them out.

Miranda made it to the top of the stairs, but not before stopping, "What?" She asked, looking back, "Oh…oh no…it's those hands again…"

Ferrum panted, "There…there's nothin' I can do…" He growled, "Honestly, sweetheart, it's a miracle I haven't frenzied yet…" He turned back as he heard the monsters after them, then grit his teeth and grabbed the limbs that held them back, yanking on them and trying to sever them away, especially the ones around Miranda's arms.

Once her arm was free, even for a moment, she cut down the remaining hands, escaping the tattoo parlor with Ferrum. She swallowed hard, "Did you want to take this opportunity to feed on someone?"

He put quite a bit of weight on her as he looked around for someone straggling around. Sure enough, a homeless person stepped into an alleyway. He pulled himself away from Miranda and trailed the man down the alleyway, then drank as much as he could get from him without killing him. After that he returned to Miranda's side and pat her shoulder, "Much better…well, looks like we made it out alive. Too bad we weren't able to kill the little shithead…but at least we can confirm he's still there."

"Are you alright?" Miranda asked.

"Yeah." He snickered, "I'm still riding an adrenaline high. You alright?" He looked over her, "Looks like you took a beating."

"Well, I did…but…it was nothing out of the ordinary…in terms of the duties I have to perform…"

"Well, you looked good out there." He started walking down the sidewalk, "Guess we should grab a cab and get back to the red tower, unless you wanted some alone time er somethin'."

She followed behind him, "You were quite efficient out there…if I may say so…your knowledge of the Tzimisce surpasses that of even the most knowledgeable Kindred."

"That's just cause I worked with Andrei. I ain't special."

"Well, I was very impressed."

"Well…uh….thanks." He smiled, then pulled his hair out of the hair-tie, "You were impressive too. Didn't know it was possible to kill all those monsters."

"It wasn't that many…six or seven…it was their size that really slowed me down…"

"Yeah, I can't blame ya." He said, then he smiled at her as a cab pulled over, "You kick ass for a pretty little princess."

She smiled and reached for his shoulders, leaning in and kissing his lips, holding his face and pulling him in closer. His eyes widened and he put his hands on her back to hold her there, doing his best to kiss her back, since he had never done it before. This naturally caused a lot of onlookers to notice what was happening, a few of the whistled as Miranda lifted a leg up near his hip. He reached a hand down and held her thigh there, the other hand came up and flipped the bird at any whistling onlookers.

Miranda giggled and backed away, "I…I, uh…got a little carried away…"

"It's alright…" He muttered, a bit flustered, "Can't…say I saw that comin', is all…"

"Ferrum…I…I think I have feelings for you." She said, "I…I think I love you." This time, she actually meant it. Not like all those one-time men and women, not like Tess, LaCroix or Iphigenia, where she only looked for some sort of sexual dominance. She felt something in her heart for this man. She felt a raw emotion that wasn't just bound to simplistic erotic desires. It was love. She knew it. She never felt an emotion like this before.

"…how the hell did that happen…?" He asked, "I'm…just some idiot…you're…you're like royalty, I don't get it…" He blinked a few times, "I…I don't deserve that."

"I don't think you're just some idiot, I like you." She said, a pause went by as she blinked, "If…if you'd rather remain comrades, I'm content with that, I just…didn't think it would be wise of me to hide my feelings any longer."

"Guess that makes me a permanent member of the Camarilla then."

She smiled, "Don't let my silly emotions get in the way of what your stance is."

He snickered and slung an arm around her shoulders before he yanked the door open for her, "S'more than just emotions there, toots."

"If you insist." She giggled.

* * *

Raven's bright blue orbs landed on the door as it clicked and squealed open, revealing her childe who crept inside. "Rainy." She acknowledged with a slight bob of the head, before she turned back to the book in her hands, continuing to flip through pages absent-mindedly.

Rainy could tell her sire was planning a move, what with her map on the table, colored pins on different cities, some red, some green, some even purple. There were a few history textbooks on the table open to different cities, states, even countries. The whole feeling made Rainy antsy, this was usually a display Raven would set up just weeks before another move.

It wasn't often the pair stayed in one space. They were like a pair of predators, really, travelling around away from the hunters, using an area for its resources, before running to another area, and so on. They left a reputation behind them, hints, traces of existence that could be tracked, could lead to their death if they even tried to venture through the same path. Her sire was even meticulous about _how_ they travelled somewhere, if it required crossing a city they had already been too, she'd go to the lengths of taking a boat to go around. And, her sire didn't trust cabbies. She didn't know how to drive either, so everything was on foot.

Rainy looked over the map, "A-Are we moving s-soon?"

"I would like to." She said, "There's too much Jyhad. Too many Kindred are here, at night, it's…making me uncomfortable." She said, "I'm thinking of moving north, but…there aren't as many people there…no one to feed on." She said, "I'm…still planning. If you have any suggestions, I'm all ears."

 _Staying here._ "No…I have no suggestions…" She said, hiding a sniffle or two. This is why making connections with others was an unwise course of action for Rainy. She would always try to make friends, make an acquaintance, but then they'd leave. _Here we go again._

Her sire's ears perked up as she slowly left a slip of paper in the book and closed it, "Rainy…did you want to talk?" Rainy shook her head, sitting next to Raven, her shoulders, as usual, had a persistent shaking.

Raven put the book aside, "Rainy, if you're struggling, I'm here to talk. That's…why I'm here." She looked up at her childe, "When I was Embraced…I didn't have anyone. The emptiness…it clouded my head, it made me think silly things and do silly things…" She looked down at the floor, "Like carelessly Embrace the first friend I've ever had." She looked back up at Rainy, "But, if you want independence, if you need space, or would rather just…go off on your own, you need to understand, I support you. I always will. I don't need you to survive, and I like to think you don't need me either. I'm not a tyrant…I refuse to be. If there's something you want to do, I need you to tell me, or I'll continue to take you with me."

"No, no, I don't want that." She said softly, "I want to be with you…we…we need to stick together." She said, "We're…we're all we have…"

"Okay…" Raven said slowly, before she hugged Rainy, "I'm here for whatever you do, okay? Even…even if you told all the Anarchs, Sabbat, Camarilla, Kuei-Jin, humans, _everyone,_ that we exist, I'd still run at your side…okay?" She giggled a bit.

She smiled, her shaking subsided a little bit, and she got cozy in her arms. This was the best she was going to get.

There was a knock on the door. Both girls froze, before Raven's eyes glowed red and she stood up, her mind clouded with a sort of maternal instinct. "Get behind the bed." She ordered softly as Rainy nodded and went into a ball behind the bed. Raven stood up and opened the door just a touch, keeping her hood over her face, "How may I help you?"

Rainy froze as she heard a familiar voice chuckle softly, "You must be Miss Rainy's sire."

Raven's eyes hardened, but she didn't dare reveal them, "Please, come in."

"Gladly." Rainy heard the heeled boots click against the floors. "Is she not here…?"

"Why are you here?" Raven asked, even such a terrified question rolled off her tongue as smooth and calm as ever.

"I am a very close friend of Rainy's. I'm only here to talk." She held a hand out, "Phaedra."

Raven reluctantly shook her hand, her entire hand swaddled in black cotton. "You were never mentioned."

"Is that so?" Phaedra asked, "Well, you know her, she's a timid thing. Is that her, behind the bed? Rainy?" Phaedra peered over the side.

Rainy peeked out from her hiding place, "P-Phaedra…"

"There she is." Phaedra smiled before she sat on the bed, "I'll say it again, I'm only here to talk." She met their gazes, or at least, what she could, before she turned to face the floor, "It's no secret what my clan is. And it's certainly no secret that there aren't many of us left at all, either."

"Enough." Raven extinguished her tale, which surprised Rainy a bit, "We will leave, if that is your wish."

"It isn't my wish at all. I'm only under command of the Prince. He's sent me after you, inquiring a clan name. Nothing will be done to either of you."

"You don't know that." Raven insisted, "The Prince is a Tremere, he cannot know what we are. And neither can you."

"As much as I'd love to return to his penthouse and tell him I was unsuccessful, I like to increase the changes of your livelihood."

"What are you implying?"

"I am to find your clan, and if I am unable to, I'm not sure who he will send. And I doubt my punishment will be a slap on the wrist."

Raven sighed and turned away, before she turned back to Phaedra, "Then I will speak to your Prince, privately."

"No wait…" Rainy sniffed, "This…this is all my fault…what…what if I speak to the Prince?" She said, "I'll tell him the truth…tell him what I really am. After all, he doesn't know that there are two of us." She said, "Then…he'll kill me…but…you'll be able to escape…" She looked at Raven, "And you won't get in trouble…" She looked at Phaedra.

"No." Raven said, "I will speak to him, and we will live together, or die together." Raven insisted, "Lead us there." She looked up at Phaedra.

Phaedra seemed hesitant, "There isn't another clan with healing qualities I could…tell him you are?"

"It isn't worth the risk."

"No…we can't…" Rainy started crying, "This is all my fault…I just…I just wanted another friend…I just wanted the outside world…" She sobbed, burying her face in her hands.

Phaedra looked miserable as well, standing beside her and trying to comfort her, before they both heard the door slam shut. Phaedra looked up to see that Raven was gone. She swallowed hard and looked back at Rainy, "Should we go after her?"

"I…I don't know…" She said, "I should've just listened to her…I…I should've just stayed in here…"

"Relax, dear." Phaedra kissed her lips, "Sires are very protective over their childer…mine was the same way. But freedom is not something we can hide from, and it won't be. I will save you. I will not let you die."

"But I don't want the Prince to kill you…"

She shook her head, "I'm…sure he won't. Positive. I will save us both."

She gave a slight nod, but she couldn't stop crying. Out of all the times she'd cried, this one was the loudest and the most heart-wrenching.

Phaedra held her close and closed her eyes, gently petting her hair. Telling her not to cry was pointless, telling her to relax or put faith in her was pointless too. She was going to have to see what fate had to offer.

* * *

"Careful, careful, don't spill any of that on the table." Iphigenia held a hand out.

Leonardo raised a brow and looked at his champagne glass he had, half empty with blood. "What are you talking about?" He looked down at the end table he was about to set it on.

"A little drop rolled down the side after you drank from it." Venus pointed to the glass.

He looked closer, then smudged it away with a thumb and set it down on the table, "I suppose it would stain the surface, wouldn't it?"

"For sure." Iphigenia crossed her legs and continued reading.

The three Kindred and single ghoul were sitting in a library, Iphigenia in an arm chair, Delilah and Leo on opposite sides of the couch, and Venus sitting on the hearth of the fireplace. It was toasty in there, a dull red glow entered from the curtains that covered the windows completely, biblical paintings here and there, accented by ornate wall lamps.

With all of them studying, it left Venus in a funny position, feeling the warm flames dancing behind her back, listening to the occasional page turn, trying not to disrupt them by counting the split ends in her hair.

And of course, there was the occasional quiet bought of chatter here and there, but it was fleeting. "Does anyone know when the Magister will be back in?" Delilah asked.

"Not a clue." Iphigenia said, "Unfortunately."

Leonardo turned a page, "Iphigenia, which path are you progressing towards?"

"Me?" She asked, "Well…" She put her book down and looked up, "I was aiming for the Path of Levinbolt. But, Mister Strauss advised I pursue the path of Mars. So…I am undecided."

"Well, you can learn both, silly." Delilah said, "I want to learn the Lure of Flames and Movement of the Mind…and maybe Path of Shadowcrafting…"

"I know." Iphigenia said softly, "But I'd rather start one before I start the other. I have enough problems with focus as it is."

"Mmm, so do I." Venus looked up, "You're certainly not alone in that aspect."

Another wave of silence, and page turning. Venus sat back against the fire grate, closing her eyes, before she peeked one open and watched the vampires before her.

They were more human than she had thought. She thought Victor might be an exception, even then, he too was a bit detached from humanity. Something she expected. But with these younger apprentices, they were even more human-like than she could have anticipated. She was pretty sure Iphigenia had a family she cared for, and that there was an extreme amount of tension between Delilah and Leonardo, who would occasionally sit up and push themselves as far away from each other as possible. She supposed it was something to ask Victor, to leave them be for now, and not distract them.

"Ah, look at you, all so nicely reading." Victor smiled as he walked in, "Has that oaf interfered with any of your studies?"

Iphigenia looked up and smirked, "You ought to be careful saying that so loud in here."

Delilah giggled a bit, "But, he hasn't, if you were worried, sir."

"I must say, with these Primogen meetings lodged back-to-back, if often worries me to leave the Chantry in suck…risky hands…" Victor said.

"It wouldn't be a problem if someone watched the door like they're supposed to." Delilah turned to her childe.

Leonardo raised a brow, "Oh, forgive me for wanting to grow stronger and be able to defend the Chantry against intruders."

Delilah crossed her legs, "You bring one in just about every other week anyway, doesn't make much of a difference."

"That was once. Only once."

"That's what I said about you too, but look who's still here."

"Enough…" Iphigenia said, before she looked up at Victor, "We've been managing just fine. The idea that there's a Regent here seems to be enough to scare away unwanted attention."

"I would hope that is the case, because it seems as though the four of us will be needed for an upcoming…shall we say…errand?" Victor said.

"All of us…?" Delilah asked.

"Yes, well, now that the Sabbat is back, Strauss has assumed that they've erected hundreds of little warehouses." He said, "He wants us to see if we can take some of them out of the equation. I suppose it's because he heard that some of the younger Kindred are really struggling against the new wave of Sabbat members, so, four Tremere should be a…well-rounded squad, or so goes the train of thought."

"And…we're trusting Mister Sorrentino with the entire Chantry…?" Leonardo asked.

"Well…I'll be here." Venus said, "Or not. Might be working, depending on when it is you decide to do this."

"Please work." Victor said, "I do not want to even think about you two being the only two souls in the Chantry…it would be disastrous, that's for sure…"

"In more ways than one, for sure…"

"Yes, well…the rest of you shall be prepared for tomorrow, that is when we will set out." He said, "I'm going to my quarters."

"So am I." Venus stood up and trailed him, looking up at them as she walked alongside him, "Sounds like a hell of a job he's got you managing."

Victor shut the door behind himself as he and Venus entered his room, "So, how has everything been going here?"

"Well, it seems fine, from what I see. Entertaining for sure."

"Good…" He hung up his scarf, and then his trench coat, "At this rate, I'll never have Lure of Flames…I'll have…Lure of candles…I hardly seem to have any time for myself…as Primogen…"

She sat on the edge of the bed, looking a bit worried. Ever since they had 'moved in' together, he really saw a different side of his girlfriend. He could tell she was just a touch overwhelmed, but there was no more burning look of lust in her eye all the time, there was only care and loyalty there. Of course, if he started something, she'd certainly follow suit, but she hadn't really instigated anything since her arrival. She held her hands out, "Why don't you sit so I could give you a good back rub?"

He shed his blazer off, "If it isn't any trouble." He sat on the bed.

"Of course not." She situated herself behind him and gently rubbed her hands over his back, before she dug into the sore spots with her thumbs, untangling knots he didn't even know he had.

He sighed, "You're awful good at this…"

"Am I? Maybe you're just very tense."

"Perhaps…"

She leaned in a bit and kissed behind his ear, "So Iphigenia has a family, yes? And what about Leo and Delilah? Did one have an affair on the other or…something? I'm trying to piece everyone together."

"Yes…Delilah illegally sired Leo. That's…that's why I wish to be careful in terms of them figuring out our status together."

"Uh huh…" She muttered, "Delilah doesn't strike me as the type to…prowl about the nights, but Leonardo does. For sure."

He nodded, "Tomorrow, when we're out, stay at either Confessions, or your apartment."

"Yes, sir." She smirked.

"Would you mind if we, played with each other before we sleep?"

"Play with each other, hmm?" She chuckled softly, "Sounds fun." She reached back and unzipped her dress, grabbing him by the tie and pulling him in for a searing kiss.

* * *

"God, it's so dull tonight…" Her long nails tapped against the weary wooden surface, the plaster on the outside of the counter had long been chipped away.

"Uh huh." The bartender grunted, half-cleaning off a glass and putting it back in its slot.

She wasn't talking to him, but she figured she might as well. "Must be the terrorists."

"Terrorists, huh?" He snorted, "If that were the case, wouldn't we be _more_ crowded?"

She gave a fleeting smirk, "Ah, right, that's why I hired you." She looked over at him, her pigtails bouncing, along with other things, "You see Therese recently?"

"Not since she got that promotion."

She sighed, "I miss her." She looked back, "I don't hear of her much anymore, I bet you see her even less."

"I like it that way."

She turned back to the floor, "I lost an angel."

"Yeah?"

"The city of angels, you'd think there'd be more. I had one in my hands but…I squeezed her too tight. She flew away…into the arms of another sinner." She crossed her legs and looked out at the completely empty dancefloor, "I tried throwing stones to knock her back down, but that was heartless of me, wasn't it? She…flies where she's needed. Now I'll never see her again."

"S'what you get for throwing rocks."

"I know…" She looked down and kicked her feet back and forth, "There's Halcyon…my other…friend. But she's no angel. She's a sinner, like the rest of us. She just has gloves over her hands. Blood all over them, but not on her hands." She sighed, "I don't know…there's no love there. It's in, out, bye, see you next month. It's more of a job than a service…" She sighed, "Now I know why Therese told me it wasn't worth it. Why she's strictly professional with Vandal…"

"Therese boned Vandal?"

"No…" She sighed, "Never mind, honeybee, it's nothing." She listened to the door open, "I'm just lonely. I need a good time, bad."

"It's been what, three days?"

"Three days far too long."

"Excuse me, dear." A wiry voice jolted her to look up at a broad expanse of red suit. She looked up a bit more and found the head.

"And what do we have here…?" She stood up, "Another demon in the city of angels…what can I do for you?" She put a hand on her hip and smirked.

He eyed her over, "Therese Voerman?"

"Oh, that would be my sister. But, we share the club. Anything you have to say to her can be said to me too, m'kay? No secrets here. Unless…you'd like some."

"I'd like to discuss business with your sister. Baron of Santa Monica, yes? This isn't about the club."

"It isn't?" She asked, "Why don't we talk upstairs?"

"Well, the place is barren, I figured it wouldn't make a difference."

"Come along." She grabbed his tie and pulled him over to the elevator, to the second floor, "So you know about my sister. You know a lot of things that someone with a beating heart shouldn't." She said as the doors closed.

"I'm a ghoul, in case you couldn't figure it out."

"So, then who's sending you?" She crossed her arms, "Who's sending their _ghoul_ to talk with my sister? Honestly, _I'm_ insulted. _Embarrassed_."

"That's unfortunate." He said, "And none of my business."

The doors opened and she walked him into the foyer, but no deeper, "So, what is it then?"

He looked up in the corners of the room, "You going to use cameras to watch me?"

"No camera's here. Just me."

"I need to speak to your sister, for the risk of hearsay."

"I'll tell her word for word whatever it is you have to tell her."

He crossed his arms, "I'd like to purchase Santa Monica from her. And, hell, this club along with it. You bring in a lot of money, yes?"

"I'm going to stop you there." She cocked her head to the side, "You can't take Santa Monica from her. I already know the answer will be no. There is nothing that woman prides more than her silly official document stamped on by some rotting corpse in a chair, signifying that she is indeed the leader of all four Kindred who live here. She wants it because she's crazy, she's a Malkavian, you know." She smirked, "Well, so am I."

"Listen, Voerman—"

"Jeanette."

" _Jeanette_." He sneered, "I don't care how many people are in it now, or what you think your sister might want." He reached in his blazar and slid out a glossy card, "You're to give her this." He handed it to her, "And tell her to call as soon as she makes her appearance."

She looked at the card, "So you're with the Sabbat."

He seemed a bit shocked she picked it out so quickly, before he pulled out a wad of cash from his suit as well, "Take this as a…donation. Think of it as an eighth of what I'd pay for the club, and the club alone. The city, I'll pay four times as much. I'll leave the math in your capable hands."

Her jaw dropped as she took the stack of cash and flipped through the hundreds, "This is a lot of green paper, honey."

"Yes, wonderful observation, doll. That's all you'll be needing from me." He turned towards the elevator.

She reached out and grabbed his shoulder, "Fitzroy. That's…Killian's last name."

"Then you know my son. Congratulations."

She stepped back, "I'm sorry about Lark. We were close."

"What?" He raised a brow, completely clueless.

"Lark…Killian's sister…I—"

He snorted and turned back to the elevator, "Tell your sister to call or you'll be snuffed out like a candle. Am I understood?"

She held onto the card with both hands and watched that stern face as the doors closed. She then turned to her room and walked inside, closing the door slowly, "Therese…he reminds me of Daddy…and I know how much you'd love to…give up control to Daddy again…" She set the card on the vanity, "You're not going to call, are you Therese? Please don't…I like the club…I like…I like having something, sharing something with you…I don't like him…" She spun around, like she was looking for something, "Therese? Therese!"

But, her sister wasn't there.

* * *

 **A/N:** Hmm…wonder what will happen if she doesn't make that call…Thanks for reading!


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N:** Here's chapter twenty! (whistling, applause) The Sabbat are kicking in with war on the agenda, hope you like it!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs. Also, the center most scene features content from the Clan Quest Mod.

* * *

Salt water probably didn't agree with whatever material her boots were made of. She could tell because she could feel the chilled water seep in and squelch around her bare toes, the salt inside chafe up against her ankles. Maybe she should look into a pair of socks. Or maybe she shouldn't stand so close to the shore.

A little hermit crab was carried along a wave, but was not pulled back in. It was stranded in the sand, reaching its feeble little claws out and gaining its bearings before it crawled furiously towards her boots, completely disoriented.

Phaedra bent over and scooped up the little crab, watching it crawl across her fingers, watching those little eyes meet hers, the little feelers reaching for her to figure out what she was. "This sea is so rough, isn't it?" She asked softly, the little creature curiously looked onwards at her. "Pacific Sea, hmm? The Mediterranean was calmer." She cocked her head to the side a bit, "Don't you think?"

It reached forward with a little claw. She smiled, "My husband used to fish that sea every morning and every evening. He'd pull out all those big fish that used to eat you." Her eyes narrowed, "Do you have family in the Mediterranean? You must. Crabs live in Antarctica, don't they? Oh, I envy your strength. You can survive the roughest conditions and yet—"

A seagull cried out and snatched the crab from her hand, dropping the empty shell to the ground seconds later. "And yet…" She looked up, "There's always something above you…"

The next thing Phaedra noticed was a bunch of rowdy teenage boys, laughing at what looked like a Halloween display that was a few months early. It was a statue of a grim reaper, arms crossed, two scythes sheathed behind its back, and deathly, purple eyes.

Only then it moved, but it didn't scare the boys, it only provoked them further, "Dude, what's up with the getup?" One of them asked.

"Did you knit it yourself?" Another asked.

"Get a life, loser." A third said.

The grim reaper took his scythes out, beheading the nearest teenager, as the other two began to run for their lives, he beheaded them as well. Blood spilled out of their neck sockets like a fountain, as their bodies collapsed.

His purple eyes locked with Phaedra's, "Emissary of the Camarilla."

She watched on with intrigue, "Yes, that's right. How can I help you, dear?"

"Many whispers pass of your name in the Sabbat briefings." He said, holding his scythes out, evidently, they were still hungry.

She gave a little smirk, "Then I suppose it was wise of me to…make a few purchases." She reached behind her back and took out a weapon.

It was a rapier. Thin and delicate, finished in shining silver. Its designs were Victorian and ornate, jewels set into the blade, "So, why is it you'd like me dead?"

He sheathed both his scythes, "You work in the Camarilla. In time, it will be annihilated in this state."

"Is that so?" She asked, "Hmm…a fairly simple reason, I suppose…"

"You expect something more complicated?"

"Well…yes, in all honesty…"

He crossed his arms, "You may make the first attack."

"May I?" She held her blade up, "Very well." She held up another hand and started to summon zombies, keeping her sword up on the defensive.

The reaper looked from zombie to zombie, taking a step or two back whenever they got too close, "So you follow the path of Necromancy, hmm? I suppose I should expect as much, from a childe of the Nagaraja bloodline."

She gave a proud grin, "Yes, that's right. Though I must say, I rely upon Necromancy, not so much physical strength…which seems to be your forte…"

He chuckled deeply, "You mustn't base your opponents on appearances alone."

"Very true." She nodded, summoning a specter to hunt him down next.

The reaper's eyes shrunk, he jumped back, having a great deal of trouble avoiding the specter, although, it almost looked like he was having fun doing it.

She put her hand down after that, letting the zombies do as she pleased and relying on her rapier for the rest of the battle.

"A finalized path of Necromancy, we have." He said, holding a fist out and unclenching it, slowly, almost as if he _was_ a stone statue, "One of the wraiths and the shadowlands, no? Perhaps I will compare it with mine." The same purple mist of skulls that Phaedra was accustomed to seeing poured from the reaper's hand, as zombies of his own began to sprout up, in addition to a specter. One that was, point for point, exactly like hers.

Her eyes widened as she backed away, rearing back to slash it with her sword, before it saw her specter and the ghosts began to battle. She turned back to him as their undead armies fought, "What…clan do you belong to?"

The reaper held a taunting hand out, "Your attack."

She gave a little smirk before she ran forward to slice him to pieces.

A bright green glow came off of him. It was nearly blinding, the sheer power she felt come off of him. Not only did her blade harmlessly _clang_ against his shoulder, but it snapped in two. The blade of her rapier splintered and shattered a bit. The reaper watched the metal shards fall into the beach sand, "Please, tell me there's more."

She fell back and landed on her rear, completely shocked, "I've…never seen such…a strong Fortitude…" His eyes lit up next, a powerful, fiery red. But not only that, blue fire began to light up on his body, in addition to his red eyes. He pulled a crossbow out, loading it with something, when he fired at Phaedra, she saw a fiery hunk of metal flying towards her.

Her eyes widened before she scrambled out of the way, grunting as her hand was struck. She stumbled back and ripped out the bolt, throwing it aside and looking at the burning hole in her hand, before she looked back at him and slowly backed away, "I think this is a wonderful time for me to retreat…"

The reaper laughed and laughed, reloading his weapon to shoot at her again. She took the time it took him to reload to run, as fast as she could. She had blood left, sure, but getting blood or flesh was still an incredible hassle with the Setite lurking around. She cut her losses and ran.

She bumped into someone on her way out. He growled, "Watch where you're going!"

The reaper caught up to the pair, "Polonius…" He said, stunned, "This is not your station."

The tan-skinned man coated in golden jewelry smirked, "So this is the little Nagaraja that you all seem to be unable to get rid of. Why don't you just leave her to me?"

"Finishing off an injured opponent?" The reaper asked, "There's no honor in that."

"Tch, you like to talk about your honor, don't you, Cedric?" Poe asked, "I wonder what you'd be without that quality, probably nothing. Yes, I enjoy killing off these worms, no matter how much _honor_ I sully. As long as a wicked creature dies by my hands, I think the circumstances can be overlooked."

Cedric's eyes darted around, then, his passive Disciplines faded, "Very well." He started walking off.

Poe then looked at Phaedra, "Now listen to me, you old hag. You're going to be a good girl and die under my blade, understand?"

She gave a dry chuckle, "That sounds like something my husband said before I ate him…" She stepped back and held out a hand, "You'd best stay on my good side, dear."

"Well, I knew the Nagaraja were lawless and without any sort of restraint, but it seems you've exceeded my expectations, all in record time."

She had a good laugh, "So glad I could break records for you, dear. Tell me, if you were a slave, wouldn't you just love to watch your slaveholder scream in terror and agony all at once? It's certainly not something I'm ashamed of in the slightest." He half-pulled his sword out, then he stopped once the heart of her message got through to him, then he stifled a chuckle. She smirked, "What is it? Sharing a laugh is much richer than partaking in one alone."

" _You're_ the laugh." He disappeared, and then reappeared right in front of her, stabbing her in the chest with loads of impact, given by the blood that sprayed out. There was both bite, and anger, in his sword, yes. This was also obvious given how much he roared as he slashed through her. Pulling the sword back out seemed to amplify the pain. One would think with Celerity running, that the agony wouldn't have slowed down time so much, but it did.

Her choking sounds of agony were quiet, then she stumbled back and held her chest, "Very…" She wiped blood from her lips, "Tactful of you…" She looked up, "Toreador, I take it?"

He chuckled. Did he, turn his Celerity off out of arrogance? "No. I'm afraid not. I am part of the great Ishtarri Clan." He said, then his confident smirk stopped, and he looked angry, "Well? Are you going to fight back? Sorry to break this to you, but hurling compliments doesn't win you battles. You must know this by now. Or…maybe you don't."

She shook her head, "I'm going to be honest, dear, this is…perhaps the third 'fight' I've ever been in…"

"And yet, the whole of the Sabbat site you as some sort of survivalist." He scoffed, "Clearly, you haven't met me yet, that's all." He dashed at her again, this time, at normal speed. She stumbled back out of the way and sent out another specter to deal with him before she tried her best to run off. Poe laughed, dashing away from the specter. Phaedra felt a sharp, horrid pain tear into her back as he stabbed her, "Sorry to break this to you, but your little ghostly friend won't be able to catch me…"

She hissed at the searing pain before he tore the blade away and she fell to her knees, holding her stomach. "Polonius…please have mercy, dear…"

He looked angry at her begging for mercy, and angrier still at the use of his full name, "I will not. I'm going to kill you, and then I'm going to kill the rest of your stupid Camarilla."

"….you're very blunt, Polonius…" She gave a weak smile, "I must say, it's a bit refreshing…"

He paused, stopping his Celerity, which may have been a mistake, because the specter attacked him, but he defended with his sword. Phaedra scrambled to her feet and ran again, up the concrete stairs, smearing blood on the walls.

Poe snarled, dashing away from the specter and slashing her again, causing her to fall and kiss the stairs a bit. Poe gave a horrid growl, slashing through her a few more times. There was almost an art form to it, like he was trying to slash a picture with her blood, which, Phaedra would love to admire, if it wasn't her blood and skin that was flying around. She grunted as her teeth sliced up her own lips, her nails dug into the stone as she pleaded for mercy. "Pathetic…" Poe said quietly, and then louder, "You're just pathetic!"

"Yes…yes…I know…" She muttered, "I've been spending years in Egypt doing research, not exactly honing my combat skills…"

His sword dripped with her blood, "I suppose maybe you should have _researched_ a better way to fight. I can't believe all the fuss my comrades made about you when I could easily beat you without even dipping into a significant amount of my blood pool." He reared back, "Well, you'll have a lot of time to do _research_ in hell." He smirked, "Maybe you'll even see your husband again."

"Oh, I'd love to eat him again while I'm there…" She grunted as he pushed her face down a bit more, "Maybe I'll see your dead parents there as well."

He seethed with rage, this time he aimed for the back of her head, blood went everywhere, "Die, you ungraceful hag!"

She screamed in pain for once, shuddering as she opened her eyes yet again, surprised she was even still alive, "If my sire saw me here, I think she'd be laughing…"

"Don't tell me, she thinks you're pathetic like the rest of the world does?"

"Oh, very much so…she was always telling me not to run my mouth…not to look at people, talk to them, expose myself to the world…because I have pointed teeth…" Her eyes landed on his, "Imagine a life like that, especially when all you've wanted in your life was friends…of course I'm going to talk to people and try to make friends…" She grunted, "But I see now with that comes enemies…"

"Don't lecture me."

"I'm not lecturing you, I'm not an idiot…" She said, "How old are you?"

"Old enough to know that there are far too many liars in this world." He said, "That's why I have become an Ishtarri, to kill all those who dare spread their foulness amongst us."

"…such a shame such an honorable goal was corrupted by the hive-mind of the Sabbat…I think without them, you'd be able to accomplish that goal with ease…"

"Oh, like how being in the Camarilla practically doomed you?"

"Yes, I can safely say it did. I'm not even sure how much I like it…I've already turned against my friends and sent them to a grave…I'm not sure how much of this L.A. Jyhad I can take…I just want to go back to Egypt…" She closed her eyes.

"The place I'm sending you will be a bit hotter than that."

"Polonius…" One of her eyes peeked open, "I'll pay you to let me go…I'll get you a blood doll, I'll do anything to live…"

He rolled his eyes, "My only concern is your death." He reared back, but then he was hit from behind by Phaedra's specter, he glared at it and their swords clashed. She stumbled to her feet, leaning against the hoods of cars to try and make from the parking garage to the streets, like some sort of golden light at the end of the tunnel. Poe dashed after her, trying to fend off the specter at the same time.

As soon as the streetlights hit her skin, she cried out, "Someone, help! Police! I'm being attacked!"

Poe frowned, he and Phaedra's specter were in trouble now. In mere moments he was swarmed by police cars, being shot at left and right. But, while this would have stopped someone of the _Camarilla_ , for Poe, he just saw it as target practice. He dashed around, dismembering officers and civilians of random choosing, in some cases with glee. After the sixth or seventh officer he killed, he began to aim for the cars themselves. He would roar and slash them with unforgiving force.

As Phaedra ran, she heard the sound of cars exploding, and dozens, if not more people dying with each exploded car. And a voice, Poe's voice, crying out, "I will find you! Nagaraja scum! I will find you, and I will kill you!"

* * *

Just the slightest tap rang out on the penthouse doors. It was clear as a bell, but soft and precise. Strauss was in the middle of a phone call, one with the Malkavian Primogen, it was erratic, something about a hooligan destroying her city. He assumed it had something to do with the Sabbat, and he kept trying to hang up, assuring her that the matter would be dealt with. But this wasn't enough for Therese, so it wasn't until another few minutes until Strauss was finally able to rid himself of her. He sighed, "Enter." He said softly to the poor soul waiting behind the doors.

The doors tipped open as a hooded figure walked in, their footsteps completely silent. He saw no face, no hands, no form at all behind the dark robes, but he certainly wasn't expecting the almost angelic voice that came from within, "Mister Strauss?"

"Greetings, neonate." He said, "How may I be of assistance?"

"I will waste none of your time." She reached a delicate white hand up and pulled her hood away completely, revealing her face, as well as the closed third eye, "My only wish is that my death is quiet and painless…but…" She closed her eyes, "Do as you may."

"I'm afraid I'm not following."

"I…I am of clan Salubri." She said, "I…thought that…you would want none of our presence in your city…"

"Ah." He folded his hands, "So your kind _has_ survived."

"It…appears so." She said softly, "I…was not aware the Prince of this city was Tremere…" Her eyes welled with tears, "I've been running all my life…cited in so many cities, just to survive…I foresaw an end ahead of me, but…I didn't know it would be so soon…"

"What is your name, childe of Saulot?"

"R-Raven." She dabbed at one of her eyes, "Raven Fiala…"

"So you had something to do with healing members of our organization from the Tzimisce assault." He said, "What do you know about your clan? Specifically, about other survivors? Are you the only one left? Are there more, somewhere?"

"Before I answer any of your questions…I would…I would like to know what you plan to do with me."

"That would depend on how forthcoming you are with me."

"…quid pro quo, I suppose…" She let out a little sigh, "I'm not sure how many there are of us. I know of one. I do not know the fate of my sire. He told me as much information as I'm sure you know…" She dabbed at her eyes again, "I have not met any other survivors in my fifty years of running…but…there could be more. My sire told me he had sired other childer, to increase the numbers, but they are none that I have met."

"What affiliation did your sire follow?"

"He was Independent, and I too, follow this path. For the sake of survival."

He wheeled his chair over to one of his cabinets, fumbling around for something, "Have you…sired any childer?"

She closed her eyes as tears continued to flow, now streaming down her cheeks as she gave a feeble nod.

"And you were sired…fifty years ago…most likely during one of the world wars…"

"After World War Two…"

He wheeled back around, the cabinets finally all shut, he must have found what he was looking for, "Here, take this." He handed her a teal necklace with the emblem of the Salubri at the center.

Her eyes flickered up towards his, "May I ask what it is…?"

"It belonged to one of the great ancestors of the Salubri Clan, if not, Saulot himself."

She stepped forward and took the necklace very gently, looking at the stone in the center before she looked back to him, "Why…?"

"It's a shame that you two Assamite sorcerers cannot see the ways of the Camarilla. But, if it is Independence you seek, then I see no conflict towards my own goals with it."

She slowly put the necklace around her neck, "Is…there anything we can do for you, sir…any…remuneration?"

"Remain safe with your childe, and do not fear the blades of the Camarilla in this city."

She gave a remarkably bright smile, then reached over to hug him, "I can't thank you enough!"

Baffled, Strauss put an arm around her, in some sort of, fancy, flabbergasted attempt to hug her back, "Stay safe, Miss Fiala."

She gave a timid nod before she pulled her hood back over her head and scampered out of his penthouse with a bit of a skip to her step. Strauss watched the little Salubri girl wander off. Of course, when he was alerted that Phaedra's _friend_ , had healing abilities strong enough to reverse Vicissitude, he was curious. But he had no idea that he would be _right_ so easily and so quickly.

Surely, his choice had its fair share of risks. If Raven wasn't as old as she said she was, or if she had an Elder Salubri waiting in the wings, it wasn't to be taken lightly. The Tremere and the Salubri have a history that is drenched in blood and darkness. Their identities and their origins was to be kept secret to Strauss himself. But nevertheless, he would remain prepared, just in case.

He wasn't going to kill another Salubri in his lifetime, if he had control of it.

He had done enough to their clan already.

* * *

Downtown Los Angeles was just the same as any other city, at least, to him it was. If he was going to have to stay here for a while to exact his revenge, then so be it. Giuseppe's clan may be a bit far removed from the Jyhad, but he wasn't exactly born yesterday when it came to it. He knew that no one here knew who he was and what he was doing, and that was perhaps the biggest advantage of them all. He would work in the shadows, until he became strong enough to topple every organization around him.

"Stop, stop, please!" A woman's voice begged.

"Keep quiet, bitch!" A thug snapped.

Giuseppe turned his head towards an alleyway, seeing a prostitute being cornered by a pair of gangsters.

"Help, somebody help!" The prostitute cried, "Anyone, please!" She then coughed up blood as one of the men started beating her up.

"God, you run your mouth a lot." One of the thugs said.

"I got a way to keep her from talking…" The other insinuated.

"She can keep screaming though…" The first said, "I like it when they scream."

The other thug laughed, "Me too!"

The two thugs started beating up the prostitute, for reasons Giuseppe still had to analyze. A dark, mystic chime was heard, as a purple mist of skulls came from Giuseppe's hand. He accessed his collection of souls, and eventually, a feminine wraith with dark hair and a huge blade came out, making quick work of the thugs.

Luckily, the prostitute was cowering during her beating, and did not see the ghost kill the thugs. To Giuseppe's surprise, they turned to ash when they died. They were vampires? What sect were they in?

He figured those questions would be answered later, he approached the woman, his phantom servant disappearing, going back through the shroud.

The prostitute looked down at herself, "Well…fuck me in the ass…city of angels…what bullshit…I'm so glad you killed those fuckers…they deserved it…"

Giuseppe chuckled, "Yes." He said, "This city seems to need a bit of work done on it."

"I'm really grateful you killed those bastards, I don't have any money on me or anything, but, how 'bout a freebie? Anytime you want?"

"Of course." He chuckled a bit more. This unwilling woman didn't know how useful she was going to be to him now.

* * *

"Alright, has everyone filled up for the next one?" Victor asked, looking over the hilly fields at the next warehouse.

"Mmm, yes, I think so." Iphigenia smiled, hoisting a familiar blood soaked sledgehammer over her shoulder.

"That last ghoul tasted like some…outlandish salad dressing…" Leonardo's face almost looked paler than usual.

Delilah looked at a gash on her shoulder, then turned to Victor, "Mister Madison, do you know how many more there are?"

"Oh, the answer eludes me." He said, "Perhaps after this one we'll retire…I'm sure five or six warehouses being destroyed ought to improve Strauss's mood. Maybe seven. That is the Tremere's lucky number…"

Iphigenia chuckled softly, while Leo and Delilah exchanged a glance.

"Wasn't it the seventh day that God brought people to the Earth?" Leonardo asked, "That's why so many people have a rapt fascination with the number?"

"You can't seriously think that's true." Delilah looked up at him.

"I never said it was." He adjusted his glasses and looked over to her, holding a hand out like an empowered professor lecturing a-hundred students, "It's merely stated in Genesis—"

"Did it also mention how humans would take over, turn the planet into a smoggy hell, kill everything in their path and spread their diseases everywhere? No. It didn't. That book is just a bunch of loose interpretations people who didn't want to pay for things jived up to make other people do things for them."

He adjusted his tie, "No need to be so fiery…"

"Sometimes when you talk, I can't help it…" She grumbled.

Victor held an arm out, "We're nearing the entrance, are you prepared?"

"As ready as we'll ever be." Iphigenia got her hammer in arms.

Victor coated himself in a blood shield, at first, attempting to take a stealthy route, as they entered the broken-down building, but this was ruined by a chorus of hissing sounds. He pulled his pistol out and started firing at them. It was clear his aim has well improved since he had first purchased the gun.

They were a rather effective system, Victor's bullets warded them away, Leonardo used Blood Strikes to aid any that he missed, Delilah held them in place with Purge, and Iphigenia whacked at the skulls of anyone who got too close.

Victor blew the steam off the barrel of his gun, "Well, I believe this room is cleared…" He said, "The question is…how many more?"

Delilah's eyes lit up brighter red as she peered around, "Quite a few…I can't exactly see the walls, but I see about four more big groups…they're all on edge now that they know we're here…"

"Yes, thank heavens for Auspex." He said, "That will make the tension fade, considering the Sabbat greet us with nothing but grunts and hisses…" He shook his head, "Honestly, this ordeal is more of Vanderbilt's cup of tea…" Iphigenia nodded in agreement as they moved onwards.

He narrowed his eyes, "Perhaps, we should split up…it may end this sooner, seeing as we can fight them all at once with ridiculous ease."

"Excellent idea." Iphigenia said, "I'll go right."

"I'll take left." Delilah decided.

"I suppose that leaves the two of us to divide and conquer any upper levels." Leonardo said to Victor.

Victor closed his eyes, doing everything he could not to picture Neo saying the exact same thing, "Yes, let us go upstairs." They ascended the stairs, of course, it was so dark that without Auspex up, they were practically blind, "You go that way." Victor pointed down a hall, "I'll keep heading in this direction, I sense a disturbance." He didn't necessarily listen to Leo confirm or deny his order, he headed off anyway.

Leonardo kept his nose towards where he assumed Victor had pointed, preparing Purge in the case that anything tried to jump up on him.

Victor meanwhile walked ahead, part of him glad that he was all alone now. He sighed and shook his head, he was supposed to be spending more time _with_ his apprentices, not without them. It was what Strauss had advised him to do. But Leo and Delilah reminded him of nothing but Neo and Ebony.

"Such a peculiar scent…" He mused, peeking into a room, "Like nothing supernatural I have ever noticed before—"

Astrolite exploded, and Victor's blood shield popped as he was floored. It had to have killed decent number of Sabbat vampires too. But it seemed worth it, as a pack of surviving Sabbat members loomed over Victor's torpid body.

The damage blew a clear whole through the entire house, flames engulfing whatever was left. Delilah coughed and pulled out a chunk of wood from her leg, while Iphigenia wafted at the smoke. Leonardo was nowhere to be seen, so she ran towards Victor, a ringing in her ears. She was sure that if she couldn't hear, Delilah wouldn't be able to hear any instructions either. She swung her sledgehammer at those surrounding him.

The number of foes were diminishing, given at how some of them were just blown up, nevertheless there was a steady group of Sabbat trailing Iphigenia as she aided Victor's side.

As soon as the wood was out of her leg, Delilah rushed in and used Purge, Iphigenia was thankful she didn't even have to order her to act. While the Sabbat were puking, she reared the hammer back into their backs to hopefully break their spines and put a quick end to them.

It was only a matter of minutes before the place was silent again. Delilah looked up at Iphigenia, their hearing had since returned, "Where's Leo?"

"I'm not sure. I'll look for him. You take Victor back immediately, ensure there's nothing lodged in his chest, take him to his room, somewhere private, and give him blood. Call Strauss if he doesn't wake."

"Yes, of course." She weakly picked Victor up, thankful he was so light, before she ran off as quickly as she could with all her injuries.

Iphigenia turned and sifted through the rubble, a feeling of hopelessness coming about her, "Leonardo! Leo!"

She heard a pile move a bit, and rushed over towards it, throwing a tattered bookshelf to the side, "Ah, you're alive."

His glasses were horridly bent out of shape, so was his nose, and his entire frame, really, "I…can't feel anything…" He rasped.

"Yes, well, we'll get you fixed up." She reached down and picked him up. He hissed as more cracks were heard on the way up, "Don't sleep, don't go into torpor, and don't frenzy."

"…yes…o-of cours-s-se…"

The pair met up again at the Chantry, bringing them both into a private library. "Delilah, do you have the keys to Leo's room? Or a way in?"

"Yes, I'll go get the blood." She nodded as she rushed off, returning only moments later. Iphigenia tore the bags open, wafting one over Victor's nose, and feeding the other to Leo.

Victor's eye opened, he sat up, maybe a bit too quickly, given his wince, "We're…back in the Chantry…" He said.

"Yes, that's right." Iphigenia said as Leo moaned softly, trying to take his mangled glasses off, "We held the fort for you." She smiled, "Delilah was rather impressive."

"I was…?" She asked, looking up at Iphigenia, "You were the one who killed most of them…"

"I wouldn't have been able to without your help."

She clasped her hands behind her back, "Well, I didn't want Mister Madison to be upset…"

"I have to say, I'm rather impressed." He said, taking the blood pack Iphigenia provided for him and drinking from it, "That the three of you managed to clear the place out without my aid. And return me home."

"Well…two of us…" Delilah muttered.

"Leo was defeated by a bookshelf." Iphigenia smirked.

"…I was on the second floor, you know…" Leonardo said bitterly as he finished his blood bag.

"Well, nevertheless, I am very thankful, for all of your valor." Victor smiled, as he folded his hands, "I don't think this Sabbat knows what it's messing with. Never before have they been faced with a more capable batch of Tremere."

* * *

"C'mon, stop being such a dick." Killian said, "The silent treatment is for four year olds, not grown-ass men who don't want to deal with their problems." When his father didn't respond, his sneer grew, "C'mon, pops…so what, I wanted to fuck around with her a few times, I cancelled your little meeting, what's that gonna do, huh? You're a _ghoul_. You don't actually _matter_ to them, do you?"

"I will hear no more." Archie's wiry voice snapped, "Fix your shirt."

Killian looked down, "What's wrong with it?"

He raised a brow, "Half the buttons are undone."

"Okay, three of them are undone, and it's a little thing called fashion. Maybe if you didn't grow up in the dinosaur ages, you would know."

"I will not have my son represented in that meeting as a whore."

"Did you just call me a _whore?_ " He pushed past his father, "C'mon, I'm not waiting around for the grass to grow, they won't give a damn." He headed into the Sabbat haven his father had led him to.

Archie growled and pushed in front of Killian, leading his son into the meeting room, "Keep your mouth shut or they'll kill you where you stand." He glared one last time at Killian before they entered.

Sure enough, Lafayette and his cohorts were thrust in the middle of the meeting. It was immediately silenced once the two newcomers entered, "Ah." Lafayette said, "It seems we have visitors." He said. Their reception was mixed, at best. Some vampires, like Garret, looked pleased to see his ghoul, while others simply looked peeved.

"I've brought an ally of mine, Killian." Archie stood behind Garret with his arms crossed, "A Brujah with exceptional physical strength." Killian rolled his eyes at being called an 'ally'.

"A Brujah?" Lafayette asked, rising from the head of the table, giving Vernon a brief glance, as he stepped over towards them, "I must say, it's nice to have—"

"Mommy? Mommy!" A creature leapt from amidst Lafayette's horrid array of fleshy furniture, running towards all of the new sounds. A child, to some, but to Lafayette, a test subject. He tripped the kid, flesh-crafting his body. The kid screamed in pain, after he looked ten times more deformed that before, Lafayette threw him back from where he came from. Everyone at the table laughed at the display, save for Antoinette, who was crying, and Raphael, who held the same stern expression regardless of whatever was going on.

"Ignore that." Lafayette said, "Now, where were we?" He asked, "Ah yes, Killian." Lafayette held a hand out, "I have to say, it's nice to find more allies in this state." Killian was used to having hands bigger than the majority of the world, given his strength, and size. The fact that Lafayette's hands weren't much smaller than Killian's made him feel uneasy.

"Nice to work under a group that knows what it's doing." He said, just saying that felt like swallowing a mouthful of lard.

Lafayette crossed his arms behind his back when the handshake was done, "Garret, fetch them each chairs." He said, Garret nodded quickly and walked off, "What…" He looked back at Killian, "Was your previous affiliation?"

"I was an Anarch." He said, "I killed too many people, had too many Masquerade Violations, never was able to settle down…so…I got kicked out."

Lafayette laughed, as did everyone at the table, at the mere mention of 'Anarch,' "Tell me, boy." Lafayette snickered, "Did they tire you with their pointless charades against _our_ sworn enemy? Did they teach you how rickety their loyalties are? Yes, yes, they _oppose_ the Camarilla, they do. Until we show up. Then, suspiciously, they're hiding behind the very ones they were cursing out a few moments before. Now how did that happen?"

"Yeah, they never did shit." Killian said, "And when they did, they were killing each other."

"A wise observation, young one." He said, sitting back at the head of the table, Garret finally bringing back chairs for the father-son duo, "Ah, introductions are in order." He said, starting to work his way around the table, "This is Vernon, my Brujah agent. I'm sure you're both familiar with Garret by now. Ebony, my Tremere representative, Gideon, the eyes and the ears of the organization, and a childe of Petaniqua herself. The girl next to him is his childe, Antoinette. The fellow next to me is Raphael, rarely does he leave my side. Over there is Sirius, my Follower of Set. And at the other end of the table is Cedric." He nodded to someone who looked like the grim reaper. "And the hag at the top of the stairs is Madame Vaska. Pay her no mind." He said, despite her protests.

Killian snickered a bit, "Looks like an interesting bunch."

"Ah, yes, and I am Lafayette. This is my Sabbat." Lafayette said, "You may have noticed that the chair to my left is blank. It belongs to one of us, but he has been in torpor so some time. Whoever finds this man, Remus, and brings him back to us, will be rewarded appropriately."

"I've been looking for him all over the state, but…nothing…" Sirius said, his one eye usually fixated on Killian, something lingering in his look more than just typical interest.

"A pair of wolves will find him." Gideon said, "In many moons."

"Wolves, huh?" Killian muttered, "That's what Jeanette always calls the Anarchs…"

"Back to business." Lafayette said, "Archie, was it? I must say, you impress me with your conquest." He said, "Hollywood is ours, in record time. _And_ you've given us a new recruit." He paused, probably for dramatic effect, "If I didn't know any better, I would say that you are the most resourceful ghoul I've ever been in contact with." He said.

He chuckled, "I am honored, sir." Killian badly hid a snort.

"There's a hole in your Hollywood." Gideon said, "And the lady of the sea belongs to me."

"What are you on about?" Vernon asked.

"You spoke to Esau's daughters, didn't you?" Gideon asked.

"I'm afraid I'm not sure what you're asking." Archie said.

"The Asylum?"

"Ah. Yes, I spoke with Jeanette, because at the time, Therese was unavailable." Archie said, "But she hasn't called me back, and I put a lot of money into her. I'm afraid we're going to have to take it by force, if we're to take it at all. She seems quite intent on keeping that patch of molding soil for herself."  
Gideon laughed, "So she has set the stage for herself, then." He said, taking a while to calm down, "I will go next. She will surrender her city to me. Any attempt to send help and I'll take it as an insult."

"Very well." Lafayette said, "Do your best to bring them in. I could use a couple more chairs." He nodded to his flesh pile in the corner of the room.

"Consider it done." Gideon chuckled.

"Very well. Apologies for my insufficiency." Archie said.

"No worries. It was fated to be taken by me anyway."

"Yes, surely one blunder doesn't cover up the fact that you _gave_ us Hollywood." Lafayette said, "I believe that was the last topic to discuss. Oh, yes, what of this, Nagaraja, I've been hearing so much about?"

"Pfft, I _would've_ killed her if I was with Gideon instead of his runt of a childe." Garret said.

Antoinette frowned, "I disabled a Tremere…a…a l-l-lofty feat…if I may say so."

"She is dead." Cedric said, "Most likely. I nearly finished her off myself, and then one of our newer agents fought her after I left."

"Ah yes, I had forgotten about Poe and Gottfried." Lafayette said, "Well, if the Camarilla warriors are as _easy_ as her, than we shall have no trouble taking this domain as our own." He paused, "Well, if that is all, then you may retire for the night."

Killian watched everyone leave, his father was speaking with Garret about something or other as the pair left, most of the other Sabbat vampires left as well, even Madame Vaska descended the stairs to go who-knows-where. All that was left was the old Brujah man, Vernon, and the one-eyed Setite, Sirius.

"I'm quite excited that there's a new Brujah in the group." Vernon said, neither of them really caring that Killian was both close to them and within earshot, "It's a shame he isn't of my blood though."

"Why is that?" Sirius asked listlessly, "It's not like your generation is special or anything. Mine is lower that yours."

"Yes, I know…it's…most likely a…connection a feel…when I train them." He said, heading for the exit, "That's why I mass Embraced as many pathetic humans in this area as I could."

"Oh, did you?"

"Yes." He nodded, "One of them showed serious promise…I…the name escapes me…Colby or something? Yes, but…he had died recently, I heard…"

Sirius's eye widened, "You _Embraced_ Colby?"

Vernon snickered, "I daresay your emotional hotheadedness towards the subject is unwarranted, why is it you care so much?"

"Uh…nothing…no reason…"

"Yes, well, was there anything else? I need to get back to my haven, and I need to leave now, or I'll be killed by the sunrise." He left.

Sirius seethed. Killing Vernon now seemed like a pretty good activity for him right about now. But could he? If he killed Vernon, now, or in the next few days, it would blow his cover. The cover he built himself by toiling under the Sabbat for ten years. And what else would he do? If he did something horrendous, and had Vernon take the blame, Lafayette, the twisted bastard would _reward_ him for it, rather than kill him. But, it was for Juliet.

He shook it off, Vernon would die by his hands, but it would have to wait. A while.

Killian stood up, "Night." He waved at Sirius and headed for the door.

"Hold up, Fitzroy."

"Yeah?" Killian turned a hair.

He pushed Vernon's chair in, walking up to him, "What the hell do you think you're doing here?" He asked, no formalities, no politeness, and no holds barred. Like he _knew_ him.

He raised a brow, "Do I know you?"

"Why are you joining the Sabbat?"

He looked skeptical, "Cuz' I can. Why are you asking questions?"

"Right." He snickered, "You some kinda drifter or something? You were Anarch before, what, after a few weeks of Sabbat you'll cozy up in the Camarilla?"

"Never. If I don't settle with the Anarchs, how the hell do you expect me to settle with the Cam?"

His eye brightened when he finished his sentence, "So you _do_ still got some of that Anarch spirit in ya."

"The hell are you talking about?"

"Is your dad putting you up for this or something?"

"Pfft. My dad is a ghoul, he's a geezer too. I don't take _shit_ from him."

"So you're here on your own accord, is what you're telling me?"

"Yeah."

"Look, kid, you can't seriously think you belong here, do you?"

"I don't get what the fuck your deal is, pal, you got no right sticking your nose in my business, alright?"

He crossed his arms, shaking his head, "Alright, when you wanna admit that you're in over your head, you know where you can find me."

Killian took a good look at Sirius, without saying a word. Sirius could tell it was a silent thank you, or at least some sort of acknowledgement, before he headed for the door to leave.

"You're not gonna find compassion from any of these other assholes, kid." He said, "I know you don't know what the hell I am or anything, but I'm your best shot."

* * *

 **A/N:** What do the nefarious Sabbat plan to do next? Find out in the next chapter!


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N:** Here's chapter twenty-one! Full Skeltstasia chapter! Hope you like it!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines or the Clan Quest Mod (which most of this scene came from), but I do own my OCs. Also, there's some frothy fun in the end, if you're not a fan, skim over it.

* * *

"I'm glad you two could come over as quickly as you did." Isaac said, at his desk, "I promise the work this time won't have you running up against some wayward warlocks…"

Skelter gave a deep but quiet chuckle, "It's no problem, sir, what can we do for you?"

"Look…our movement is getting a little…sparse…if you catch my drift. I'm sorry I have to ask this of you…but…ever since Killian went missing…and…VV is missing…I need something to give the Anarchs a little more spirit. Originally, I would ask Killian for this…but…I'm worried he may never come back…"

"What do you need help with?" Anastasia asked.

"I want to make a documentary showing LaCroix for all of his faults." He said, sighing afterwards, "Again, I was going to ask Killian, more of his forte. But, he's nowhere to be found. And I don't really have any dirt of this Strauss character whatsoever. But, I figure, if we have video evidence of LaCroix screwing up in as many ways as possible, something we can show the younger Kindred, then the newcomers heading to this city will go Anarch, not Camarilla."

"I think that's a great idea…but…" Skelter crossed his arms, "I'm terrible with technology."

"As am I…" Anastasia muttered.

"You let me deal with that." Isaac said, "I just want you two to get the dirt, and luckily, I know just the place where some of it might be."

"Where?"

"The Empire Arms Hotel. There's a Camarilla gathering there, but from what I heard it's just for a bunch of newbies. Not the big names like Strauss, Madison, Frost or Vanderbilt. It's being led by a woman who I've known for years. She worked with LaCroix for a while in Europe, and I don't think she's too fond of him. Try and see what you can get from her, and we'll soon have more Anarchs in this city than Camarilla."

Skelter was partially dismayed with the lack of action, but regardless he said, "Sure thing, Mister Abrams."

The two of them left the jewelry store, Anastasia nervously crossed their arms, "What if they know we're Anarchs?"

"You're right…" He muttered, "Guess we could pretend to be a pair 'a Ventrue." He snickered, "We got Fortitude."

She thought about it for a minute or two, "Can we drive to my apartment? I'm gonna change into something."

"Change, huh? Guess that's a good idea…should I put something on too?"

"If you want." She shrugged, "I just don't want them to recognize me."

"They'll recognize me too." He said as he got into his truck, "How's this sound, I drop you off at your place, go and grab a shirt at whatever store's nearby, then swing by on the way to Empire Arms and pick you up again?"

"Sounds good." She smiled.

"Alright." He nodded as they started driving, he turned metal music on again for her, "So…what do think of the new guys?"

"Sirius and Catalina? They're…fine I guess. I don't know. Hopefully they stick around."

"I think they'll be good for us. I've never seen a Setite or Assamite. Nines has, mentioned how good they're gonna be for us." He said, "Remember a while back, we were hankering for a good spy?" She nodded. "Well, apparently Followers of Sets got spyin' in their blood. So we're set there. And Assamites? They hate Tremere as much as Jack hates Ventrue."

"Sirius has Obfuscate too." She said, then after it was quiet for a minute or two, added, "It'd be nice if he offed Jeanette for us…"

"I know. I'd like that too…but it'd put us all in hot water. Nines nearly took my head off when he figured out about Rush. And that was _Rush_. No one gave a damn about him. Jeanette's popular. And she's got a sister who'd kill anyone who even looked at Jeanette funny. If you think Kingston's bad about all this, Voerman would be hell."

"Mmm…you're right." She said, "Someone should…nail that into him. Sirius seems kinda like a loose cannon…"

"I like him. I'll talk to him when I get the chance, whenever we see each other, at least."

There was a silence as they kept riding on, "So have you seen Maya since…that day she joined?"

"Yeah. I'm the only one she talks to, like she's afraid everyone else'll bite."

"Being near her's gotta be as awkward as hell." She said, partially reminded of how Killian and Jeanette now treat her ever since she started dating Skelter, "I can feel it…"

"She's come onto me every time she's near me, I don't know what the hell she's thinking…" He grumbled, "I almost _wish_ someone like Killian stuck around to chase her off."

"Wait, seriously?" She asked, "Bitch. Maybe I should take her down…"

He laughed, "I'd like to see that, but you should be careful. Mentioned something to me the other day about her war-form. So she's at least a little capable."

"…then maybe Sirius could kill her behind Obfuscate." She said, "Motherfucker likes senseless killing as much as Jack does."

He had a good laugh, "Yeah, I could see that…maybe Jack wasn't wrong about getting a replacement, huh?"

"…I wonder where he is right now…I mean, at sea obviously…but…I wonder where…"

"Yeah…I wonder…" He sighed, "Must be fun…out there with a bunch a' friends, doin' a shit ton a' nothing…"

"That's basically Jack's life in a nutshell."

"Yeah…that's pretty true…" He applied the brakes, "I'm gonna let you get out here, alright? I'll be back in like…ten minutes."

"Okay." She kissed his cheek, stepping out of his truck.

He drove off as soon as the door closed, and returned in about seven minutes, but she wasn't out there yet. So, he got out of the truck and went inside the apartment complex, heading to her room.

He knocked on her door, then looked down at himself. He supposed the work boots were a little gross looking for a Ventrue, but he was not going to spend hundreds of dollars on dress shoes he would wear once. He bought a ten dollar button down and a two dollar tie to maybe make himself at least somewhat presentable.

A red-nailed hand opened the door, in fact, all Skelter saw was red at first. She wore a skin-tight red gown, similar to her black one, which was ridiculously low cut at the front, a pair of red heels, a few bracelets on each arm, and a few rings on each hand. The red scarf around her neck and the shades might have been over the top, however, "Aw, you look cute." She smiled.

"You look like you're about to shoot a movie…"

She shrugged, "Then they'll peg me for a Toreador instead of a Ventrue. I mean, either clan can go to the Camarilla."

"Exactly." He said, "Guess we should get going then."

"Uh-huh." She said, giggling, "Sorry…I just have so many outfits like this. I used to wear a different thing for each show we did."

"Uh huh…that makes a lot of sense then. Is the black dress just the most comfortable?"

"It's my favorite." She said, "I used to have a big hat too, wide brim…kinda like a sun hat…I couldn't find it though…whatever…I think this is enough."

"I think that'd be overdoing it…"

She laughed, "I'm already having fun."

They got into his truck and started driving. Really, Skelter was oddly quiet the entire time. He didn't even turn the music on. At one point, Anastasia looked over to see if he was alright, and caught him looking at her thighs, before he caught her gaze and his eyes darted back to the road.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, James." She held a lecturing finger in front of his eyes, "Slam the fuck out of me _after_ we're done, okay?"

"God dammit, 'Stasia…" He growled, "Sometimes I wonder what the hell you did to me to make me like this."

"Aw…" She badly hid a snicker, then another few, "Did…I…" More laughing, "Did I taint the sanctity of your precious mind? You saying I poisoned your innocence?"

"Uh huh…" He muttered, like a frustrated toddler.

"I know, I have a big mouth." She smirked, "Maybe you could stuff it with something later."

"Jesus Christ, woman…"

"Yes, James?"

"Swear to god, I'll pull over."

"Alright, alright, calm down, we'll be there soon." She chuckled.

He gave a shaky sigh and sped up a bit on the way there. She looked ahead, "Sorry."

"The hell you apologizing for? Being hot as fuck? I'm not pissed at you, I'm pissed at myself."

"Yourself, why?"

"For not being able to…take you seriously like this."

"Oh…do I look too silly or something? Cadmus never said anything about it. Of course…he has all the sexual inclinations of a toaster…"

"No, you look good, that's the thing. Never mind."

"…I still don't get it…"

"It's nothing, you're just…very nice to look at in that. And I have a hard time talkin' to you when you're that…good-looking."

"Oh…so I'm too sexy to be spoken too…" She said, smiling, then she looked worried, "Shit, what if Jeanette sees me in this? Or Killian? God, he'll at least rape me…"

"He won't if I'm here."

"…it kinda stinks how a fourth of the Anarchs can't even be trusted."

"Yeah…but, really, there's nothing much we can do about it besides keep an eye on 'em."

She nodded. After another silence or two, they arrived at the Empire Arms Hotel. The lobby was packed with ladies and gentlemen in fancy dress. "Damn it…where do we even go?" Anastasia asked, seeing a woman with black hair dressed in a white gown at the front, by a presentation about what the Camarilla was about, "I'm guessing it's her…"

"It's gotta be." He said, "Alright, time to…put on our best show." He muttered unenthusiastically.

Anastasia swallowed hard, looking her body up and down, "Jesus…" She said, the lady's bust was somehow bigger than _Anastasia's_. "I feel like my dominance is threatened…"

Skelter tried to keep his laughter contained, "Let's just go talk to her and finish this as quickly as possible…"

"Haven't seen you at many of these functions." The girl commented.

"Angela Cooper." Anastasia held a hand out, "It's nice to meet you."

"Ah, so you are one of us." The girl smiled back, "Jane."

"It…uh…sure is nice…that…Strauss is in charge now…"

"You're telling me." Jane said.

"Did you work with LaCroix long?" She asked, "Got any secrets he can roll around in his grave too?"

"You should keep your voice down if you're going to be saying those sorts of things." Jane said, "That being said, there is a thing or two I know about him that's particularly damaging."

" _Only_ a thing or two…?" Skelter chuckled quietly.

"Look, I'll help you out, but a friend of mine needs help." Jane said, "She's trying to get into the club business, but, Los Angeles is packed to brim already, you know what I mean. So an old club needs to be put out of business before she can set up hers."

"What club did you have in mind?" Anastasia asked.

She thought about it, "Probably the Asp Hole. I hear it's not doing too well anymore. You put that club out of business, and I'll talk."

Skelter looked livid, but only for half a second, "Not a problem."

"Thanks in advance. Good luck." Jane said.

Anastasia waved and started walking off with him, "This…this sounds difficult…"

"Sounds like it's really gonna be hard not to kill someone."

"…maybe I could like…put one of my feathers in one of the sampler trays…or something…say that there's live…chicken…in the batch…"

"Or I could kill someone." He hopped in his truck and revved up the engine.

"Okay, I don't know if that would necessarily shut the place down…"

"So it's either put a feather on someone's plate, or kill someone. And I don't think anyone in a club called the Asp Hole would care about a feather. They'd probably just eat it."

She sighed, "You're totally right…"

"Doesn't Ash Rivers run the place? Can we kick him out?"

She shrugged, "I've heard he hasn't been around in months."

"…can we just ask Isaac to shut the place down?"

"I'm not sure he'd like that…you know how the Hollywood Anarchs are…"

"Yeah…" He gave a frustrated sigh, "You got any other ideas?"

She shook her head, "I don't know…"

"Well, if there's no manager, and we can't bother talking to Isaac, I guess the next best thing would be drivin' out the customers."

She lowered her sunglasses, "How are we gonna do that?"

He shrugged, "Piss 'em off?"

"But we don't piss people off…"

"I know you don't, but I'm pretty good at it. I'll do it if you want."

She swallowed hard, "Okay…well, I guess it isn't killing people, for a plus. I…I don't want you to frenzy again…"

"I won't."

She smiled, "Alright, let's go be a bunch of assholes, then."

He snickered and pulled his truck over, "Sounds like a great night to me." He got out and slammed the door, dusting himself off, "Dammit, I hate this shirt. So constricting, feels like I'm gonna choke myself to death with this damn tie…"

"I mean, we probably don't need it anymore…"

"Well, we gotta go talk to that chick again after we do this."

"I got it, its fine."

"You sure?"

She shrugged, "I mean, you're going to be doing this part by yourself…"

"I guess it's fair enough…" He muttered, grabbing the door handle, "It's gonna smell like shit in here, ain't it?"

"Yup, lucky for us we have the best noses of all the clans…"

He sighed before he walked in. The place was actually pretty dead, ten people lingering around at most. "This won't be all that bad then…" He muttered.

"Yeah…it looks like this place was on its way out anyway…"

"Alright, I'll be back." He said, "Hope I don't fuck this up." He muttered as he loosened his tie, "This look like something Killian would wear?"

"Kinda."

He took the tie off and handed it to her, then adjusted his collar and unbuttoned a few of the buttons, "'Bout this?"

"Yeah, that's pretty accurate."

"Alright, let's see what I can do." He crossed his arms and stood around for a while to blend in, before a girl stood next to him at the bar and ordered something to eat. He turned to her, then rolled his eyes, "Ain't you had enough?"

The girl scoffed, "Fuck you!" She took her tray and left. Anastasia bit her lip to prevent laughing out loud.

Skelter waited again for someone to come to the counter, before a man wandered over. Skelter looked him over, "The hell you wearing that for? You _tryin'_ to get rejected?"

"Look, man, I don't need your advice, 'kay pal?" The man asked.

"Really? I mean, I'm just tryin' to be helpful. Looks like your momma picked out that shirt for you."

"Tch." The man rolled his eyes and walked away.

"Damn…" Anastasia said, "You sure can be mean." She smiled, "Maybe I'll go pretend to be a drunk bimbo to the other half of the club…you know…so hammered that she won't get the message…"

"Yeah, go ahead." He nodded, "Someone tries to screw with you, let me know."

She nodded back, heading upstairs and getting to work.

When no one else approached the bar, Skelter wandered over to a guy sitting against the wall, glaring at him, "What's this, Halloween? Why do you look like Ash Rivers? You tryin' to impress someone?"

The other guy frowned, "What the hell's your deal man, just lay off."

"You're just gonna turn up like the real thing, OD'ed in your tub."

"Ugh, Jesus Christ…" He walked off.

A few moments later, Anastasia came downstairs, by now, customers were flocking towards the exit, "Alright…I think we're done here…I'll go back to the hotel, and I'll meet you at Isaac's."

"Alright." He nodded, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek before they split ways.

* * *

"I have to say, I'm rather intrigued with what I was given." Isaac said, "Rodriguez sure isn't going to like it when this documentary breaks out…"

"…he _won't_ like it?" Skelter asked, "What makes you say that?"

"Jane told me LaCroix caused the Great Depression."

"…he _caused_ the Great Depression? That can't be possible."

"He had a hand in it, at least…I mean, it adds up. He was in New York, in the twenties and thirties, at the center of everything." He said, "Needless to say, I think putting that in the documentary will more than convey the message that the Camarilla isn't necessarily the brainiest sect."

"I agree." Skelter said, "Glad we helped make it happen."

"I can't thank you both enough." Isaac said, "I'd pay you…but…I'm still trying to get above sea level from that Sabbat attack on my store, which may take a while."

"It's no problem at all, sir. Anything to take the Cams down a peg."

"I hope you two have a good evening."

"You too, Mister Abrams." Skelter waved as they headed out, then got into Skelter's truck, "Hope that pissed off the Prince."

"We'll see when he puts it together." Anastasia said, getting in the passenger's seat.

He started driving, "So…where'd you wanna go? My place? Your place? Somewhere else?"

"Wherever you want."

"You know I'm not picky."

"Neither am I."

They kept driving before they pulled over to the side of the road.

She lurched in her seat a little, "James?"

"We'll do it right here."

She laughed, "You're lucky I'm not like others girls!"

"I really am. Thought you'd like this." He pulled his seatbelt off, "Now get over here."

She pulled her seatbelt off, taking her heels off as well, hopping into his lap and kissing him over and over again. He reached back under the seat and pulled it back as far as it would go so she wouldn't hurt herself. He kept up with her kisses and rubbed his hands over her waist, finally seeming at ease.

She threw her bracelets and some of her rings off, as well as her scarf and sunglasses, working on unzipping her dress, once it half-fell off, he was graced with the snake tattoo that circled her body.

"I can't get enough a' that…" He traced his hands over it for a second before he started kissing her neck, peeling back the dress until it fell down to her waist.

She sighed, "You better do me good…" She sighed a bit louder, taking her bra off, followed by her panties.

"I'll do you as good as I can." He quickly unbuttoned his shirt and pulled it off, then rubbed her breasts gently. He kissed her lips quickly before he said, "I need to get my pants off, you mind standing up or somethin' for a second?"

"Uh-huh." She moved away for him.

He pulled down his pants and underwear, grabbing her hips and pulling her down on top of him, rubbing his hands over her thighs. He kissed at her collarbone before he activated Blood Buff and teased her entrance.

She gasped and bit her lip, "Fuck…" She clung onto him for dear life.

He gave a smug grin before he squeezed her hips with bruising force and pulled her all the way in, sighing her name in passing as he moved his mouth to her neck and gently bit at the skin there. She let out a shameless scream, forcing her way down on him to feel more of an impact.

She did a bit of pointless panting already early on in her penetration, then she let out a chorus of sighs as felt his member inside her, whispering his real name on occasion. He smiled against the skin as he heard the screams echo in the rather small confines of his truck, the sounds of the creaking truck almost supplied a rhythm to her screams, like some sort of erotic song.

As soon as he felt her walls ripple around him and heard the pitch of her loudest scream, he too reached his peak, and rubbed her back as they both settled down. He then reached up and combed some of her hair out of her face, "You're like a drug to me, you know." He gave a small smile.

"Same…same here…" She said.

He held her close, "Did you want me to drive you home…?"

"Yeah…" She kissed his cheek, "Unless you want to do it again, which wouldn't bother me…"

He smirked, "We'll see what happens when we get to your place."

* * *

 **A/N:** When you have two Gangrel do a quest meant for Toreadors because Killian's a scumbucket…thanks for reading!


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N:** Here's chapter twenty-two! Tensions boil to the surface in this chapter, fire's inevitable, hope you like it!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines or the Clan Quest Mod, (which the second scene borrows from), but I do own my OCs. Also there's some raunch in this chapter, if you're not a fan, skim over it.

* * *

Humans can go weeks without eating and survive. There would be some discomfort, but ultimately, they would still survive, so long they were provided enough nourishment afterwards. It wasn't all that different for vampires, their blood pools could last them quite some time if they didn't use any disciplines.

However, the Nagaraja were different. They were set on a week's timer, give or take a few hours. If that week went by without an ounce of flesh, they rotted away, like the very zombies they could summon.

Phaedra would have loved to be human, or even any other clan, so that she could be as isolated as Rainy and Raven, so she could get away with hiding. She didn't walk the streets anymore, she didn't even leave downtown. She'd leave the red tower once a week, get in a cab, drive to the parking garage, feed on someone and dart back into the cab, back to her room, where she'd lock herself in and read until her eyes grew weary.

It was the second time she followed this procedure. She was cleaning up her scraps and preparing to flee when she heard a voice, "Haven't seen you in a while."

Her back stiffened, "Yes, I agree. Goodbye." She picked up her pace towards the streets.

Sirius raised a brow, pulling a pistol out and walking after her, "That little friend of yours keeps putting you back together once you fall apart, doesn't she?"

"She's very sweet, yes." She didn't bother looking in his direction.

There was a silence, then he said what she feared most, "Maybe if I get rid of her, I'll finally get what I want."

"That will not be happening."

"Yeah? What the fuck are you gonna do about it?"

"Protect her life with mine." She stopped and turned around to glare at him, "I advise you leave, _now_."

He aimed his pistol at her, chuckling darkly through his grin, "It's funny when you try to be threatening."

She held a hand up to put him to sleep. The blue glow subsided around his head, but nothing happened, "Ah, ah, ah, not so fast." His smile grew, "Hmm, we must be the same age, then."

"Mmm…" She seemed displeased with this, "Yes, or else I wouldn't have been able to Dominate you earlier."

Sirius held a foot out, nearly tripping someone, when their eyes met, Sirius held a hand out, "Go tell everyone about the party happening at the bar down the street. Start a rave for me." A green glow came from his hands. The guy he tripped began to rally with those on the streets, heading in the direction Sirius specified. This left the streets barren. A battlefield. One in which their disciplines could be used freely. "Alright. Let's make this quick." He started firing at her, "I gotta kill your friend after this."

She scowled, the face rather haunting with the gaunt look to her face. She reached back and pulled out a weapon, a very familiar one at that.

It was a golden axe, it shined warmly in the streetlights, embedded with red rubies along the crest. She ran forward to hack into him. "What the…?" Sirius asked, putting his gun away and pulling a knife out, the tiny blade barely held against her axe, but it was better than nothing. She raised a brow, then reached out to grab his shoulder and bite into him, using one arm to hold up the axe.

He stepped back from her a bit, "You idiot, haven't you learned that close ranged battle with me is pointless?" He asked, spraying snakes at her. She ran back out of the way and sent a specter after him, booking it for a cab.

Once she was in her room, she heard a soft series of knocks on her door. She set her axe against her wall and combed her fingers through her hair, answering the door, "Vanderbilt, what can I help you with, dear?" She asked. There was something different about the way she looked. She wasn't holding herself as tall, her chin wasn't as high, her posture not as composed. She looked tense, really, almost stressed.

"Jeez, there you are." Cadmus said, "Haven't seen you in ages." He looked her up and down, "You look terrible."

"Thank you, you look ravishing, yourself."

He rolled his eyes, completely content with letting himself in, as she did with his room. No doubt, the layout of her quarters confused him. "I meant emotional stability-wise, you look terrible." He crossed his arms, "And I haven't seen you in like…days. Have you just been in here all day and night? Have…have you been eating?"

"I've been eating enough." She closed the door and approached a small cooler she put underneath a table beside the couch, taking out a bag of blood and handing it to him.

He peeled it open and drank from it, "You seem to be on edge. What's the deal?"

"It's nothing, really." She sat on the couch, "Perhaps I should get a cat."

"Phaedra."

"What…?" She turned and looked at him, "It's nothing you need to concern yourself with, dear."

"Alright…" He sighed, about to leave, then he looked at the wall, "When did you get this axe?"

She smiled, "A little boy with black hair and a lot of leather inspired me."

"Tch, not sure about the 'little boy' part, I'm over forty." He picked up her axe, looking at it, and getting a feel for it. He took out one of his own black axes for comparison.

She crossed her legs, the slit in her dress exposing quite a bit, "I was thinking of returning to Egypt. Would the Prince allow that or not?"

"Knew it."

"Knew what?"

He gently put Phaedra's axe against the wall, back where it was, he also put his own axe away. He faced her again and crossed his arms, "Knew that when you said you were 'fine' that it was a load of bullshit."

She looked up towards the ceiling, "Well, I am just fine. I'm not as well as I usually am, but I'm certainly not upset either."

"Why do you want to leave?"

"…too much Jyhad. The Sabbat are hunting me, Setites are hunting me, I don't need to see that number grow. I've only seemed to cause problems."

"So…that's it? You're done…after…what, a few weeks, you're quitting?"

"I suppose my sire was right…our clan is not ideal for Jyhad…"

"You're really leaving?"

"I plan to."

He sighed, "Alright…fine. But…leaving America isn't just going to magically make the Jyhad end, you know."

"It should…do something." She said softly, "I can only eat once a week, it's…frightening me."

"So you have been starving yourself in here…"

"Well, it's either that, or be attacked by the Setite. Which, I was caught today."

"This one guy is causing you that many problems, have you told Strauss?"

"Well, it isn't just him." She said, "Two Sabbat nearly finished me off in Santa Monica. The first had Necromancy skills beyond mine, and the second…" She sighed and sat back, "Polonius, he was _very_ set on my demise…" She rubbed one of her temples, "They both made it very clear the entire Sabbat are hunting me."

"Yeah…that happens when you're in the Camarilla though…"

"Well, then there's yet another problem. You and Strauss are the only people in the Camarilla I know."

"Hiding in your room isn't going to help with that."

"Yes, I understand."

He sighed, "Why didn't you tell me that you needed help?"

She paused, then looked up at him, "Because I don't like asking for help."

"But…this…this isn't working Phaedra. Look, I don't like lowering myself to ask for the help of others, either…but…there were times when I needed it. If you still want to go back to Egypt, Strauss and I won't stop you. But if your only reason for leaving is because of the Jyhad, then I should warn you that it's everywhere."

She sighed, her voice sounding low and tired, almost vaguely weak, "Then what do you advise I do?"

"I don't know. There are options." He said, "You could…you could train with Angelique and I, I've been dealing with the Sabbat since I was a freaking _human_ , so, don't think they'll ever kill me. Or I could just go with you whenever you leave the tower, that way, I could maybe meet this Follower of Set asshole and give him a piece of my mind."

"That would be far too tedious for you, I'm sure."

"As long as I have enough time to do whatever missions Strauss gives me, as well as time for Angelique, I really don't give a damn."

She stood up and embraced him, "You're a wonderful friend, Vanderbilt."

He hugged her back, "At the same time, I don't want to force you here. Where you want to go is your own choice. I just…don't want to paint a picture of the Camarilla in a negative light. We help each other out here."

She smiled, "I'll be sure to pay you back however I see fit when the time comes."

"It's fine, Phaedra. Just worry about surviving for now. I'll do my part to blow this stupid Sabbat out of the ocean."

* * *

Her head peeked around the corner, and her heels clicked as she walked into the Asylum. Genevieve already knew where she had to go before she had even entered the building, she pressed the door to the elevator.

"Hey…you can't go up there!" The bartender shouted. Genevieve silenced him with a purple glow from her hand, the bartender started laughing loudly, as she headed up to the second floor.

As she entered her bedroom, she saw Jeanette laying on the bed, sprawled out, just staring at the ceiling. But the door opening made her turn, "Why hello little kitten…what brings you in here?"

"I know who you are." Genevieve said, "Daughter of Janus, I have come for a lofty favor from you."

"Is that so…?" Jeanette sat up on the edge of the bed, "I'm always down for a favor, so long as I get something…fun…in return…"

Genevieve clasped her hands together, "My lover…he…he has done so much…he has conquered so many mountains…while I have only conquered molehills…I need more…I need more power…more divine foresight…he told me about you…and you can hone my skills…"

"Is that so…?" Jeanette crossed her legs, "You want more madness?" She looked up at the ceiling, "I think I know a way I can help you out."

"Yes. You will teach me your craft. I sense something dangerous on the horizon and I need your help."

"Edgar's been no fun recently." She crossed her ankles, "I need you to…give him some inspiration to come back and visit. You pull your end of the deal and I'll do what I can for you."

"Inspiration?"

"Incentive. Motive. Are your fingers fast on the keyboard?" She asked, "Do you have a vision for cyberspace?"

"I explored science for years."

"Then it should be a second nature for you."

She nodded, "I will go get Snake Breath for you."

"Excellent. I'll help you out when you finish."

Genevieve nodded, her next stop was wherever the Nosferatu lived. Combining the clues Dragomir gave her about where Gary lived with her own insight eventually led her to the graveyard in Hollywood.

Once she reached the heart of the warrens, she cloaked herself with Obfuscate, and powered up Auspex to see all the hidden Nosferatu, so she wouldn't bump into any of them.

After a while, she find Edgar's quarters. Previously she kept rummaging around until she found a room suited for Edgar, but luckily since her Obfuscate was her strongest Discipline, she could both interact with the environment and she had a longer time to stay invisible.

She started hacking into Edgar's laptop. No doubt, since it was a Nosferatu, the security would be hard to crack, but she did spend the better time of her life as a scientist, one who nine to ten hours would be on a computer. She would be done with this in a snap, and then Jeanette would give her tutoring in the art of insight so she could save Dragomir from the doom that she felt was about to befall him.

"Hmm…that's suspicious…" Edgar's voice said, "My computer appears to be typing itself…"

Genevieve's Obfuscate broke as she gasped, "You have quite the eyes, Snake Breath…"

"Would you stop calling me that?" He asked, "And what the hell are you doing down here? You know if a Nosferatu spots you, you're dead meat, right? I got half a mind to clobber you myself."

"The Daughter of Janus wants to see you…she misses your company…"

"The…the what?" Edgar asked, "Oh yeah…I remember now…you're that Malkavian who killed Xiao with me…but who's the Daughter of Janus?"

"The White Daughter of Janus."

"…you mean Jeanette, don't you?"

She nodded a few times.

"Ugh…just tell her I'm busy with transferring the servers over to the new Camarilla, I'll visit her shortly…"

"Okay, thank you, Snake Breath!"

"It's Edgar!" He snapped, "Now scram!"

An hour later, Genevieve returned to the Asylum, heading into Jeanette's room, "Snake Breath will see you in a few days."

"Will he? That's perfect." Jeanette smiled before she stood up and hugged Genevieve, "You're a little miracle…"

She hugged her back, straightening out some of her hair and clothes, "Teach me your ways."

Jeanette smirked, "Of course, this is going to be so fun…"

* * *

Sirius confidently sat in his usual chair at the Last Round, a smirk spread over his face, "Found where Killian's been."

"You did?" Skelter asked.

"Where is he? San Diego?" Nines guessed.

Sirius shook his head, "The Sabbat." He said, then as an awkward silence passed, he shrugged, "Seems to be a family affair. His daddy's got him walking around like he's on a leash."

"The…the Sabbat…" Anastasia said slowly. To her, it almost made too much sense.

"His dad…?" Skelter asked.

"Fitzroy…" Nines muttered, "Yeah, I met his old man once. Saw him, really. Never exchanged any words."

"Yeah, Archie, or whatever his name is." Sirius said, "He's only a ghoul. A Sabbat one. I'm guessing he's pulling the strings behind all this."

"Yeah…he's…uh…" Nines scratched the back of his head, "He's known for his avarice, I guess."

"Killian's letting a ghoul push him around?" Skelter asked, "Dammit, wish I killed him when I had the chance…" He muttered, earning a glare from Nines.

"It…it is a little peculiar…" Catalina said quietly, "I…I could assassinate his dad…would, that make him come back?"

"Maybe." Nines said, "Or make him kill himself."

"Good." Skelter said, "Kill two birds with one stone."

"Would you stop already?" Nines asked, "He's a good kid. Troubled as all hell, but if we get him back, we'd get a lot of firepower, and a lot of passion too. He cared about us once. Cared about us more than he'd care to admit it, but he loved it here. He'll find his way back, I'm sure of it."

"Yeah, well, he was also a spoiled brat who threw a fit whenever he didn't get what he wanted. Me included." Anastasia said, looking a little peeved. "Look, he _was_ this, and he _was_ that, but now him being in the Sabbat makes sense, considering how bad he was while you were on the blood hunt. Ugh, I can't stand people defending him after all that's happened. Yes, Lark died, that was sad, we were all sad about it. Least _I_ was." She furrowed her brows, "Then people asked me why I was sad, like, like it was weird or something. I was singled out, for _caring_. I was probably nicer to her than Killian ever was. I think he took her for granted a little. And now he does all this shit, and we say, 'oh, well Lark died, so…let's give him another chance', and it…it just sounds like bullshit to me, because he's only _having_ a sister when it's convenient for him."

Sirius gave a whistle, laughing a little, "Alright, who's turn is it now? This is good, I should get a drink."

It was fairly silent for a moment. Skelter looked a bit guilty, but Nines just took out a cigarette. "Sorry you feel that way." He lit his cigarette and shook it out a bit, "But I've put a lot of stock into second chances. Something the Cam doesn't put shit into." He crossed his legs, "Really, if it weren't for second chances, I don't think we'd be letting Vanderbilt run around either."

"That's enough." Skelter said, "Majority vote Killian out."

"Do they?" He asked, "We didn't even conduct a vote."

"Then let's do it." He said firmly, "Yo, Damsel!" He called, "Get up here!"

Damsel came up the stairs, "What?" She asked, her eyes wide with concern.

"We're doing a vote." He said, taking his knife out and making a T chart in the wall, one side marked with a D, the other an L. "All those who say he should die." He struck a mark for himself, then added a mark for Anastasia.

Catalina looked nervous, "I…I don't even _know_ him…" She said.

"Will you guys relax?" Sirius asked, "Look, I got my eye on him, alright? If it looks like he's gonna be fucked over by this new Sabbat, I'll be there to make sure he knows the Anarchs are the way to go." He said, taking a pointless breath, "But…he ever does something to piss _me_ off, and, well, nature will take its course."

"So…uh…" Damsel looked around, then adjusted her hat, "Anyone do anything interesting recently?"

"Yeah, I stalked your friend Killian." Sirius said, "Oh…uh…we…already talked about that…my bad for opening that can of worms…sheesh…"

Anastasia got up and left, muttering something about needing to 'take a walk'.

"Jeez…now she's gone…"

Skelter sighed, then followed after Anastasia. Catalina blinked a few times, "My friend was attacked by a Tzimisce." She said, "I think it's the leader of this Sabbat. But, she's okay, my mentor healed her."

Nines puffed a cloud of smoke in the air, "What's the leader of the Sabbat doing out on the streets?"

"I…I don't know…" Catalina said, "It…it's sort of weird…that he's just out…flesh-crafting whatever he finds…"

"Cocky. He's…trying to prove himself to us. Show us that his Sabbat's so strong, their leader can screw around all day and they'll still get shit done."

"Well, isn't that what you do?" Damsel asked.

He looked down at her, "I'm not a leader."

"But they _think_ you are. So they _think_ we're slacking." She crossed her arms, "Especially since we're just waiting around."

"Exactly."

"Stock trucks came in the other day."

"Did they?"

"Two tons. That's as much as an elephant, right?"

He laughed, "No clue, but sounds good to me."

"I almost killed that stupid Nagaraja bitch." Sirius said, "But then she sicked her ghost on me, ran away. Shit, I hate it when she runs away."

"Do you want help taking her out?" Catalina asked.

"Nah, take care of yourself. Her luck will run out one of these days."

"What's a Nagaraja again?" Damsel asked, tripping over the word.

"Flesh-eater." Nines said.

"Ugh."

"Yeah." He tapped off some of the ashes of his cigarette, "Camarilla too."

"Double ugh."

He snickered, "Sure."

"Pfft, you can tell she's rich as all hell." Sirius said, "Doesn't know which end of the weapon she should be holding."

A few of them laughed, "Well, if we see her, we'll be sure to take her out." Nines assured, smothering his cigarette and looking out the window, "I'm going to go unload the truck."

"Do you need help?" Damsel asked.

"Sure as hell not gonna turn it down." He said as he went downstairs, trailed by Damsel.

She followed him out the back door, "So what happened to Anastasia? Where'd she go?"

"I pissed her off."

"… _you_ did? What the hell did you do?"

"Shot my mouth off." He approached one of the crates in the back and grabbed a screwdriver from his back pocket, prying the nails off to open it up and peek inside.

"Huh…?"

He popped off two of the nails and stuck them between his teeth, working on the other two, "She wants Killian dead. So does Skelter. I told her we should give him a second chance, cause we gave Cadmus a second chance. But…uh…didn't say it like that."

"Did you apologize?"

"No." He pulled the top off and looked inside, boxes and boxes of ammo, "Damn."

She peered in, "I think one of them has firearms."

"Good." He shut the box and replaced the nails, using the back of the screwdriver to hammer them in. "I can't apologize for something I meant to say."

She looked up at him, "But you can apologize for hurting her feelings."

"And what does that do?" He asked, "Sorry I offended you, Anastasia, but you still owe it to Killian. What will that do? Nothing."

She sighed, "She doesn't owe him anything." She said firmly, "He wasn't very nice to her."

He sighed back, sitting on the crate. "I know. I'm not pissed at her, and I get why she's pissed at me, but there's nothing that can be done."

She crossed her arms, "It's his fault this is all happening."

"No it isn't." Nines said, "Sometimes life gives you lemons and you forget how to make lemonade. It'll hit him." He said before he stood up and lifted the crate, "Mind opening the door?"

"Yeah, sure." She walked in front of him and opened the door, "Mark my word, that kid'll kill someone, or do something irreversible, and you'll eat those words."

He set the case down in the stockroom, pushing it underneath a shelf with a foot, "Anyone else here?"

She paused at the change in the subject, then looked around the place, peering upstairs too, "No, looks like the other two left."

He looked up at the ceiling, "Come here."

She walked over, "What is it?" He waved a hand forward for her to come even closer, but she caught on, "I think we need to talk."

"About what?"

"You." She said, "You've been acting funny since LaCroix's died."

He shook his head, "That's…that's not why."

"Then what is?" She asked, "I'm sick of you moping about like this. There's just…something different. Something off."

"We could take on the Ventrue." He said, "Deal with them, at least. But, it was the Camarilla that took the Camarilla down." He turned to Damsel, "And that's the Camarilla that's still standing."

She leaned up against the shelf next to him, "You can't be scared…" She chuckled dryly, "We'll just call in reinforcements…we got that Maya chick here, we got Sirius and Catalina, what's the big idea?"

"We're fighting blood and vengeance." He crossed his arms, "Vanderbilt's still over there. And so is Madison. Neither of them are going to fall easily."

"Well…we'll just keep waiting for the Camarilla to make the first move, right? Then we'll be able to tell what kind of strategy we need to use, how many people we need, where we should post other headquarters…"

He shook his head, "It's too late for that."

"For…for what?"

"For the Camarilla to make a move that we'd be able to learn from. At this point, when they do make their move, they're going to cripple us. We waited too long."

She looked up at him nervously, "Cripple us, what do you mean?"

"They're going to head for you, me, Skelter, Anastasia. One of the big guns. And with all those Tremere, they're gonna take us out in a snap."

She faced the wall opposite of them again, "So you think we're fucked."

"Nothing's changed."

"I…guess I can see why you're mopey." She muttered, "But we can't give up." She looked up at him brightly, "Nines Rodriguez does not give up."

He gave a small smirk, "Neither does Courtenay Taylor."

"Hey, don't call me that." She snapped.

"It's not a bad name."

"Pfft. Yeah it is…" She sighed, talking about something so trivial at least took an edge off the fear and anxiety Nines brought to her just moments ago, "Not like…Nines."

"…Nines isn't my real name." He looked down at her, "What, you think it was? Who the hell names their kid 'Nines'?"

"…the same guy who'd name their kid Eights?"

He snickered and shook his head, "It's Armando."

"…Armando…? That's a name?"

"Well, it's Spanish, I guess you don't hear it too often."

She looked up at him, "Do you speak Spanish?"

"No. A little. Few words, no more than anyone else around here." He said, then he added, "My dad was from Spain, but, I didn't see him much. He always spoke English around me."

She looked back to the wall, "That's a nice name. Why don't you use it?" She asked.

"It's…in memory of my brothers." He said.

"Brothers?" She looked back to him, "…wait, did you have eight brothers?"

"Yeah."

"Christ…"

He snickered, "What, a little too many for your taste?"

"Ugh, I could never raise kids. Never. Dogs, maybe. I used to have a terrier. Jack. Best damn dog on the planet. I kept getting bullied on the way to school, so I brought him with me one day. He bit the thumb off the kid who threw his textbook at me." She sighed, "I never cried more than the day he went missing. Just thinking about it makes me tear up…"

"Sorry about that."

"When I met…you know, _our_ Jack…just made me wonder if they'd be similar…" She sighed, "I kinda miss that old bastard."

"I can understand that. Had a certain charm to him, like an old bleached out poster that you just can't take off the wall cause it means too much."

She laughed a bit, "Uh huh, exactly. Now that the wall underneath is all naked and stuff, just doesn't feel the same."

He put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her in a bit, "You cheer me up pretty good, kid."

Her head thunked against his shoulder as he pulled her in, "You're like an entire head taller than me."

"I'm not even that tall…" He muttered, "Five eleven."

"…five two."

He snickered and looked away.

"Stop it."

He wiped hand over his mouth to stop himself, "Doesn't make any difference to me, you know." His hand slid down a bit, "Still have these." He grabbed one of her breasts.

She gasped, "Nines!"

"What?"

"Don't fucking 'what?' me!" She pushed him away and put her hands on her hips, "It's late. Late-late. We have to leave before the sun rises and we cook to death."

"Fine, fine." He said, "Goodnight kiss?"

"Ugh, whatever." She stepped closer to kiss his lips.

He held her there, even when she tried to get away, his hands holding her hips, until one reached up under her shirt, unclasping her bra. She snarled, "Nines…"

He smirked, "Don't pretend you don't like it. No one's here watching."

"This isn't like you…"

He met those bright blue eyes with his, "Maybe you're right." He said softly, "But…I don't think we're gonna have it as easy as we did with LaCroix. I think we should do shit like this before we can't do it at all."

"What if I don't want to?"

"Then we won't do it at all."

Her eyes narrowed with aggravation, before she kissed his lips hungrily and held onto his shoulders.

Nines couldn't help but ponder over her words. The sun was actually going to rise soon, or else why did everyone leave? They didn't necessarily have _time_ to fool around for very long, or even at all. But there was something about how much she wanted it, but how clueless she was.

She gasped as she felt him reach down and unbutton her pants, "What are you doing?"

He pulled her fly down and slowly reached a hand in.

"Nines…" Her eyes widened, "Wait, wait, I—" He silenced her stammering with his lips, one hand holding the back of her head, the other dipping into her panties and cupping her sex.

He felt her bite his tongue for only a second, but he could tell it was out of shock more than fear. He would have pulled away if she showed any more signs of hesitance, but really, it was the opposite. He felt blunt little nails scratch his skin as she grabbed the straps of his undershirt and moaned into his mouth.

He gave way to her plea and slowly slid his hand along her folds, before he gingerly inserted a finger. Her breath hitched and she broke the kiss, she simply couldn't handle all the feelings. She rested her forehead against his shoulder and bit her lip, moaning as he reached in deeper, "Fuck…it feels so…" She trailed off.

"Good?" He smiled.

" _Weird_ …" She looked up at him, "Is there s-something wrong with me…?"

"Sh." He kissed her lips briefly and inserted another finger.

Her mouth opened and she closed her eyes, hissing another curse as she felt him stretch her out a bit, before he removed them both. She whimpered and looked up at him.

"Shh…" He smiled and brought one of his thumbs to her lips to quiet her, the other quickly located a rather sensitive spot between her legs that made her gasp. He smiled and slowly rubbed his thumb over it in little circles until he had her squirming so much, he had to steady her with his other arm.

She grit her teeth as a wave of euphoria washed over her, she pulled herself closer to Nines and shook against his chest, her chest unnecessarily heaving as she regained her wits.

He pulled his hand away, buttoning her pants and zipping the fly up, before he wiped his hand off on his pants, "I'll take you home now."

She gave a little nod and stepped away from him, "This can't be the only time…"

He turned, "Hmm?"

"The only time we ever do this…? We'll…have more time…"

"Maybe." He said as he held the door open for her. She walked alongside him, her shoulder gently brushing into his arm as they left the building. It couldn't be as grim as he thought, right? They'd pull themselves together, even if it meant moving to another state for a few years to gain their balance. She knew they'd pull their weight, and she was determined to set the movement in motion soon, if Nines wasn't.

* * *

 **A/N:** Damsel: the new Nines Rodriguez. Sorry, hun, doesn't have the same ring to it…But, will her plan work? Thanks for reading!


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N:** Here's chapter twenty-three! This is a big 'un, but I'm just gonna leave it at that. Enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs. Also, there's some spice at the end, if you're not a fan, skim over it.

* * *

"It's very quiet tonight." Phaedra said, "Is there some sort of holiday? I feel as though there's usually more traffic."

"No idea." Cadmus said, "I thought Easter already passed."

"Mmm, who knows." She mused, "Seems like every day they add another reason for people to skip work."

"I take it you were never religious."

"No. My parents were devout Christians, they prayed to God that I would see the truth one day, that He would forgive me for my ignorance. I figure if the concept of hell doesn't frighten me, then there won't be any hell at all."

"Maybe your Embrace was your penance."

"I enjoyed my Embrace."

"Didn't seem to be the case the other night."

"No, I don't like…the reputation my clan has gotten me into. I suppose that is my penance, then…"

A small smile appeared on his face, "Relax, I'm kidding. A lot of Brujah and LaSombra hate me for my clan too…"

"Well, I don't hate you."

"Thanks…I think I gathered that." He snickered, then he squinted a little, "Victor?" He asked, "What are you doing out here?"

"Ah, Mister Vanderbilt." Victor smiled, approaching the pair, "It's good to see you. I don't think we've met since toppling LaCroix's regime, no?"

He nodded, "That was a happy day."

"So, who is your friend?" Victor's smile grew, then it vanished in shock, "No…don't tell me." He raised a gloved hand to his chin, "A childe of Cappadocius? Follower of the great Lazarus?"

"No." Cadmus deadpanned, "Nagaraja."

"Ooh, just as interesting." He chuckled, extending his hand out towards Phaedra, "Victor Madison. Tremere Magister. And Primogen." He stopped, "Ooh…now I have two titles…"

She chuckled softly as she shook his hand, "It's a pleasure to meet you, dear."

"So what are you doing out here?" Cadmus asked, "You're not one to…just walk the streets…usually you're either at a Primogen meeting, or in the Chantry."

"There were talks of a super-natural disturbance in the city." Victor said, "Right in the heart of downtown. I was told to investigate it." He said as the three of them started walking again.

"That is interesting…" Phaedra mused, "I was just noting how oddly quiet it was tonight."

Victor smiled at her, "You are the second Nagaraja I've met."

"Is that so?" Phaedra asked, "I haven't met any others, besides my sire. She told me most of my clan resides in Korea with the Kuei-Jin."

"Yes…she was a rather…standoffish…sort…she lived in the abandoned hospital for some time, eating whoever came by. Her name was Pisha, supposedly."

"…Pisha…?" She paused, "Unbelievable. You met my sire, then…she mentioned nothing to me about hiding in a hospital…" She sighed, "Oh, but she can very much be like that."

"Really? Pisha was your sire?" He smiled, "Well, a small world it is, then. Well, at least for Nagaraja bloodlines, it's a small world. Yes, she was a rather interesting woman. We made a few deals, trades, barters. She gave me many treasures to increase my power." He said, then he chuckled, "Not as is someone like me _needed_ to be any stronger."

She chuckled a bit, "What, did she use you to gather artifacts as well? It's the one thing she lives for, it seems. She had me in Egypt for over two or three decades looking for something, and I was still unable to find it."

"Is that so?" He asked, "Some of the occult items are slippery, I've found. They're only for those with the sharpest eyes."

"Of course. And there was the matter of breaking down clues, but I'm no detective. I could only get so far without a Masquerade Violation."

"Guys…" Cadmus swallowed hard, "What the hell is that?" He pointed at a humungous fleshy monster, it seemed to be about fifteen feet tall, with beefy arms, legs, and a pair of wicked red eyes and a set of sharp jaws. It looked like at least thousands of human and animal bodies were sculpted together to make the sick creation.

Victor froze, "That…that would be a Vozhd…"

"A…what…what is that?"

"A Tzimisce war-ghoul." Victor said, "I thought they were only used during the Dark Ages…but…here…here on is now…"

"Ah ha…" Phaedra took a step back, actually looking rather daunted, "Does anyone have a match?"

Cadmus and Victor exchanged a glance, "Can't you just boil it?" Cadmus asked.

"The thing must weigh tons. If I tried to boil its blood, I'd be in torpor for a-hundred years due to exhaustion." Victor said, "Look out!" He pointed.

The Vozhd swung a big beefy claw at them, but they all dodged.

"Huh…" Cadmus said, "It's slow…"

"Exactly, well, the controller is tens of thousands of different bodies. It doing a singular, agreed-upon action is remarkable in itself." Victor said.

"It's quite the eyesore…" Phaedra mused, "I'm afraid there isn't much I can do…I don't think one of my relatively small specters would do very much…"

"Wouldn't the police notice this?" Cadmus asked.

Victor looked around, seeing dozens of dead bodies, crushed police cars, and even a few wrecked tanks, "I think they already have…" He said, twirling his pistol out, "It'll have to be up to us." He started firing, occasionally firing off a blood bolt in addition to his gunfire.

Cadmus looked at Victor like he was insane, but then he glowed green with Fortitude, pulling his axe out and sprinting towards the creation, slashing at it with his axe, "Uh…am I doing anything?"

"I feel like by the time we actually damage the thing, the sun will be up to burn it anyway!" Phaedra called.

"I don't think we really have that luxury." Victor said, jumping back as the Vozhd swatted at them, "If we allow this monster to roam around…it could do serious damage to the red tower. I imagine that's what the Tzimisce's goal is."

Cadmus kept slashing, then he stopped, awestruck at how little he was doing, "How many bodies do you think it took to make this?"

"Hundreds…thousands?" Phaedra guessed, before she held a hand out and summoned a large hoard of zombies to start taking out some damage. She took her axe out as well to help Cadmus.

"Excellent." Victor said, "Well, if we keep at it, the beast will fall without causing any major damage."

* * *

"Swear I heard something roar. And not like…some shovelhead who just Embraced a guy, no, like…a huge roar, like I could _feel_ it…" Skelter's eyes were darting around, like he expected a giant creature to pop out from an alleyway at any time.

Nines looked around at the empty streets, "That sure would explain why there's no one out here."

Anastasia was fairly quiet. The only thing that made her happy right now was the face that she was in her soft, fuzzy moccasins again and out of those red heels she used for Isaac's mission. Other than that, she was basically questioning every decision she had ever made in her life.

Skelter kept leading the three of them, sniffing the air occasionally, while Nines crossed his arms and stood next to Anastasia, "He owes me something too. Killian." He said, eventually, "I saved his life after he was Embraced. When he was left sireless…felt like I took over as his sire. I know he always spent more time with Isaac, but he wouldn't be here if it weren't for me. I could say, he owes me too."

"I was sired at a pot orgy." Anastasia said.

"I know. When you stumbled into the Last Round, when you met Damsel and she brought you upstairs, introduced us…when I figured out you were a Gangrel, I told Skelter to keep an eye on you. I told him to take care of you, because you were left sireless too. I didn't want you to do any damage to yourself."

"Yeah, and I'm doing fine."

"I'm not so sure about that."

"Tch."

He looked over at her, "I get he hurt you, but he's one of us. You can't deny that."

"Watch me."

He snickered, "Bringing Vanderbilt into it wasn't right of me. But I did want to make it clear that if Killian asks to come back, the answer will be yes."

"What's that?" She looked ahead, "Uh…Skelter…I'm pretty sure the roar came from that…" She pointed at huge fleshy monstrosity, currently fighting Victor, Cadmus, and Phaedra. Anastasia quickly called on her powers of Fortitude and Protean, gaining her birdlike features as she ran into battle, and slashing at the creation with her claws.

"Anastasia?" Cadmus asked, seeing the Anarchs head over, "Since when were you a bird?"

"Ah, shit…" Skelter spotted Victor, but morphed into his war-form and charged towards the monster.

Nines eyed over the Vozhd, never before had he seen one. At first he wondered if the troop of zombies around it was part of it, but seeing how they attacked the legs of the beast, he assumed they were from the only person he didn't recognize in the group.

It was strange, seeing members of the Camarilla and Anarchs work together. Victor stayed back and shot at the monster, while Anastasia, Cadmus, Skelter, Phaedra, and her zombies kept assaulting the monster, and luckily, the Vozhd was too slow to do anything back to them.

Nines instinctively reached at his side for his grenade, only to feel it wasn't there anymore. He forgot to grab one from the stockroom. He grumbled some sort of curse and took out his Desert Eagle, firing that instead.

Victor and Nines eyed each other suspiciously every so often, shooting at the Vozhd together. Cadmus and Anastasia had an opposite phenomenon, they were working so well together, without even speaking to one another. Their unspoken bond was quite strong, as in a matter of minutes, Cadmus's axe and Anastasia's talons rendered one of the monster's legs completely useless.

Phaedra stepped back, "Be careful the beast does not fall on you!"

Cadmus nodded as he and Anastasia jumped back, once the beast was floored, it didn't take that many more strikes to finally render it to ash.

Anastasia cheered, turning back into her normal form, "We did it!"

Cadmus looked at her, "So that was you."

Anastasia looked at Phaedra, "Is that Aunt Sofia?"

Cadmus looked like he was going to vomit, "No." He said, "That's Phaedra."

"Really…cause it's uncanny…"

"No it isn't." He crossed his arms and closed his eyes, "I don't think our aunt would dress like that. Or have red eyes. Or summon the dead."

"Yeah…I miss her…have you seen any of them recently?"

"No."

"…something tells me you didn't like our extended family…"

"I didn't."

"But they were so nice."

"They were too loud."

"They were friendly, affectionate."

"Had no damn sense of personal space."

"They wanted to know how you were, that's all."

"They wanted to know how much money I was making. Who I was married to. When their grandbabies were coming…didn't…didn't really enjoy that."

"Hmm…it shouldn't surprise me that you and the family don't really mix…"

He opened his eyes, "I think the only positive thing to come out of it was being bilingual…"

"I do see the likeness between you two." Phaedra gave a little smirk, "She's just as beautiful as you are handsome."

Meanwhile, Victor's eyes scanned the three Anarchs, before he started giving a sinister, arrogant chuckle, "So, have you been kissing the ground this Tzimisce walks on, Armando?" He grinned, "For if it were not for he and his Sabbat, I would like to think you and your entourage would be killed by now, would they not?"

"That's not true!" Anastasia said.

"Quiet." He snapped, "Or you'll be staked again."

Cadmus swallowed hard. He had never seen Victor speak with the Anarchs, and had never expected it to be like this. Here he was, talking to Nines, _Nines_ of all people, with even footing. Well, Cadmus did hear that he hated the man with a burning passion. But he didn't think Victor would challenge the Anarchs like this.

"Guess I do have something to thank them for." Nines said, "Sure has been giving us plenty of time to prepare ourselves."

Skelter spit at the pavement before he stepped forward to start fighting with Victor, but Nines put a firm hand on his shoulder, "Don't."

"He hurt all of us." Skelter flicked a burning glare to Nines.

"I get that." Nines said, "Doesn't mean we should start throwing knives." He looked back at Victor, "I don't think the Prince is gonna like the sounds of a giant Tzimisce creation walking around destroying the place. But I think he'd _hate_ the sound of his right hand picking a fight with half a wolf-pack in the middle of the streets."

"Picking a fight?" Phaedra's lips quirked in a small smile, "I believe genocide is what you meant to say."

He looked back at Victor, "We'll be leaving now."

"Retreating you mean?" Phaedra laughed.

As Nines turned away, Skelter held his ground, glaring at Victor and Phaedra.

"Yes, I believe genocide would be an appropriate word." Victor snickered, "It would just be exploding three idiots, wouldn't it?"

Nines kept walking, giving a snide wave while he was facing away, but Skelter still held his ground. "You're not gonna kill me. Not here." His eyes narrowed, "Too many people, too many ways for the story to get muddled. You wouldn't want your name to be smudged off your little golden trophy."

"Are you suggesting that the Prince wouldn't believe him?" Phaedra asked, "There are witnesses right here to support his claim."

"And what good would it do? You don't want _me_ dead. You don't want any of us dead. You want _Nines_." He took out his pistol, "You gotta go through me first."

Phaedra leaned in to Cadmus, "Are Anarchs usually this idiotic?"

Cadmus shrugged, "I've never seen Victor deal with them before."

"Oh, come now Armando." Victor said, "The last time we fought, you just embarrassed yourself." He smiled, "How much did the new phone cost?" Nines just laughed and kept walking away.

Skelter fired at Victor's head. Victor flinched as he head snapped back, "Oh, that's right." He held a hand out, Skelter began to throw up blood, but since Anastasia was so close, she did too, "I forgot that you probably just _stole_ a new one, didn't you?"

"Very disrespectful of him to just walk away like this." Phaedra muttered, holding a hand up, "Come back, dear, or the ghosts will get you!"

Nines looked up and saw a wraith there in front of him, its skull had bits of decaying flesh left, tiny red beady eyes left in its head. It laughed before it reached its bony hands out to grab him, but he backed away and turned to Phaedra and Victor, "Is this really a matter to waste blood over?"

"Yes, I think so." Phaedra said, "I had heard about you, but hadn't predicted your only survival strategy was running."

His patience seemed to be wasting away, "Skelter, Anastasia, we're leaving."

Skelter panted a bit, "It's about time we did something about these fuckers, Nines…"

"Another time."

"We gotta—"

"I'm leaving, with or without you." Nines said firmly, "Choose wisely." He started walking off.

"Fuck…" Skelter stumbled backwards, towards Nines, still facing the Camarilla, "This ain't over…"

"If this were a play, it'd be a tragedy." Phaedra muttered dryly.

"Yes, away with you, to your fraternity masquerading as a sect." Victor swatted a hand.

"Honestly," Phaedra mused, "I don't like that I can smell them from here."

"Yes, well, if there ever was a crash course on the Anarchs, that would be it." Victor said, "Luckily, now that the Tremere run this city, they'll be an endangered species, with time."

Phaedra chuckled a bit, turning back to Victor, "You wouldn't be interested in offering me a tour around the Chantry, would you? I've been dying to visit."

"Oh, of course I wouldn't mind. You reside in the red tower, yes? Perhaps I'll give you a call when I'm free."

"Sounds marvelous." She smiled warmly.

* * *

"Ah, there we are." Sam said, "I daresay you'll have it down after a few more nights. I'm glad Obfuscate comes so quickly for you."

"What can I say?" Gary pulled a chair over for his friend, "I've always been quite good at toying with people's minds."

"Now…don't forget the two fundamental weaknesses to Mask of a-Thousand Faces." Sam said as he sat down, "The first, and obvious one, being Auspex. It'll reveal who you truly are. The second weakness, is if the person you're masquerading as shows up in the same vicinity as you. It will cause more than just a case of mistaken identity."

Gary nodded, "Yes, of course, I'll be sure to be very careful."

He stabbed his walking stick into the ground, "Have you heard of the Tzimisce war ghoul that rampaged around downtown?"

"Of course, got a lot of footage of it as well. And that little spat with the Anarchs and Camarilla was rich as well."

"Oh, there was a spat?"

"Quite the spat." Gary said, "Bullets flying, blood vomited, it was quite amusing."

"Hmm…I didn't know it was so heavily contested…no less a three-sided conflict."

"When two of the players are Madison and Rodriguez, it makes for an interesting conversation. But, Rodriguez chickened out and retreated with his little friends."

"Hmm…the Tremere Primogen?" He asked, "I haven't met the chap, yet."

"He's interesting. Typical Tremere. From what I've seen of him on screens, he's out to get Rodriguez."

"It's a wonder that hasn't scared him off yet."

"Seems his motivation to squash the Sabbat with the broken tools he has is too strong to succumb to fear."

"I suppose we'll have to wait and see which side survives out of the three." He said, "Or, more interestingly, which side falls first."

* * *

When Sirius entered his kitchen that night, Juliet wasn't in there. But, the lights in another room were on. He walked in, seeing her on one of his computers, scrolling through emails, "Oh, hey." She said, "I forgot emails were a thing…it's been months…"

"Emails, huh?" Sirius asked, "You must be one popular girl."

"Sure." She muttered, "Mostly work."

"What do they do? Email you recipes or something?"

"Schedules, updates, reservations, crap like that. How was work?"

"Eh, fine. I told a lot of hard truths, then half my coworkers left. It was fun."

"Uh huh…sure sounds fun." She muttered as she turned the computer off and pushed her chair out, standing up and stretching, "What exactly is your job?" She asked.

"I already told you, I'm part of those vampire politics, remember?"

"Yeah, but…like…what does it entail?"

"Killing people, playing tricks, setting others up to fail, politicking, lots and lots of politicking. It's basically a big game of 'who can take the other guy's bullshit the longest.'"

"Huh…" She started wandering into the kitchen, "I don't think I'd be able to handle that…I think I'd get fed up and hit someone with a frying pan…"

He followed her end, "Oh, I get tired of the bullshit sometimes too…that's why I assassinate people to the side. They never know it was me."

"You're sneaky then." She smiled as she leaned against the counter.

"Having Obfuscate helps." He said, then he clarified, "I can turn invisible."

"Seriously…? That's…dangerous…" She muttered, "I feel like one night I'm just gonna…" She turned and opened the fridge, looking around inside, "Have my back turned and you'll come up behind me and—" She paused and turned her shoulder.

He laughed, "Come up behind you and what?"

"I dunno. Scare me." She turned back and grabbed a bottle of wine, putting it on the counter, then looking around for a wine glass.

"More like screw you."

Her cheeks flushed, "Or that." She put a glass out and filled it up, before she put the wine back.

"Of course, I wouldn't want to act like a 'teenage boy' around you." He smirked, then it faded, "On second thought, it's probably a dick move to flirt with a grieving widow…"

"C'mon, I was only teasing about the teenage boy thing." She rolled her eyes, "You're like, a-hundred, which still freaks me out a little."

"Seventy…ish…" He corrected, "There are Kindred _way_ older than me."

"…I can't imagine living older than seventy…I feel like there's a reason we live that long. I would just hate seeing what younger generations do to the world…"

"Wouldn't be that much different than what's happening now." He said, "Least that's the way I see it."

"I guess…" She said softly, stirring her wine before she drank more of it, "I'm not a grieving widow, you know. That…implies I cared about my husband."

"But you cared about your kids." He said, "You miss them."

"Yeah. I'm an ex-mother. Not a widow."

He shrugged, "Whatever you want to call it."

She looked like she wanted to say something, but just finished her drink instead. "Guess I should just go to bed. My sleep schedule is completely fucked."

"That happens when you hang out with vampires."

"Yeah, I guess so." She giggled a bit, bringing her empty glass to the sink and rinsing it out, "Did you want any blood? I'm just gonna keep offering until you say yes."

"It's fine, Juliet. I usually fill up at work." He said, "Or on the _way_ to and from work." He said, "I mean, again, I can freeze humans in place just by looking at 'em, it's no fuss."

"Jeez, remind me to never piss you off." She dried her hands off.

"Come on, I wouldn't hurt you." He said, "Even when you were completely hammered, hurting you was never on my mind. I wouldn't do anything harmful to you." He said, then he blinked, "Well, it might depend on your porking preferences, but…"

"…my what?"

"Nothing."

"Sirius."

"Juliet."

"The fuck is 'porking'?"

"I'll tell you when you're older."

"Swear to god."

"What? It's not for the young or innocent."

"I am neither of those things."

"Eh."

"What, is it slang for anal or something? BDSM? I still don't get why it's called porking if that's the case…what does pork have to do with it?"

"You're overthinking it."

"…so…it's just general fucking? You're telling me you wouldn't hurt me unless I wanted you to."

"There you go. Care for a demonstration?"

Her jaw dropped, "What?"

"Eh, I guess we should go to bed, huh?"

"You're such a goddamn tease. I should just start tuning you out entirely."

"Aw, come on, we're having good fun."

"Sure, you are."

"You're not?"

"I'm feeling cheated." She crossed her arms, "You get to rub one out after this, I get to think about it in a sweaty, frustrated ball of blankets."

"Jeez…that's dark, you implying that I whack it to ya or something?"

"Well, I mean, if not to me, then to someone else…I'm just…" She swatted a hand, "Never mind. I'm going to bed."

"Come on, Juliet…it's just flirting. Mixed with jokes. I don't mean anything by it. I mean, you go around calling yourself heavy, and uglier than sin, and this and that. I just think it's ridiculous when you talk about yourself like that. You're just handicapping yourself."

"Handicapping myself?" She asked, "I'm just being realistic."

"Tch, realistic…" He said, then he swallowed hard, like it _hurt_ him to say something this warm and fuzzy, "I…I like you. I think you're pretty…so…you should just accept it."

Her cheeks flushed, "You like me, huh? Like…a thirteen year old boy…er…like a grown man?"

"What's the difference?"

"Well, a thirteen year old boy wants to bone every girl with a pulse then tell all his friends, and a grown ass man wants to sit with her and pay taxes and fuck on the table after Thanksgiving's over."

"Really?" He stifled a chuckle, "That's the dividing line, huh?"

"Uh huh."

"I think we should be careful…considering what your husband did to you and what my girlfriend did to me."

"I don't think I'm at any risk of that…if we were to…" She crossed her arms, "Get together."

"I mean, you're my ghoul already…so…whatever you feel about me now, and I know _damn well_ you have feelings for me, after your drunken spat. Basically however you feel about me now, it's only going to intensify."

"Fun."

He rolled his eye, "So, what? You feel cheated now?"

"I mean…in the sense I was using it before, yeah. Kinda."

" _Kinda?_ "

"I mean, it's nice we played feelings and we both…sorted that out…but…"

"But what?"

She raised a brow and put a hand on her hip.

"I wanna hear you say it."

Juliet's eyes rolled, "I want you to fuck me."

He burst out laughing, "Ha, ha, ha, see? Doesn't it feel nice?"

"I'm still horny as fuck, so, no."

"Horny as fuck, huh? I wonder how horny that is."

"Christ." She turned around, "I'm going upstairs. To bed. If you change your mind…" She shrugged, "Whatever."

"Fuck isn't really a quantifiable adjective…"

"I get it!" She screamed from the stairs.

"Juliet…come on…" He followed her up the stairs, "If you're gonna be this mad, it's not gonna be any fun…"

"I'm not…mad." She muttered, "Just frustrated." She stood next to the bed, her arms still crossed.

"Is this really _just_ about our ambiguous relationship?"

"No. It's also the fact that I haven't porked in like, three years."

He sat on the edge of the bed, "And it doesn't bother you that we've never even kissed or nothing yet. And we've only known each other for a month?"

She looked over him, "Nope."

He sighed and took his blue trench coat off, hanging it up, "Then I give up…"

"Well, now I feel like some sort of predator."

He still looked a little dejected, then a smile flickered on his face, "That's hot. Juliet the predator."

"Really?" She asked dryly.

"To be fair, I think a lot of the things you do are hot." He said, "Like when you stretch, or…move in a general location or direction…any part of your body moving…"

"Uh huh." She sat on the edge of the bed, "Does my breathing turn you on too?"

He shrugged, "I wouldn't be surprised if it did."

She looked down at the floor, kicking her heels off, "Well, I'm not going first."

"What?"

"I'm not taking my shit off first."

He took his shirt off, "There."

She swallowed hard and stared at his chest, then looked away like she wasn't looking at it in the first place. "You can look, Juliet." He said, taking his pants and shoes off.

She looked over at him, "You know…sometimes a guy'll look cute all dressed up, then they'll take their stuff off and it's like…eh, whatever, he's okay…then…then there's you…" She looked up at him, "Are all vampires super-hot?"

He shook his head, "Story for another time." He inched closer to her, giving her a hug, "Just relax. You've been tense all night. Relax."

She hugged him back, closing her eyes and melting in his arms a bit, "This…feels too good to be true…"

"Hey, don't back out on me _now_."

"Oh, hell no…I would not do that…" She met his gaze before she closed her eyes and leaned in to kiss him.

He kissed her back, he clearly knew what he was doing when it came to kissing. Most of the time he spent sucking on her lips, he really enjoyed the flavor of something other than blood. She groaned into his mouth, her nails digging into his shoulder blades as she pressed herself up against him. The kiss was intense and furious, she just kept pulling him in closer and closer, exploring the inside of his mouth with her tongue. He let her take command, holding her close and occasionally running his fingers through her hair.

She scooted herself back onto the bed, giving herself enough room to get beneath him and wrap her legs around him as they kept making out. He kissed her a bit harder, rubbing a hand up her shirt and sighing. Her cheeks flushed and she pulled away to catch her breath, reaching down to unbutton her top.

"Don't worry, Juliet, you look better than you think you do."

She gave a little nod, slowly reaching her hands out to rub his chest, "God, you're so tan…"

"Yeah, I'm lucky it still stuck after I was Embraced."

She yanked her shirt off and threw it aside, then fumbled around to unbutton her shorts, pulling them off too. He licked his lips, kissing her again, as he held her close with one hand, and rubbed her stomach with the other, occasionally going up to fondle one of her breasts. Her eyes fluttered closed and she let out a shameless groan, before she reached back and unclipped her bra, tossing that aside too. She reached forward and grabbed his hands, putting them on her breasts and squeezing them.

He snickered, "Should've just told me you needed your tits to be squeezed." He clamped down. She bit her lip and squirmed underneath him, drawing her thighs together as her nails dug into his back.

He kept laughing, evidently finding amusement in her actions. He held one of his thumbs over her nipple, and with his other hand, he would occasionally shimmy her panties down a bit, occasionally stopping to massage her lower abdomen. A gasp filled the air, before her cry took over. Her hands flew down to the bedsheets where she gripped on relentlessly, her hips undulating as she panted out his name.

"What's the matter?" He pressed at her lower abdomen, "Need something?" He snickered.

She moaned, "Sirius…" She clawed the sheets and spread her shaky legs a bit more, he could tell her panties were completely soaked through.

Once he completely pulled her underwear off, he started touching her. Like before, he was far from a novice. As he touched her, he grabbed a breast with his other hand. She choked out another cry, gasping for air as her back arched away from mattress, her hips immediately adapting to whatever rhythm he set.

His smirk grew as he kept exploring her. He took the hand off her breast and held her back firm, so she wouldn't hurt herself.

"Believe it or not…" She panted out, "This…" She closed her eyes tight and groaned as he pushed in even deeper, "This is the…" She shuddered, "First time…someone's….done this…"

"Yeah, I can tell."

She kept her eyes closed, fisting the blankets tighter, "This…is also the first time I've…enjoyed this…"

"Let me help with that." He backed away a bit, holding her bum with both hands to keep her in place, as he began to explore her sex with his mouth.

"Fucking…shit…" She hissed out, her legs locked around his head instinctively. Her hands moved away from the blankets and nestled themselves in his hair, her groans and sighs filled the air without even a pause for her to catch her breath.

"Yeah…that's right…you're getting a good fuck out of all of this, aren't ya?"

"Uh huh…" She whimpered, peeking her eyes open, "Sorry it's…so wet…I've always just…made a lot of that…"

"Eh, I'm not complaining. It's something to taste other than blood."

"Hey…you should…" She panted a bit more, "Drink from me…when I come or something…so I don't even feel it…that'd be hot, right?"

"You wouldn't feel it anyway."

"…I wouldn't?"

"Nah, most vampires block out most of a human's sensory organs with their bite. Makes it feel as good as an orgasm or something."

"…so that's why you didn't want to do it earlier?"

"Eh, one of the reasons, I guess…"

"What's the other?"

"I don't know…you were going through a rough time, why would I sap some blood from you when I can just do it to some unsuspecting idiot on the street?"

"Because we weren't fucking at the time…and now we are…"

He rolled his eye, "Jeez…you're talking way too much during this…" He pulled her in a bit closer so his mouth could explore other areas of her sex. She bit her lip and rested her head back against the pillow, her back arching again as her hips squirmed in his grasp. "Let me know when you're ready for the grand finale."

"Grand finale…huh?" She asked, "Not until I get you back…"

"Eh? What are you talking about?"

She pulled herself back away from his grasp and sat up on her knees to kiss him. As one of her hands rubbed up and down his chest, the other fell down and beneath under his underwear. He knew where this was going as he kissed her back, then he sent the blood rushing through his system to enlarge his member.

She let out a soft sigh as her hand slid up and down his length, her thumb rubbing circles over the tip each time she brought it up. He bit his lip, as his grip tightened around her, "Careful…there…"

She gave a smug smile before she pulled his underwear all the way off, shamelessly grabbing his butt and bringing his member to her lips.

"Shit…" His eye widened, "You're gonna get…sprayed in the face…if you keep this up…"

"Good." She slowly put the whole thing in her mouth, running her tongue along the underside as she sucked on it.

He bit back a groan, "Son of a bitch…" She moaned as he was deep in her throat so he could feel the vibrations, her hands squeezing his rear even tighter. "Alright…time for the best orgasm I've ever had…"

He could feel her nails dig in just a hair as she took him in as far as she could, groaning again. He held her head close, letting loose the throbbing ejaculation he had been holding back for the past few minutes. He sighed as he kept lightly thrusting into the inside of her mouth, gently petting the back of her head and ruffling her hair. There were multiple times throughout his load that it seemed as if he would stop, only for him to sigh and continue for another few moments.

As she pulled her head away, she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, panting a bit. "Okay…" She smiled, "Now I'm ready for the grand finale." She hugged him again and started kissing his neck, "But let's get you ready first…"

"You want another one?" He asked, "Jeez, you're lucky I'm used to this kinda thing."

Her eyes narrowed, "Exactly how many women have you porked?"

"Eh…I don't have a solid number."

"Uh huh…" She rubbed her hands over his chest and kissed him again, then laid back on the bed, "This is all the more reason to make me feel like this is too good to be true…"

"Pfft, I don't let just _anyone_ slurp down my semen. Remember that."

"Uh huh…yeah, I'll keep that in mind." She crossed her legs impatiently.

"That's hot."

"Come take care of me."

"Jesus…" He leaned in and started kissing her, fondling both her breasts.

She wrapped her legs around him and kissed him back. She was a wreck, really, her makeup smudged, her nail-polish chipped, her hair was tangled, she was coated in a thin layer of sweat, but to Sirius, it was beautiful. As nice as the sounds she made when he sucked on her bottom lip or squeezed her breasts a bit harder than usual.

"I'm surprised I haven't really given this a go yet." He said, moving his hands down to massage her butt cheeks.

She gave a little sigh, "Yeah…it is my best aspect…"

"Pfft, I think you have plenty of 'best aspects.'"

"Well…you are an aspect…" She looked him over, "Every…goddamn inch…"

"Is that right?" He asked, calling on the blood in his system again, "Well, let me show you, how much of an _aspect_ you are." He started humping her stomach. She closed her eyes and let out a strangled groan, her hips moving with the same rhythm as his, with a bit more frustration and agitation since he was further away. "Aw, what's the matter? Someone need to get fucked?"

She nodded feverishly, "Please…please, please…"

"Can't hear ya."

"Sirius…" She moaned.

"Yeah?"

"Fuck me!" She spread her legs much wider.

He laughed, going in deep to penetrate her. Holding her lower body, he pulled her in as far as she could go, thrusting deep inside her over and over again. She cried out and gripped her legs around him with a vice grip, biting down on his shoulder every time he slammed himself into her.

He kissed either her lips or her cheek, depending on whether she needed room to breathe or bite him. Her nails left deep red marks in his back that quickly healed, regardless, he found her body a lot more resilient to the use of heavier force. She did take a bit longer than he was used to for her to reach her climax, but once she did, it was impossible not to come with her.

He tired a slight bit quicker with this one, unable to move off of her, it seemed. She panted in his ear and rubbed her hands over his back as her eyes slowly closed, "Fuck…"

"Fuck, indeed."

She held onto him tightly, kissing his cheek, "You're….very good at that…"

"So are you."

"I…I'm not so sure about that…"

"Come on, you were sexy." He chuckled.

"I am?"

"Yup." He kissed her cheek.

She combed her fingers through his hair, "You made my night…" She said softly.

"Glad I could be of help." He rubbed her stomach.

She closed her eyes, it seemed rubbing her belly almost put her in a trance. She hummed softly, "…night…"

"Goodnight, Juliet."

* * *

 **A/N:** Juliet's lucky he's an older Kindred so he has more blood points…thanks for reading!


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N:** Here's chapter twenty-four! Did you think character introductions were over? WRONG! Ha, ha ha ha! We enjoy your mental overload. Enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs.

* * *

As descendants of apes, humans always carry certain traits from their great ancestors that cannot be discarded. Even traits that apes inherited from their great ancestors, and back and back and back until it came to the cell.

But the Ventrue were different. They were not descendants of apes. They were descendants of humans. With all the cunning, all the intellect, all the drive, the strength and skills that they had, without the perversion, nose-picking, hunger, and other such repulsive traits. They were the top of the food chain. They could hardly be _included_ in the food chain.

Of course, there were always outliers. Sebastian LaCroix, convicted of every mortal sin, almost. Cadmus Vanderbilt, a Brujah in the body of the divine. Miranda Frost, nothing but desire, a feeble mind that would cave to bitter emotions. A _romantic_.

This is why L.A. was run by Tremere. This is why the Ventrue could not be trusted here, simply because none of them were right. None of them were Derek Parker.

He was no-nonsense. He was all ties and gold cufflinks, all perfect smiles and perfect brains. Firm handshakes, golden voice, pleasant face. Fingers nimble through papers, never any papercuts, hangnails out of place, dirt in nailbeds.

His office was just as staid, just as flawless. A knock on the door turned him in his chair, he stood and opened the door with that smile on his face, "Miss Belvidere."

"H-Hi Mister Parker." She was his, and yet, ghouled to another creature entirely. Nothing a full wallet couldn't take care of. Her face was contorted with blisters and boils, painful looking, her bright blue eyes were always red, like she had been sobbing moments before they spoke, "I um…um…"

"The files have been erased?" He asked in that voice that would almost fit a Hollywood actor, a singer, a showman.

"Y-Yes sir. You're clear." She twiddled her knobby thumbs, "May…may I-I have some-e bl-blood?"

He reached in his suit and handed her a red blood back, ensuring their hands did not touch during the transaction, "Here you are, my dear."

"Thank you…" She whispered nervously, scratching her ratty dark hair, "When…wh-wh-when did you s-say I'd be…b-back to normal?"

"A few months, I'm sure."

"R-Right…" She took the bag and tucked it into her purse, "Um…can…c-can I come in…?"

"Of course, my dear…" He leaned in and gently held her, holding a hand to the back of her head, before a blue glow surrounded that hand, as well as her head, "We had a wonderful evening together. After the perfect dinner and a divine evening in bed, you decided it's best you leave."

She broke the hug, "I really should be going…t-thank you for everything, Der-…uh…Mister…Mister Parker…"

"Yes, of course. I will see you again, Miss Belvidere."

Paying a Nosferatu for blood was easy. Dominating an ex-Nosferatu's ghoul into a relationship was even easier. Derek Parker's files could be wiped at the push of a button. Every 'sin' the man had committed would become invisible from the same devils that made them happen. He dusted off his suit and reached for his keys off his desk. It was time for Los Angeles to learn what a Ventrue was.

* * *

Dragomir lost track of time, blankly staring at the wall, head cocked to the side, drool nearly pooling out of his mouth. He'd woken up in the middle of the night, (after spending a wonderful evening with Genevieve and deciding he needed a little more sleep), the voices compelling him to see the Griffin's Mount.

So he went to Griffith Park. And he approached the wall that he heard so much about, the blank concrete wall, with stains of blood on them, washed away from many rainfalls.

But, they were not merely bloodstains. They read something. A word.

"Seconds".

His mind grew numb over the meaning of it. Seconds. Seconds. Seconds. Not minutes, not hours. The word echoed in his head but found no matches. No answers.

A shotgun being cocked alerted him, he turned and saw a woman there, a gun to the back of his head. Dark skin, curly black hair, something fierce about her face, "This is Anarch Territory."

"Is it…?" Dragomir asked, before he turned around and stepped closer, "I don't see any other Anarchs."

"It's still ours, Cammy." She said, "Back off."

"Is that so?" He asked, "I believe this place has been rented by the werewolves."

"Alright wise guy, this is my last time asking nicely."

"Thanks for playing." Dragomir chuckled softly before he turned around, looked back at the stain and paused, "What do you see, there?" He pointed.

"What?" She asked, "On the wall? Nothing."

"No, no, look closer. The blood. The stains. What do they say?"

"…Damsel."

"Try again."

"…uh….David?"

"Try harder."

"It's just a stain, quit stalling already and get out of here!"

"I see seconds." He said, "Seconds, seconds left until what? What does time want with me now!?" He asked, "I hate when I can't make sense of things, it drives me absolutely mad!"

"You're a Malkavian, huh?"

"A lonely one at that." He grumbled, "I'll leave, I need my solace." He headed for the tram cars.

"What do we have here?" They both heard a rather loud voice, "Here I am, thinking a visit to Griffith Park would supply me a somewhat blissful view of Los Angeles, but instead I am greeted with two filthy hounds that would better serve the planet as rotting flesh than breathing corpses." A man strutted over, tall, lanky, well-groomed brunette hair, dark green eyes, slick suit and a bright red tie.

"You sent for reinforcements?" Maya asked in awe.

"No, this man is not of my knowledge…" Dragomir looked over the Ventrue, "There is something evil I sense about him."

The man chuckled, "I'll see what sort of damage control I can do before I even step foot in that tower." He held a hand up at Dragomir, a glow surrounding his hand, and Dragomir's head, "You will diablerize the girl."

Dragomir looked at if he had been shot by a silver bullet, before he turned around towards Maya with a salacious grin.

Maya gasped and stumbled back, unloading her shotgun at Derek, but, his body glowed green, and the heavy impact was taken with a mild wound. He seemed entirely unamused, attempting to Dominate her as well, only to see that she was too old. He sighed, "Oh, what a shame. Unfortunate I couldn't make it painless for you." He turned and began to wander off.

Maya turned back to Dragomir, snarling, "You stay away from me you lunatic…" She fired her gun at him.

He grunted as he took the hit, but he was still under Derek's command. He suddenly dashed forward with inhuman speed, flooring her and burying his fangs into her neck.

She screamed but he held her mouth shut, taking every knife and dagger she thrust into his ribcage, every kick and scratch until she thrashed no more. And he kept drinking until the storm clouds in the sky rained down, washing away the "Seconds". He kept drinking until the rain washed her ashes down the hill, until he faced the sky and the rain washed the dark blood from his jaw and chest.

* * *

"Oh, fantastic…you left the place a mess, as always…" Therese gave a dry sigh as she looked around her sister's bedroom, "You're not a little girl anymore, I'm confident you know how to make your bed." She paced across the room to the phone and answering machine to check if there were any missed calls, "And I am certainly not going to touch those sheets. I don't need to be a Gangrel to know what that smell is. Ugh, I wish you'd have just an ounce of self-control." She sighed again as she picked up the phone and started listening to her voicemails, thankfully none of them really seemed of any major importance.

The door flew open, Therese of course at first thinking it was one of Jeanette's many suitors. Although this one seemed to be a bit over the top, even for Jeanette. The goggles, flaming short red hair, and white fur coat all seemed to be evidence of this. "Greetings, Jeanette." He smirked.

Therese chuckled softly and hung up the phone, mid-message, "I'm afraid Jeanette is in Hollywood tonight, doing god-knows-what with the Anarchs. If there was something you needed to tell her, I could pass the message along." She clearly looked him over with a judgmental look, a raised brow too, "Otherwise I'll kindly ask you to leave until she returns."

"Yes, of course. You think I'm here for pleasure, but I assure you I'm here for business." He was holding something behind his back, when he revealed it, Therese was disgusted. It was the severed head of her overweight bartender. He tossed it in such a fashion that it made a _splat_ noise, then the severed neckline hit her vanity. "He annoyed me, so he's dead now. Your club is also empty. So I'm sure everything else can wait, Jeanette."

She crossed her arms and stood a bit taller, raising her chin up a bit, as if her dominance was being threatened, "The lack of activity in the club is due wholly to Sabbat presence in my city. None of which has fallen out of hand." She said, before adding, "And, my name is Therese."

"The Sabbat…funny you mention them."

"Is it?" She asked, gauging how much it would cost for someone to scrub the blood off the floors.

He took a deep breath and slowly clasped his hands together, "Give me your city, Jeanette. I will give you one opportunity to hand it over peacefully."

She chuckled softly, "I'm afraid not. It was not this easy for me to obtain the city, therefore, it shouldn't be for you. You'll have to work just as hard as I did to rise to power." Her scowl deepened, "And no, Sabbat brute force does not qualify as hard work. If you touch so much as a hair on my body, the Prince will hear about it, and put an end to your little charade."

"So you're saying you will die for your cause."

"If you're foolish enough to throw yourself before the Prince's mercy, then yes. I am."

He started a deep chuckle, "Although in killing one person, I would actually kill two, wouldn't I?" He held his arms out, "There's no need to hide it, we are both children of Malkav, are we not? Even the suckling young of the Malkavians know that there are two leaders to this city."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

He kept snickering, "Tell me…how well do you know Jacob?"

If they could, the hairs on the back of her neck would have stood up, but she kept that flawless, unflinching look on her face, "You're going to have to be more specific. I've met many."

"Did you know that he only wanted one of you?"

Her patience shattered like thin ice, "If I were you, I would leave now, or attempt whatever means of violence you're going to pull."

"Now, now, Jeanette…oops, sorry, _Therese_. I come in peace." He said, holding his hands behind his back and pacing around her, "The great and powerful Therese Voerman. You are sired from a powerful breed, yes. But why are you only a baron…and now a Primogen? No, no, someone as strong and radiant as you, they deserve much more, yes?" He said, "You should be Prince of Los Angeles, not that balding wizard, Strauss, is his name? He fears your abilities. You could run circles around him if this were your city. You want it, I know you do. You want to be the ruling vampire of this entire city, and you very well can be."

She crossed her arms again, but this time, it wasn't to seem more powerful, or authoritative. It was out of insecurity. "He….he's risen up through the ranks fairly." She said curtly, "Besides, he's far older than I. It would be as humorous as having LaCroix in power. I simply must wait."

"I think not. You're beautiful, stunning really, and your skill knows no bounds. You would no doubt have the charisma needed to run a city." He said, "Your Disciplines need a little work, but I could help you with that." He chuckled, "We could rule together. You would be the Prince, and I would be your advisor, from the shadows."

"No." It came out before she really had the chance to think about it, before she had the chance to run through every possible outcome in her mind, to see what it would do for her.

He shook his head, "It's a shame you chose that destiny, seeing as you'll be less than dirt otherwise. This city won't be yours for much longer." He said, looking at their reflection in the mirror, but he wasn't saying that out of antagonism or anger. He was saying it like it was a fixed point in time. Like it was destiny.

This seemed to unnerve her, "Then it will belong to Jeanette. If…my death is what takes off the training wheels, and yours is the push down the hill, I'm sure she'll gain her balance."

"I will not be the one taking the club from you. You will fall under someone else's blade."

"Then why are you still here?"

He shrugged, "Mother always did say I opened my mouth a bit too much!" He laughed, heading for the door.

"I suppose I should thank you for the warning!" She called bitterly, "I'll be sure to tell the Prince all about this!"

He stopped mid-step, looking over his shoulder, "He will send help, but they too will get defeated alongside you. This city _will_ belong to me, and I won't even have to lift a finger."

"…then I hope you will lose it just as easily."

He started laughing, "Yes, send all the reinforcements you want, darling! It's all the more to be crushed by the Sabbat! You could have just sold your wretched city to our ghoul, but this is how the game will go now!"

"Goodnight, Mister…?"

"Gideon." He said, "This Jyhad bores me, I'm going to see how many of your allies I can disable in the ensuing nights."

"Mister Gideon." She repeated, turning and approaching the phone, "I wish you the best of wishes." She said, her voice laced with sarcasm.

"Of course, Jeanette, I already know who I will strike first, and who will fall. Such is the curse of my clan. You know it well."

"Goodnight then." The scorn on her face was far from attractive. As soon as he left, she balled her hands into fists and let out a very unprofessional cry of aggravation.

* * *

"Greetings. It has been quite some time since I've last seen you, Beckett." Strauss smiled.

"So, you're the Prince now. I suppose things didn't work out for poor Sebastian now, did they?" Beckett asked.

"Indeed, they didn't." Strauss said, "But of course, it is more favorable to me that way." He chuckled.

Beckett snickered as well, "Yes, well, I've come…just to announce my presence in your domain, I'm just going to do a bit of snooping. Apparently there are a few ancient tomes left in this city, some of which I could gather a great bit of information from, in the areas that I am lacking."

"Of course. I wish you the best of luck, in your endeavors." Strauss said.

"I appreciate it. Goodnight Maximillian." Beckett said, he headed out of the office and down by the lobby, seeing Slade, Tess, Cadmus, Miranda, and Ferrum having some sort of conversation, sitting in the many chairs provided for them, "Well, it certainly has been a while, hasn't it?"

"Beckett?" Cadmus asked, "What are you doing here?"

"It appears there are more nooks and crannies in the city than I had first believed." Beckett said, "I have returned to do a bit more exploring, is all."

Tess looked up a Beckett, then looked away, "Times…sure have changed…"

"Yes, they have." Beckett smiled at Tess and Slade, seeing the latter squeezing the former's hand, "Glad to see you two have mellowed out."

"You were right about the sarcophagus." Miranda smiled.

"Ah, yes, Miranda, was it? I do hope my advice was helpful for you."

She gave a nod, "It was."

"Who is this?" Ferrum asked, leaning in a bit, as if sizing him up.

"This is Beckett, a Kindred scholar, an archaeologist. He's Independent." Miranda said.

"Is the Tremere and Malkavian living in this tower too? Victor and Dragomir?" Beckett asked.

"Victor's probably in the Tremere Chantry." Cadmus said.

"And Dragomir is…he's safe…" Slade said.

"From last we heard, at least." Tess said.

Ferrum sat back and put his hands behind his head, "Something about him smells familiar." He grumbled.

"Well, I suppose I'll be seeing the lot of you for a while in these next few weeks. Farewell, young ones." He started walking off.

A door opened as Phaedra walked in, nearly bumping into Beckett, "Oh, pardon me, dear. Didn't see you there."

"Of course." He backed away and gave her room.

She looked around at the group gathered, then smiled at Cadmus, "Vanderbilt, you haven't introduced me to some of your friends."

"Hmm…uh…well, that's Slade and Tess. They're both Toreadors. And…uh…that's Beckett." He pointed at the person near the door, "I'm…I'm sure you've heard of him…"

Slade watched Phaedra's mouth, concerned, "Uh…what is she? Why does she have pointy teeth?"

"She's a Nagaraja." Cadmus said, "Her clan weakness is that they eat flesh."

"How pleasant it is to meet you all." Phaedra smiled as she shook their hands, before she shook Beckett's and smiled, "I'm afraid I haven't heard of you before, but I haven't been here very long."

"I'm just a passerby Kindred archaeologist, that's all." Beckett chuckled, "I'm hardly here to get in the way of Camarilla, I was just announcing my presence to your Prince, is all."

"A fellow archeologist?" She asked, then gently placed another hand on top of his, mentally noting the amount of hair and, were those claws? "Oh, it has been quite some time since I've found anyone else who shares our knowledge." She gave a warm smile, "We should work together, at some point."

"Hmm…I'll give it some thought. Recently, I've been working alone…but, I suppose the lure of companionship would be nice."

"I'll have to show you my collection when you find the time. It's been quite some time with all this…settling in."

"Yes, well, I'll be all over the city, if you find the need to look for me."

"Of course. I look forward to meeting again." She said with a smirk, something that definitely showed at least minimal flavors of romantic interest.

As he left, Slade asked, "I wonder how he feels now that Strauss is Prince instead of LaCroix…"

"He probably found it funny as shit like I did." Cadmus said.

"I can't say I remember him showing the highest regard to LaCroix." Tess said.

"Neither can I." Slade said, "He was kinda only in it for the Ankaran Sarcophagus, the fact that LaCroix found it was sort of an afterthought."

"I heard all about that sarcophagus." Phaedra sat down and crossed her legs, "What was the tale again? Some sort of ancient resided within?"

"Yeah, everyone thought it was an Antediluvian. But it was a bomb in there. So, it was designed that whatever power-hungry vampire opened it would blow up. Said vampire was LaCroix." Cadmus said.

"Ah. At least it was a quick death, then." She mused with a smile, "I've always wanted a Viking funeral, they're so beautiful."

"What the hell is a Viking funeral?"

"Having your corpse burnt at sea." Miranda deadpanned.

"…ah…"

"I never thought about when I was gonna die, or how." Ferrum muttered, "I always figured it'd happen at any second, so I live each like my last."

"I just hope nothing like that sarcophagus happens again." Tess said.

"It will." Cadmus said, "Course, it won't be a _sarcophagus_ , but it'll be another useless, convoluted thing that keeps us all going. Just look at all the damage the Sabbat are doing out there. It's only going to get worse."

"Of course…" She said softly, before she squeezed Slade's hand, "At least I have some grounding…"

The doors opened and a man walked in who nobody recognized. He seemed quite curious about them all, in the way one would be towards a slug exhibit, "Good evening. Mister Strauss's room is ahead, yes?"

"Yeah." Cadmus crossed his arms, "I'll show you the way."

Seemed the man only took seconds to identify him, "Yes, why don't you?"

Cadmus led the way, the other man trailing him not too far behind, Cadmus looked him up and down briefly, the suit gave him a pretty clear impression, "I take it you're here for business?"

"Yes, that's right. I formerly served the Prince of Philadelphia, he advised my transition to Los Angeles."

"So you're already in the Camarilla, well that saves a few steps." He said, "Clan?"

"Ventrue, of course." He chuckled, "We are perhaps the most dominant clan of this sect."

He laughed, "Good, they're _three_ of us now, instead of two. Miranda will be happy."

"Mmm, I'm sure."

He stopped at a set of double doors, "Well, here he is. Right through here." He held a hand out, "I'm Cadmus Vanderbilt, by the way." He smiled.

"Derek Parker." Derek shook his hand, before pushing his way through the doors and slowly approaching the Prince, "Mister Strauss? I seek an audience with you, if you're available…"

"Greetings neonate." Strauss said, "How may I be of assistance?"

"Are there any positions available for a Kindred of my status?" He asked, reaching in his blazar and handing Strauss an envelope.

Strauss took the manila envelope, a résumé inside, reading through it, "Ah, I see you've been in the Camarilla for a decent amount of time…and a Ventrue…we have been hurting for those…ever since…LaCroix's insolence…I think you'll fit nicely here…"

"Thank you very much, sir."

"Mmm…I'm afraid all my cabinet has recently been filled, Mister Parker, my Primogen are complete. But, I will grant you a stay in this tower, as I would with any other member of our organization."

"Thank you very much, sir." He sounded like a broken record, "I will do what I can wherever I am needed."

"I appreciate the enthusiasm, neonate." He said, "Was there…anything else, you needed assistance with?"

"Nothing. I thank you again for your time this evening."

"Of course. If you have any other questions, you may find yourself at my desk, and I will do what I can to answer them. In the events that I am occupied, you may ask one of your peers."

"Thank you very much, sir." He gave a slight bow before he turned on his heels and approached the doors, letting them shut on their own.

* * *

 **A/N:** Derek surely made a big impression for his first chapter, huh? What did you think? Thanks for reading!


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N:** Here's chapter twenty-five! Malkavian Madness! Ever wonder what happens when you get a very, very old Malkavian, and irritate them? Enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs. Also, there is quite a deal of dirtiness, if you're not a fan, you can skim over it.

* * *

"I don't think he's here for anything serious." Cadmus said, "You're overreacting."

"The last time Beckett was _poking around_ , he helped unearth the Ankaran Sarcophagus…and we all know where that went." Miranda said.

"Yeah, but that was more of LaCroix's doing than Beckett's." He shrugged.

She looked at least somewhat reassured by that, "We sure have been getting a lot of new visitors."

"That's what happens when you get a new Prince and the organization takes a complete one-eighty…"

"It's nice that the place made a one-eighty but I still feel like I stick out like a sore thumb…" Ferrum said.

"Because you do." Angelique looked up at him, "Get a dress shirt or something. Or just…do what Cadmus does and wear a big coat."

He sighed, "Whatever's less expensive."

She looked back up at Cadmus, "Did he say why he was here?"

"Typical Beckett reasons." Cadmus said, "He's looking for a book or something…some artifact…"

"I wonder how he doesn't get bored of just…looking for stuff…"

"Beats me. Honestly the whole thing sounds right up Phaedra's ally." Cadmus said.

"I'm not sure how I feel about that woman." Miranda said.

"She's fine. Sure, she can be loud and annoying at times, but I don't mind her."

Ferrum grumbled, "Probably just wants to get into your pants."

"That's not possible." He said, "I mentioned Angelique way too many times. She'd have to be stupid to not get the message that I'm spoken for."

"I dunno, I don't like her. I wouldn't mind seeing her as a pile of ash."

"We're not going to get more members if we just set up everyone who comes here to fail because of a shitty first impression."

"Oh, and since when have you been so suspecting, Mister Sunshine?" Miranda asked, "You like to preach about the harrowing nature of Jyhad, and rarely do you trust someone unless you've worked with them for a substantial period of time. Why is Phaedra an exception to this rule?"

"Tch." Cadmus walked ahead of the other three down the street, muttering something under his breath.

Angelique looked a little irritated, "Whatever. Let's just drop it."

"Hello there." A voice said from behind them. The four of them turned to see Gideon, though his appearance could confuse them, or at the very least, revealed that he was a Malkavian.

Miranda narrowed her eyes, "Do we know you?"

"I'm surprised they still let you eyesores out and about." Gideon said, "The Sabbat's vice grip around the city will only get stronger."

Ferrum eyed him over, "The Sabbat are callin' us eyesores now? Glad I got out of there when I did…"

Gideon snickered, "Hollywood has already fallen to us." He said, "Though, it was never yours to begin with really, was it? It belonged to the rebels. Oh well. Santa Monica will fall next. Very soon. That will leave two cities in your power, and two in ours." He said, "A balancing act."

Cadmus repositioned himself so he was in front of the group, "Stay behind me." He cautioned, "I'll take care of this guy…"

"Bullshit." Ferrum stood beside Cadmus, "Sabbat knows what Sabbat thinks." He looked back at Gideon, "They're starting from the ground up. Anarch territory, weak Camarilla influence, next they'll go for a place like Chinatown." His eyes narrowed, "They're probably sending fucks like you out here to come and turn us over to the Sabbat, huh? Make the job a little easier when it comes to taking Downtown?"

"Chinatown is no concern of mine." Gideon said, "It will soon be retaken by the life-eaters." He said, "So then you will be only holding _one_ city. The life-eaters will have one, and we'll have two."

"Quality over quantity, pal."

"Not when the quantity is crunched into the corner of one city. I believe they call that a siege."

His brow fell as his temper flared, "And I believe they call you a dick."

"It looks like the mutt is out of words."

"Enough of this." Cadmus dashed forward with his axe out. But Gideon just stood there, with his arms crossed, right until the very moment that Cadmus swung his axe down. Gideon held a hand out, a purple mist emanating from it.

The same mist went around Cadmus's head, and he screamed bloody murder, falling towards the ground. He held his forehead, still wailing away. It felt like a giant electrified nail was piercing his skull, and then another. He tried to get up, but he couldn't. He never felt a source of pain this strong, and he doubted he would ever again after this.

Gideon chuckled, "Whose next?" He asked, stomping on Cadmus's body.

The others looked horrified and started backing away. Well, not Ferrum. "I am, you clown!" He stormed forward, lighting himself up with Fortitude to punch him square in the jaw.

Gideon jumped back, "Is that so?" He raised a brow, "I'm not sure I want someone so weak to be able to call themselves my opponent."

He snickered, "That's too bad, pal, just goes to show what fate'll hand ya."

"Silence." He flicked his hand out, and Ferrum fell to the same power Cadmus did. Both men were unable to move, aside from convulsing in pain at the shocking sensation in their heads.

Angelique looked horrified, seeing her lover and best friend be put out of commission so quickly. She shuddered and hid behind Miranda, "I think we should run…"

"If we don't take the bodies, he'll kill them while they're incapacitated." She said, "We must each take one, and be careful not to look into his eyes. Dementation, like Dominate, needs eye contact in order for it to work."

She nodded before she looked down towards the streets and ran forward to pick up Cadmus, opting for the lighter person, even if just by a few pounds.

"Where are you going?" Gideon shouted, laughing as Miranda and Angelique took Cadmus and Ferrum away, "Aren't we still playing? Don't tell me you don't want to play with me anymore!" He laughed and laughed, holding his chest, "I suppose I'll have to find new Kindred in the Camarilla to play with!"

* * *

"It isn't on that shelf over there, is it?" Phaedra's head peeked around the bookshelf Rainy was looking over. The pair were in the red tower, in one of the many libraries, Phaedra was searching for a book and requested Rainy's aid.

"Um…I…I don't see it…" Rainy said, after looking through the third row of books.

"Hmm…perhaps we'll have to try one in another room…"

She gave a rapid nod, "Maybe I'm just not looking hard enough…"

"I'm sure you are." She said, checking one of the tables, before she scooped up a book, "Oh. Here it is. Hmm, someone must have been reading it."

The door opened, "Oh, I see that book is in use…"

Phaedra looked over to the man behind the door, "Ah, there you are. I don't believe we've met." She set the book down and held a hand out, "Phaedra."

His glare was entirely too judgmental, but she hardly noticed, "Derek Parker."

"You must be a Ventrue." She reached over and adjusted his tie, then the clip it was attached too, before he slapped her hands away.

"Please, do not touch me, flesh-eater."

"It's Phaedra." She said dryly before he took the book and looked at Rainy.

"Who is this?" He gave her the same scrutinizing glare.

"Rainy. My companion." Phaedra said, knowing Rainy would be terrified.

"Is she…in the Camarilla?"

"I don't see why you should concern yourself."

He scowled, "Because the red tower is for Camarilla personnel only. She ought to be executed." He continued to stare at her, "What clan does she belong to?"

"Also private information."

"Should I tell the Prince you're harboring some sort of…abhorrent refugee?"

"She is neither of those things."

"Then why don't you tell me what she is, demon?" He asked lowly.

She smirked, "Above speaking with the likes of you. Go on, take the book I'm sure you can't read. Cram the knowledge in that dead brain and flush it out until you need it again. I'll take it once you've finished."

He glared at both of them, "I'll remember this." He slammed the door shut.

"So will I." Phaedra said, before turning to Rainy, "I don't get the impression that that man liked me very much."

Rainy was shaking like a leaf, squeezing Phaedra dearly.

"It's alright." Phaedra held her, "What's he going to do? Tell Strauss we had a bit of a disagreement? It's no danger to us."

"I know…" She sniffed, squeezing her tighter.

"Did you want to come up to my room?"

"…will he catch us…?"

"It doesn't matter if he does. I can brush him away if he does."

She looked around carefully, her eyes teary, "Okay."

Phaedra gently took her hand and went up the many flights of stairs, before they made it to her room and she took Rainy inside. Phaedra fetched her a blood bag, then sat on the couch beside her, "Here you are."

"I…I don't need this Phaedra…if…if you want it…I don't want you to run out of blood."

"I have plenty."

She slowly tore the bag open and drank from it, "Who was that man? I haven't seen him here before…"

"Neither have I. Or perhaps in passing. He must be new."

"He was terrifying…" She said, "How many people in the Camarilla are like that?"

"Not any that I've met."

That seemed to calm her down a bit, she took another sip from her bag, "I've been thinking…"

"Mmm?"

"You keep getting attacked…by…poison…or people in the Sabbat. I think I should give you my number, in case you need my help."

"I would love that." She smiled warmly, "I'll have to purchase a cell phone then."

"I can, if you want."

"Could you? That would be excellent. I'm not very wise with technology."

She smiled, once she finished her blood bag, she gently slid her heels off, then she curled around Phaedra and laid in her lap. Phaedra leaned in and pressed a kiss to her cheek, rubbing a hand down Rainy's back, the other gently pet her hair. She relaxed a bit and closed her eyes, smiling at all the attention.

Phaedra averted her gaze and looked to the ceiling as she continued to treat Rainy in a rather cat-like fashion, "How is your sire?"

"She's…fine…she's happy…because the Prince didn't kill her. He…he's okay with us being in the city, which…which was why I was so scared of that…man in the suit…why did he talk to me like that if the Prince is okay with me?"

"I think he was just a scared little man questioning himself when two women of an inferior clan began to have more ground than he did."

She opened her eyes, thinking about it for a minute or two, "Okay."

A pause clung to the air before Phaedra added, "What about your feelings for her?"

"I love her…in a way a childe typically loves her sire." She said, "There…used to be more…but…I'm pretty sure she's straight…"

"But do you still have feelings for her?"

"I…" She looked cornered, "Maybe…do you still have feelings for Pisha?"

"If I saw her again, I would. I'm only asking because, I like what we have. I care about you so much, you've made my life here so enjoyable…but I feel as though…the field for both of us is still open."

"Still open?"

"If you were to find someone that…caught your fancy, per say…I wouldn't be upset at all. Like, if Raven decided she did like you."

"I don't think that would happen…"

She shook her head, "Never mind." She kissed her forehead, "Forget I said a word."

"Something's on your mind."

She closed her eyes, "As of late, I have been meeting people who I've…been attracted to. But, I haven't forgotten you, and I would never dream of leaving you alone…I…." She sighed, "I suppose I'm still adjusting to…mutual relationships…"

Rainy rocketed up, sitting up beside her, their eyes met, "Is…is there something I'm not doing?" She asked, "Something you need? Something you want? What…what am I doing wrong?"

"You're doing absolutely nothing wrong." She assured, "It's me. I'll get over this."

Her expression sank, "So…so…there is something wrong with me…I knew it."

"Rainy, there is nothing wrong with you. You're absolutely perfect." She said, before she closed her eyes, "I was in an arranged marriage. That was the only type of relationship I had before I met you. The culture where I lived, when I grew up, is very different than the culture now, and I suppose I'm still adapting. But I would never leave you because I dislike you. I would only leave you because I trust that you would be happier in someone else's hands." She held her closer, "You're very important to me, and I'm not going to let you go. Not until you're ready to go."

"So…w-we're temporary?"

"Unless you'd like to be permanent. And please, be selfish. Please don't answer because you want me to be happy. Please just tell me the truth, tell me what _you_ want."

"I want you." She said, "No one's…ever treated me like this…they either ignore me…or hurt me…"

"Very well. Then I am yours."

"Do…do you want me…back?"

"I do."

She smiled, going back onto her lap and kissing her on the lips with increasing force, as she began to rub her shoulders. Phaedra slowly rested her hands on Rainy's hips, pulling them in a bit closer as she kissed her back, leaving gentle kisses along her neck. She decompressed, taking her blazer off, followed by her tie and her blouse, again, a horde of metal pieces hit the ground once she began unclasping her bra.

Phaedra chuckled softly, "I should buy you a bag…"

"That would be nice." She said, "Sometimes they get sore…from…that…"

"Let me see what I can do…" Phaedra gently kissed her neck again as she caressed Rainy's breasts, occasionally rubbing her thumbs over her nipples.

Rainy bit back a groan, shuddering with pleasure, "You…you should lay down…there was something of yours I wanted to get…"

"Oh? Is it something that will be accessible in the bedroom?"

"Ooh, you're right. Let's go to your room."

Phaedra stood up and led Rainy to her bedroom, quietly closing the door before she took off her scarf and hung it on a hook on the back of the door, "What did you have in store for me, dear?"

"Lay on your stomach."

Phaedra smirked before she peeled her dress off, crawling on the bed and laying on her stomach, her hands balled up under her pillow. Rainy took her tights off, only in her panties as she got on the bed behind Phaedra. She bent over and gave her rear a little kiss, massaging her hips. A soft sigh passed through her lips as her shoulders decompressed, "…that's very nice…"

"You have a perfect _pear-shaped_ body." She smiled, "There, I can't be wrong with that, can I?" She asked, "Does it…ever throb?" She gave her butt another kiss, "Mine does, if I sit somewhere…uncomfortable…"

She let out another groan, "If I fall on it…"

Her kisses got hungrier and sloppier, "You must like this, then."

"Oh…oh yes…"

She sighed, kissing Phaedra's butt a little bit more, "You can roll over whenever you're ready."

"Aye-aye…" Phaedra laid there for another moment before she rolled over and reached back to unclip her bra.

She smiled and gave Phaedra a hug, being perfectly content with being held in her arms. She kissed Phaedra's lips over and over again, reaching a hand up to grab one of her breasts once Phaedra took her bra off.

Phaedra's hands ran down Rainy's shoulders and back endearingly as they kissed, sighing occasionally whenever she found the opportunity to do so.

"Let me know when you want to be touched." She whispered.

"I want you to do it when you think I'm ready." She smiled.

"In that case, I think you need a bit more." She backed away slightly, kissing one of her breasts and giving her a squeeze. Phaedra's eyes closed and she let out another groan, her deep voice carrying far in her cozy-sized room. Rainy bit her lip, backing away a little, "I'm going to come before you do at this rate…"

"I'm certainly not going to stop you." Phaedra gave that mischievous smirk again.

She took a deep breath, "No….it's okay…I'll just get you…" She went back to licking her breast, reaching a hand down and pressing at her lower abdomen.

She sighed, "I needed this…very badly…"

She kissed her nipple, "Have you been through a lot recently?"

"Yes…plenty of stress…."

She nodded, feeling sorry for her. When they first met, she said she was never under any sort of stress. How things have changed for the worst. "I'm going to make you feel great and it'll all go away, okay?"

She chuckled softly, "Yes, I'm putting all my trust in you."

Again she felt another pang of sorrow for Phaedra, so she made sure to be slow. She leaned in and kissed her on the lips. It was very endearing and long-lasting, occasionally she would suck her lips to get flavor out of her lipstick. One of her hands reached up and grabbed her breast again, giving it a soft massage. Her thumb circled around her breast and occasionally pressed on her nipple.

It was suspenseful alright. Phaedra could have sworn that Rainy implied that she was going to get down to business, but a few moments of making out passed and nothing happened. Then it hit her all at once. Her partner's masterful navigation through her sex coincided with the memories of the last time Rainy was inside her, and despite Rainy masturbating her, she didn't stop with the kissing or with the breast massage, as if she was doing her best to make sure as many parts of Phaedra's body were stimulated as possible.

As soon as she felt Rainy's fingers enter her, she opened her eyes, before they drifted closed as she let out a moan into Rainy's mouth. She did everything she could not to bite or claw at Rainy as she felt her climax build higher and higher, tearing her lips away so she could moan and scream.

She went a little lower and kissed her neck. Phaedra's voice and how her throat vibrated whenever she made noises turned Rainy on like nothing ever before. It made her explore much deeper within her.

Phaedra grit her teeth and gasped, clutching Rainy closer as she hit a peak, like a drop of gasoline that suddenly combusted. She let out a shameless groan as her body quivered and she rode the orgasm to completion, reaching up under Rainy's chin to kiss her lips again.

Rainy smiled and kissed her back, doing what she could to ease Phaedra out of her orgasm by holding one of her hips with one hand and her lower abdomen with the other, (Phaedra felt that one of Rainy's hands were absolutely soaked). Rainy got cozy in her arms once she noticed that she calmed down a bit.

Phaedra flopped back and held onto Rainy tightly, combing her fingers through her hair, "I have to find something that excites you…"

"You do."

"Something more…" She said, holding Rainy's face, "Tell me dear, is there any dark fantasies in that little mind of yours I can play with…?"

"Um…I…I don't know…I'm not sure I'm looking for an orgasm right now…I…I just like making you happy…"

"That can't be true…"

"Don't get me wrong…you turn me on…but…I…I'm scared of…doing it…that it might hurt…"

Phaedra looked at her nails, "There's nothing else I can do?"

"Uh…" She looked her up and down, "M-Maybe there's something…"

"Mmm hmm…?"

She crept back, reaching back and wrapping Phaedra's legs around her. It was as if she was prepared to give Phaedra an orgasm again, which Phaedra at first thought was preposterous, until Rainy leaned in and sucked on her belly button. She held Phaedra's hips, as if to provoke them into a rhythm once again. Phaedra let out another sigh and complied, wrapping her legs around Rainy tightly and grinding against Rainy's chest, mostly.

She let out a very loud, muffled groan, a combination of the stimulation from Phaedra's stomach to the humping against her breasts, so she quickly tore her panties off. Whatever she was trying to say wasn't coming out as coherent English.

Phaedra couldn't help but chuckle as she held Rainy's head down and groaned, letting her do as she pleased. She gasped in between her noises, her entire body shaking, but not in fear, in ecstasy, that much was clear. She begged Phaedra's name quietly. Phaedra's smile widened as she combed her fingers through Rainy's hair, the other rubbing one of her shoulders.

"P-P-Phaedra…I…I…" Rainy gently moved her hands away, trying to crawl up to her level, then her eyes widened, and she let out a deep groan. Phaedra felt something squirt onto her as Rainy collapsed on top of her, vibrating with desire. She began to make a big mess all over Phaedra's lower abdomen and her womanhood. Phaedra groaned, a smile on her lips as she saw Rainy finally fall apart. She clutched her rear and pulled her in close, kissing at her neck and collarbone.

Rainy still looked fairly nervous, she gasped several times in a row as she finished, both of them hot from all the contact. She clung to her with a shaky breath, shuddering every now and then. Phaedra left a very loving and gentle kiss on her cheekbone, "That is so much better…" She smiled.

She tried to say something, but she stopped and held her throat, instead, opting to cuddled against her and close her eyes.

"Did you hurt your throat…?" Phaedra's eyes grew with worry, "Do you want me to fetch you some blood?" She shook her head, giving her a squeeze. "Alright…" She said slowly, practically cradling her, "You enjoyed yourself, at least?"

She gave a weak nod.

"Good…good…" Phaedra pet her hair again, "Let us get some rest then…"

She gave a weak couple of coughs, "Am…am I going to die?" She asked fearfully, "Is…is he going to execute me…?"

"No…"

She squeezed her eyes shut, "So I won't die?"

"No."

She squeezed her, sniffing and shuddering a little.

"Shh…shh….don't cry." Phaedra held her tighter, "You will be safe here. You're cared for."

"Okay." She said quietly.

"Goodnight dear…." She kissed her forehead.

"Goodnight…"

* * *

Ferrum awoke swaddled in an absurd number of blankets, with a damp cloth over his head, Miranda was watching over him, "Do you feel better?"

He took a moment to reach up under those blankets and rub one of his eyes, "Ugh…I feel like I'm gonna suffocate…" He tried to free both arms, "Is this what it's like to be a baby?"

"No…" She looked away, "I didn't want you to be cold…"

He chuckled a bit, "I don't get cold." He squirmed a bit more, "You…uh…wanna get me out of here?"

She giggled madly, "You can't escape the blankets?" She asked, reaching over and pulling them off, so he was free to roam around her room.

"Ah, thanks." He pat her head before he gave an irritated sigh, "That damn lunatic in the streets…I oughtta pound him for this…"

"Yes, it seems this Sabbat houses many more…knowledgeable players than I or anyone else had originally thought."

"Does Strauss know about this guy?"

"Not at the moment." She said, "Cadmus or I will tell him soon. Once we make sure you and he are fully recovered."

"Yeah, I'm better. I kinda wanna know how the hell he did that."

"It's…a high power of Dementation, I would assume…higher than anything I've ever seen. I don't think I've ever seen a Malkavian as old and strong as he, aside from perhaps Therese Voerman…"

"Then killing him should be even more fun."

"It wouldn't be easy, though." She said, "Unless you enjoying having long fights with someone without eye contact."

"…guess that would get kinda difficult…"

She nodded, sitting on the couch and crossing her legs, "This Sabbat seems a bit more dangerous…but, as you pointed out, its leader is fueled by revenge…"

"Yeah…" He mused, "Maybe if I kill that jackass, the others will scamper off…"

"I don't think killing him would ideally solve anything. You would get hurt again."

He grunted out something inaudible, then crossed his arms and turned around, "Where can I get new clothes?"

"I could take you shopping, if you'd like."

"Oh yeah? That sounds good, I guess. I found some money Cadmus gave me a while ago."

"Very well. Did you want to go tonight?"

"Yeah, let's get it over with."

She nodded, they went down the stairs and headed out through the lobby. Ferrum really had no clue where the nearest store was, so he trailed Miranda until they walked into a clothing store. He scrunched his nose up and looked around, "Smells like chemicals…and why the hell is it so bright?"

"Yes, well, luckily, men don't have as much as an acquired taste, so we'll be out of this place quickly." She smiled.

"Well, I gotta make sure you like it too." He said bluntly as he looked around, slowly absorbing the signs, sales and people swarming around. Miranda would guide him around occasionally, and in some cases, prevent him from making an embarrassing mistake as he was hardly used to society due to his roots. Eventually he grabbed a handful of clothes, "Guess I'll try these on to see if they fit." He grumbled before he pat her head, "Stay out of trouble."

"I'll do what I can." She smiled.

After about five to ten minutes of puttering around, Miranda felt someone tap her shoulder from behind, and turned to see Ferrum looking actually rather presentable.

With his hair tied back, he had some composure to him, and the black button down top he wore had the slightest tinge of green that matched his eyes. The black pants helped too, as did the dark purple loosened tie and shiny dress shoes, "This good?"

She gave a quick nod, "Are you sure that's comfortable for you?"

"Yeah, I can manage." He rolled the sleeves up, "You didn't want to get anything?"

"No, I'm quite content with this."

"Alright." He said, after checking out and heading out, he put his hands in his pockets and walked back to the red tower with her, "Not that you need anything more, but I did get you something."

"Hmm?" She asked, "What did you get me?"

He reached in his pocket and took out a little box, handing it to her. When she opened it up, she saw a gorgeous necklace with a little diamond pendant.

Her eyes widened, "You bought me a necklace?"

"Yeah."

She smiled, giving him a hug and kissing him briefly, "Thank you."

"Uh huh." He smiled back, "You don't have to wear it if you don't like it."

"I'll wear it in the tower, when I'm not moving around so much."

"Alright." He put his hands back in his pockets, "So it ain't a complete waste then." They were almost back before Ferrum stood still, like a statue. He faced down the street and narrowed his eyes, like he could see something ahead, but nothing appeared to be there.

"Ferrum?" Miranda asked, stopping after she took a step or two ahead of him, "What's wrong?"

"You hear that?"

"Hear what?"

He started walking down the street, looking livid. As Miranda followed after him, he eventually stopped and stared at a man standing in the corner, playing a saxophone. He had dark skin and thinning black hair, a rather grizzly look to his face, and a snazzy taste in fashion. The music he was playing sounded smooth and pleasant, a few people dropped bills in the instrument case.

"Ferrum, wait! Where are you going?" Miranda followed him.

He just snarled, staring at the man from a distance, "Forget it. Let's go."

She nodded, nervously leading the way back to the red tower. As they headed back, she heard one of the most grazed and dry voice she ever had, "Steadman?"

Ferrum's face lit up with anger before he turned around to face the man, "What?" He asked, his voice had quite the bite to it.

The man walked over and laughed, a bit of a hobble to his walk, "Look at you! You're lookin' good! Thought you kicked the bucket!"

His face was unflinching, "Are we done here?"

He shamelessly eyed over Miranda, "Nice catch…what's a kid like you doin' with her, eh? You oughtta leave the girls like that to the experts."

"Uh huh."

"Real piece a' work, she is…"

He turned away and started walking off.

"We should catch up, you know. Get a bite to eat somewhere."

"You know what, old man?" Ferrum turned around, "No. I never want to see you again. Now that I got money, you care about me, huh? When I was street trash, I was nothing. Now I hit a lucky break and all of a sudden I'm your best buddy?"

"I'm not gonna spend my time with a homeless kid, that's terrible for business. So are kids in general!" He laughed.

He growled and turned away, "Whatever."

"Hey, careful with that one, alright? Don't knock 'er up too easy, it's pretty easy to screw yourself over with kids!"

Miranda turned around and walked back with Ferrum, squeezing his hand occasionally as they went back to her room.

"I should have just killed him."

She closed the door behind herself, "I could have done that myself, if that was your wish. It would have been painless, too." She said, "Did he abandon you?"

"Yeah." He paced back and forth a bit, then stepped forward and held the back of her head, kissing her lips with the vigor of a brewing storm.

She returned the kiss, hugging him back, "It's okay. I know he hurt you but it's over now. And I will never abandon you like he did. No one in the Camarilla will." She said, "Well…none of the good-hearted Kindred in the Camarilla, at least…"

"That's why I like it here with you."

She gave him a squeeze, "We should get to bed soon, the sun will come up."

"Yeah, that's a good idea." He kissed her forehead, "You got a lot of those."

* * *

 **A/N:** This was a cute chapter. Thanks for reading!


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N:** Here's chapter twenty-six! Plenty of planning, strategizing and acting, enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs.

* * *

Connections were nice. Even nicer when nobody knew about them.

What made it all even better was the internet.

Free, (well, to an extent,) access to the internet, free access to people's emails, (with enough work,) and public advertisements. Slap them together, and you get a very enjoyable night, by a Nosferatu's standards. Or, maybe that was just Gary.

Nothing brought him quite as much joy as toying with people. Kine included. There was always the occasional smart cookie, like Mitnick, who would just happen to have the golden touch when it came to technology, and a blind eye to good morals. That was the kicker. It was one thing to be good with computers, another to be willing to screw people over with them.

That's where she came along. Yes, it was a she. He wouldn't have cared, if not for the special connection he had made with the Prince's help. And, very much like the new Prince, he was quite good with keeping his lips sealed for people who've done him good. Keeping their secrets was like riding a bike.

She made viruses. Big whoop. He started tracking her progress years ago. She had a few kinks in her work, (which he usually exploited for the hell of it,) and that was that. But occasionally they'd hear about some hacker who wired money from some big name corporations, and couldn't be tracked. Whatever, novice work. Nothing that intrigued him. Hackers sprouted up every day, like weeds. Cressida was already on his case about siring too many Nosferatu, he'd put on his big-boy pants and move on with it.

Years later there was a news report. A company of 'masterminds' behind a series of robberies, burglaries and virtual-economic shut-downs were caught, but slipped through their fingers like worms. They had mugshots, of course, of a few of the faces that were caught. That's when he started paying attention.

The girl had to be seventeen, at most. Maybe eighteen. If she started this at least a decade ago, she was making viruses at age ten. And hacking networks at twelve. If her face wasn't pretty enough, (he'd give her a six,) then the mental-corruption was.

So he started digging into her. Looking to see exactly what he could get off of her. And it was hard. This girl _was_ a genius. After getting caught, she literally went through and deleted all traces of herself off of the internet. All emails, all cookies, all of everything. So he had to go the long way around. He intended to go through her parents account, but either she didn't have any, or they were fossils and didn't have any sort of access to technology. It was a side project, figuring her out. But, since Strauss was still situating himself, more or less, he had a nice long sprawl of free time.

A grin was the only way he could express how lucky was to stumble into her new email account. He cracked his gnarled knuckles and began typing away.

He kept his message clear and concise, without making it look like spam, "Do you have a talent for technology? Do you need some quick cash? Reply now!" _No, scratch that_. "Do you have a talent for technology? Do you need some quick cash? Send 1 if you're interested, or call the number below!"

Sent. Was it risky to give her his personal number? No, he kept his personal information separate from work, like a good employee. Not that his personal information really existed. Most if not all of his contacts were now dead, or at least on their way to their graves.

He hardly had to wait a minute before she deleted the email. _Damn_. At least she was active and currently on her computer. Of course she was. What else did she do? He quickly typed up another one. Clearly discussing business was not on the agenda.

He mashed in another generic sender that would be untraceable, "Lonely? Looking for a fun night out on the town?" He was cringing himself, but it was mixed with a devious chuckle, "Call this number for a free ticket to see a live performance in Santa Monica!" _Does Jeanette count as a live performance?_ "Can't wait to see you there!"

Deleted again. _Dammit. This girl's good._ So if she wasn't a socialite, and she wasn't a tech geek, she must have been somewhere in the middle.

"Do you miss your days in high school? Do you dread them? We have good news for you, Keys!" That was her last name, at least. He had no idea what her first name was, she only went by Keys. "Send 'takemeback' to schedule a seat for you at our reunion! Your friends will be waiting!" He sent it. Calling wasn't going to work. She wouldn't pick up, she was too nervous. But behind screens, he knew he could squeeze out a few good drops of information.

"takemeback". He blinked a few times, almost dumbfounded that it worked.

 _Gotcha._ "What is your first name?"

"Why do you need that? Doesn't sound important to me."

 _Shit, is she already onto me?_

To answer his question, there was another response, "Just stop fucking emailing me."

 _Ah, shit._ "I know who you are. I know what you've done. I can help."

"Who are you, the FBI or some shit? Leave me alone, I'm not Keys, it's just a coincidence."

"There's no such thing as coincidences. You have a talent, I've been watching you for years."

"Creep."

Gary laughed. When was the last time he had this much fun? Oh, he was going to turn her into a monstrosity, "So you've given up on denial so quickly." He tried plugging her email in other places elsewhere, but really came up with nothing. There was information about where she worked, but he really didn't care about any of that, "You've made yourself invisible."

"Yeah, your point?"

"Call." He typed his number down again.

"No way in hell, you freak. It's impressive enough that you can use a computer, but just leave me alone. My name is Erik Keys, I'm an engineer in Massachusetts, alright? I'm not this psycho criminal bitch."

"Where did you go to school, Erik?"

"Ohio State."

Gary laughed, "Engineer, huh? That requires a trade school. You can't just attend any old university and be an engineer."

His phone started ringing. He had to contain his laughter before he picked up, "Why hello. I see you've decided to take up my offer."

Her voice sounded young with a slight rasp to it. Must have been a smoker. "What the hell do you want? I can kick your ass, pal, if you're some stalker."

"There's no need for such hostility." He said, "The name's Gary."

"Great, _Gary_. Leave me the fuck alone."

"Your work has attracted my attention. I'd like to meet face to face, discuss business. It wasn't just a spam email, you know. Another hair clogging the drains. No, I was serious about payment. You're involved in a risky field, at such a young age. You get caught and there's no saying what will happen. Life in prison certainly doesn't sound fun if you haven't even hit your twenties."

"I'm not gonna get caught."

"Hmph. Maybe you're right. You do make a lot of good choices. But, and here's the punchline, what if you didn't have to? What if you didn't have to worry about virus protection, isolation from the government, security and reliability, hmm? What if that was just a thing of the past?"

"That's impossible."

"It's not. How else do you think I contacted you, dollface?"

There was a slight pause, "What's the catch?"

"You might never see the sunlight again."

She laughed, it sounded loose and bubbly for how angered she seemed before, "Yeah. Alright. I'll play your little game. But I got connections if you try and screw me over."

 _You're not the only one with connections._ "Meet me in the Hollywood Mausoleum."

"Ugh…seriously? Can't we just meet in like…a nice diner somewhere?"

"Do you want to be heard?"

"Fine. Give me an hour and a half."

"Course. See you then." He hung up and paused, shocked that she actually agreed, let alone called. But it was no time for playing around. He had to make preparations.

He went into his room. Really, he didn't go there often, but he still had it in case he did decide to sleep. He grabbed a pocket mirror from the shelf and had a good look at himself, "Oh, this should be good fun."

On his way towards the exit, he grabbed a few blood bags from a cooler, before he heard footsteps behind himself.

"Gary."

"What?" He rolled his eyes and turned to see Cressida.

"The hell are you doing?" She snarled.

"Work. Don't wait up for me."

"Work…" She snorted, "It's that girl, isn't it? You're head over heels for?"

"Oh please. Go make sure the idiots don't screw anything up. Oh, and take my calls for me."

"Do I look like a secretary to you? Gary? Gary!"

Her voice drowned out as he made it to the surface, a chilling wind didn't help the feeling of the rain as it fell. He lurked behind the Mausoleum until he heard footsteps, and they weren't Romero's. So, he entered the little building and leaned against a wall inside, using a new trick he was so proud to have learned.

He looked in his mirror to see his face again. He was attractive for his fifties, of course he was. His hair only slightly gray, slicked back perfectly, with a sharp jawline and prominent cheekbones. He had the perfect mustache-goatee combo, nothing too much and nothing too little.

The door swung open as a figure walked in, so he put his mirror away and looked up. She wasn't thin, but she wasn't heavy-set either. Somewhere in the middle. Most of her weight was in her thighs, he had to guess, her chest wasn't the most gifted aspect. She had muddy boots on, lacy black leggings that were delectably gothic, and very short black shorts. That's where his eyes were drawn too first, at least.

"Hey, my eyes are up here." She crossed her arms, and he granted her eye contact. Her hair was dyed bright red, her face looked a lot different from her mugshot. She likely changed her hair to save her case. It was a little longer than a pixie-cut, with asymmetric bangs covering one of her gray eyes.

He held a hand out, "Gary."

She shook it firmly, "Yeah, I got that from the phone call." She rolled up her purple flannel and shook his hand.

"Now is when you tell me your name." He grinned.

She looked up at his face, then looked away. No doubt, there was a touch of color there. How good it felt to be himself again. "I'm not telling you yet. I still can't trust you."

"You're right." He snickered, feeling his blood pool slowly diminishing. He had five minutes left, at most. He ran his fingers over his beard, he missed that too, "So tell me, dollface, how much is this company paying you?"

She sighed, blowing her bangs out of her face, "One-thirty-six an hour. Four or five days a week. Six hours."

"Not bad. What would you say to…one grand a day, five times a week?"

"…how many hours?"

"However many you'd like."

"…so I could come in for five minutes…and…?"

"Take the money and run. You got it. So long as…none of my agents tell me you were slacking." He said, "But you'll find I'm a reasonable fellow. Slacking isn't really a problem with me."

"Uh huh…" She paused, "So you want me to quit. I climbed to the top of the ladder, you know."

"I know. I know well how that works. I won't knock you down that far, sweetheart." He reached forward and held her cheek, her face turned redder than a tomato, "Just a few pegs." He smiled, "But I need some sort of aspiration in that little heart of yours. I already know you're the ambitious sort."

"Uh huh…" He heard her heart flutter, "Yeah. I'll do it."

"Excellent. You just have to do one thing." He let go of her face.

"This…this is that condition, huh?"

"I need a name, first of all."

"A name…?" She asked, then crossed her arms when she meet his gaze. "Brook. It's…uh…it's Brooklyn. But…just call me Brook."

"Brook for me, is it? Why is that?" He stepped forward and held her face again, loving the way she heated up under his touch.

"Get off of me." She stepped back, "Cuz'. Alright? Happy?"

He snickered, then his eyes widened, "Oh, a spider landed on you. Let me get it." He reached forward to brush the 'arachnid' aside before he grabbed her shoulders and suddenly bit into her neck. He didn't drink much, just enough to knock her senses out. His Obfuscate fell and he rolled up his sleeve, slicing a gash in his wrist with his fangs. He then brought her lips to the wound and she instinctively began drinking.

His grin grew before he gently leaned her against the wall and disappeared, slinking back into the warrens.

She'd be running back to find him in days.

* * *

"Did you have any plans for today?" Catalina asked, sucking down a blood bag and tossing the bag in the trash.

Cissy shut her cell phone, her thumbs dancing across the keypad merely seconds before, "No…did you?"

"Have I…told you about the Anarchs yet?"

"If you have, I don't remember."

"Okay, there are like…three sides to this…well, actually five…if you count the Kuei-Jin and the humans. I'm with a group called the Anarchs, we're all about freedom, I didn't know if you wanted to come to one of the meetings or not."

"Sounds like fun."

"Cool, let's go." Catalina showed Cissy to the Last Round, taking her to the second floor, "Guys, I brought my friend. Her name is Cissy."

The Anarchs more or less stared at her, "Cissy, huh?" Nines broke the silence, "Nice to meet you." He held a hand out.

She stepped forward and shook his hand, looking around the place, "Huh, it's kinda nice up here…so you're all vampires…?"

Skelter crossed his arms, "How green is she?"

"Kinda…very…" Catalina looked embarrassed as she sat down, "I started teaching her what things were, but…there's only so much you can go over in a week or two. She was Caitiff until I found her."

"What clan?" Nines asked as Cissy played with the torn up edge of one of the tattered posters on the wall.

"Ravnos." Cissy said.

"…what?" Skelter asked, "…you ain't dead?"

"Well, I mean, if I'm standing here, I'm only half way there." She put a hand on her hip and turned to him.

"Skelter, relax. She has no idea about any of the history of her clan, any of the…details." Nines said, "Right?"

"Yeah." Cissy said, "I was high one night, dead the other. Not exactly the way one would expect…but…"

Skelter still seemed unsettled, "He could still be around then."

"I don't know." Cissy said, "I don't know who they were, anything about that night."

"I've never seen a Ravnos before…" Anastasia muttered quietly.

"Well…again, she's still sort of new…" Catalina said, "I…I sort of wanted to show her that the Anarchs are the right way to go."

"In that case, she's more than welcome here." Nines said, before he smirked, "So long as she doesn't blow the place up."

"I wouldn't do that." Cissy looked at Nines with a firm look to her face.

"Mmm hmm…that's what they all say…"

Cissy sat at the same table Sirius was at, "And who does that make you?"

"Sirius." Sirius said as his snake-tongue flickered out, "Gotta say, it's interesting to see a Ravnos alive, especially after the Week of Nightmares…"

"What can I say?" She smiled, "Guess I'm special. What clan are you?"

"A Follower of Set."

"Yeah, just…just careful around the Setites…" Catalina said.

"Pfft, she lives with an Assamite assassin, so…I don't think _I'm_ going to bother her."

"Why should I be careful around him?" She looked back at Catalina.

"It's because my clan is full of spying backstabbers." Sirius answered for her, "But…all clans have bad Kindred in it, so I mean the same thing could be said about any vampire you meet."

Her black lips spread in a smile, "I don't think you're a lying backstabber. You have my trust."

"Oh yeah?"

"Uh huh."

"So did anyone see any more Sabbat activity recently?" Anastasia asked.

"I heard some down the street last night. Screaming, at least, I assumed Sabbat was behind it. By the time I went to handle things, streets were clear." Nines said.

"Anyone dead?" Skelter asked.

"Not even a drop of blood. Whole scene looked off. Not sure what the hell went down."

"I hope it wasn't anything like that giant flesh monster…" Anastasia shuddered.

"Oh yeah, I heard about that giant freaking thing…well, was it any fun?" Sirius asked.

"The Tzimisce creation? Would have been a blast if Madison didn't show up." Nines said.

"Who? That Tremere guy? Ah, you guys better be careful, he's a Primogen now." Sirius said.

A horrid silence. "No…" Anastasia shuddered, her head hitting the table.

"Yup." He nodded, "So even if someone did kill him, it'd be a Blood Hunt…"

"He's Tremere?" Catalina asked, "I could try and assassinate him."

"But he has Auspex." Sirius said, "Hell, I remember you lecturing me about that when I was talking about killing Voerman."

"I'm not talking about Obfuscate. I'm talking about Quietus." She said, "It removes the sound from my body. Killing him would be easy, but it wouldn't be impossible either, I would just have to make sure no one saw that I did it."

Nines crossed his arms, "You're our trump card, kid. I didn't want to have to think about a plan like that unless things are dwindling down, but…as things are, attacks are a-go. They've made it clear the Sabbat are the only reason they've been 'neglecting' us. We have no reason not to go ahead and deal with them, besides the fact we can't enter the red tower."

"So…you want me to kill him?"

"Eh, but even if we did, they'd get another Tremere to replace him." Sirius said, "Our ideal winning conditions would be to slaughter them all at once, instead of one at a time, or else they'll just fill in the blanks. Of course…mass slaughter as a battle tactic hasn't been used since like, the Dark Ages…"

Nines really seemed to think about it. "We have the numbers, but they have the Tremere."

"Tremere can be a bitch like that. If it was any other clan dominating the Camarilla in this state, we'd have won by now."

"If I am going to hunt him, I need to know what he looks like." Catalina said.

"He has short blonde hair, blue eyes, wears all black, a black trench coat…really scrawny." Anastasia said.

"…I think a guy with that description made me sleep in a dumpster…" Cissy blinked a few times.

"Wait…" Catalina looked at her, " _That's_ why you were in the dumpster?"

"Yeah, he did some sort of mind thing on me, I think."

"Dominate." Sirius crossed his arms, "As long as he's older than you, when he tells you to do something, you do it."

"Oh, Catalina, please…kill Victor…please…" Anastasia practically leaped out of her chair, "I…I need the nightmares to go away, please kill him…"

Catalina looked nervous at all the attention, "I mean, if I fail…he'll…smear me onto the wall…but…" She clenched her fists, "After what they did to my clan…I have to admit, I'm a little fired up…"

Sirius laughed, "That's the spirit!"

Nines got out a cigarette, "Damsel, come up here." He called, before he looked back at everyone else, "We'll need reinforcements. We can't risk losing her."

"But then we'll lose the element of surprise." Catalina said.

"I don't mean visible reinforcements. I was thinking more along the lines of Sirius."

"Me?" Sirius asked.

"I trust your Obfuscate is impeccable."

He swallowed hard, "I mean…yeah…but…if he has Auspex up…for…for _whatever_ reason…it'll probably fuck the plan up…"

"Then we need someone else to be there to ensure he doesn't use it. Or we need to do it in a setting where he wouldn't."

"…he has Blood Boil, doesn't he?" Sirius asked, when he was met with solemn nods, he looked at Catalina, "Well, if we fuck it up, kid, it was nice knowing you, because I've seen people get boiled alive. It ain't a pretty way to die."

"That's why I should handle it myself." Catalina said, "Quietus will work regardless of whether he has Auspex up or not."

"But, Nines has a point too, someone should help you. We'd feel bad if you just…never came back…"

"What about a little microphone?" Damsel asked, "So she can talk to us and we can tell if something goes wrong."

"That could work." Anastasia said.

"Where do we get one, is the question." Skelter said, "We don't exactly stock those."

"Oh…never mind then…"

"I don't think you guys would hear my voice anyway, with Quietus up…" Catalina said.

"Shit, we're back to square one…" Sirius said.

"What about just a normal tracker?" Skelter asked.

"Still won't tell us if she's in trouble." Nines said.

"A wire?" Damsel asked, "Could we hear through that?"

Catalina shook her head, "I don't think so…" Then she thought, "Although…it's for when I'm in danger…so…I would only have my Quietus up if everything was running smoothly, so…it…it could work…my answers would just be a little spotty."

A pause of excitement broke through, before Nines said, "You'd need a lot of blood on you. We have plenty, you'd just need to be able to carry it."

"Inside a jacket?"

"That should work."

"When are we carrying this out?" Damsel asked.

"Not yet." Nines said, "Give it at least a week, we all need to put our heads together and think of any possible ways it could backfire. This is one of the riskiest operations I've done in a while."

"But it would be killing Victor…" Anastasia quivered with excitement, "I'd say it's worth it."

"Tch, you're not even _doing it_." Sirius said, "If poor Catalina fucks up even a little, Victor has a-thousand ways to kill her."

"That's why we have to make sure there are no problems." Nines said, "If there are, we'll rework the plans."

"Right." Sirius said, "Jeez…if we pull this off, they'd all freak out…one of their best Tremere, dead."

"Teach them damn straight not to fuck with us." Damsel smiled, before she looked at Nines, "See, there's nothing to worry about."

"Sure." He pat her head, "I'm gonna go home and think this through."

"Time to go home?" Sirius asked, "Alright, I'm out." He said, as most of the other Anarchs began to leave.

* * *

"A nice place you have, down here." Edgar heard a voice from behind him.

Edgar turned around in his chair, "Hmm? Who are you?"

Gideon snickered, "I'd like it. Specifically, all the information on the Camarilla. I believe it's in one of this metal boxes, yes? It's a good I type faster than most secretaries."

Edgar got his sledgehammer out, "You better get outta here."

"Unfortunately I'm not a watermelon, so that won't work on me."

Cressida growled as she walked in, "I knew Gary shouldn't have left…who the hell is this, now?"

"This is your last chance, sewer rats. Give me what I want, and you'll all live." Gideon said.

"Unplug the computers, Edgar." Cressida said, her claws lighting up with Potence, "Hey, Barabus, you wanna help out, wherever you are?"

There was no answer to her call.

"We seriously need better organization…" She grumbled under her breath.

Gideon's Auspex flared up first, in addition to his eyes glowing red, blue flames lit up on various parts of his body. He held a hand out towards Cressida, immobilizing her with the same splitting head pain that he did to Cadmus and Miranda.

"No…" Edgar said, he turned to Gideon, in order to turn off the computers, he'd have to get Gideon out of the picture first. He ran at Gideon, clubbing in right in the face with his sledgehammer.

Gideon coughed up blood, Edgar found it a bit strange that he didn't even bother to dodge the attack, however, the blue flames on Gideon's body began to flare up a bit. He stood up again, opposing Edgar.

Footsteps were heard as Mitnick ran in, "Edgar? Oh, shit, who the hell is this?"

Gideon snickered, "I suppose if I stay here all night, I'll have to fight the entire species of rodent…" He said, holding a hand out to Edgar, as the purple mist of Dementation came out, "Look there, young one…it's all the mummies…the mummies of the snake goddess who imprisoned you! Fight for your freedom!"

Edgar growled like a savage beast, his eyes clouded and he was clearly not all there, he ran at Mitnick with his sledgehammer, firing up Potence.

Mitnick screamed and just barely ducked out of the way, "Pull yourself together Edgar, it's me!"

Gideon chuckled, "Try to kill each other quietly, I'm going to be doing a lot of reading." He sat at Edgar's computer, looking up everything there was to know about the Los Angeles Camarilla.

* * *

 **A/N:** Gideon's getting things done…but, so are the Anarchs. And so are the Camarilla? Maybe things aren't as one sided as they seem…and, let's not forget about the less present sects… ;) Thanks for reading!


	27. Chapter 27

**A/N:** Here's chapter twenty-seven! [double-upload!] Miss all the drama? Here it is! Enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs.

* * *

It wasn't often that Slade got voicemails, and really, it was almost scary. He figured it had to be someone from the red tower, but he didn't recognize the caller ID at all. He pressed the button on the answering machine.

"Slade." That gravelly voice was impossible to mistake, "Appears fate gave me a grapefruit and expected me to make lemonade. I'll be gone until I figure out how. Don't look for me. If I die, seek vengeance, unless my death is by the hands of some…unconquerable being. Choose your battles wisely. I know you always do. Don't call back. I love you." The line died.

Slade twitched with fear, and perhaps rage, "We're going to the Skyline apartments. Now."

Tess walked in from the bathroom, where the washer and dryer were, "Hmm?"

"Dragomir just left a message. Apparently he skipped town."

"…did he say why?"

"I don't know, he said something bad happened to him." He said, "Who the hell could it be? Sabbat? Anarchs?"

"It could be anything…" She said, her expression dropping a bit, "Let's go."

They headed for the Skyline apartments, going into Dragomir and Genevieve's room, "Hey, Dragomir?" Slade started yelling, "Dragomir? Dragomir!" He looked around, "Genevieve?" He asked, "Damn it, no sign of either of them…"

"Did he mention anything about Genevieve?"

"No…nothing…" He clenched his fists, "Damn it, what the hell happened to him?"

She walked over to the counter and picked up a note, "Look at this."

 _Dear Genevieve,_

 _Seconds called to me. At first I thought time, I had not anticipated sins. I put you and Slade in enough trouble as it is with the first, and cannot handle the thought of putting you through another. I am gone. This is an act of love, please understand, having me in your life would only truncate it exponentially. The love we have will never die, though I might, and in that case, I wish you the best of luck. Find Greenhorn, and stay with him, stay with all those who know me, who trusted me, and make alliances. It will keep you in this life. I love you, my dearest solace. Burn this after read._

At least his handwriting was nice. Tess put the note down and combed her fingers through her hair, "Is this similar to what he told you?" Slade's hands shook, he fell back on Dragomir and Genevieve's couch, holding his head and tearing up. "Slade…" She sat next to him and gently held him, "You know how he is…he's…a tough nut to crack." She held one of his hands and squeezed it, "I'm sure he's fine…"

"We need to find him, though. Both of them."

"I agree."

"I'm going to call everyone who knew Dragomir…this…this can be a team effort…and we'll find them both…"

"So long as nobody's…busy with other things, I think it should work."

Slade stood up, heading back to the red tower with Tess to make some calls.

* * *

"Dragomir and Genevieve are missing?" Angelique heard Cadmus's voice on the phone, "Did they leave a clue as to where they went?" He ran a hand through his hair, "Uh…I'll…try to help…but…the war against the Sabbat is full-blown…my help will be spotty at best…but, I'll what I can. Okay Slade, goodbye." He hung up.

"What happened to the Malkavians?" Angelique asked.

"They're missing, apparently." He said, "No sign of them in their apartment, or in the tower, or anywhere."

"Missing? That…really could mean anything, with them."

"I have to help find them…of course…I'm swamped as it is."

"I'll help too."

He smiled, "That's what I love about you."

* * *

"Dragomir and Genevieve have gone missing?" Miranda asked, "Right…no clue as to where they went…or…why? Was there a reason why?" She asked, "No…no reason…well, I'll do what I can, Mister Lockwood, though things are getting a bit busy in here, as you must know. Yes, of course. Goodbye." She hung up.

"Those names sound familiar but I can't remember exactly who's who." Ferrum said, laying on the couch and watching TV.

"They were a Malkavian couple, which we worked with a few times." She said, sitting next to him and crossing her legs, "Apparently they dropped off the face of the planet while scarcely leaving a trace."

"Huh…think the Sabbat got to 'em?"

"It…it is an unfortunate possibility…"

"Dammit." He sat up, "Why are we sitting on our asses then? Let's go do something."

"Yes of course." She smiled and stood up, "I must say, I admire your drive."

* * *

Victor hung the landline up, sitting back where he was in the study with Iphigenia, "Apparently that poor chap, Dragomir, and his lover, Genevieve, have been missing for days now…" He mused as he picked up one of the textbooks for 'Lure of Flames.'

"Missing?" Iphigenia sat up, "Really? Any reason why?"

"No, unfortunately." He said, "Mister Lockwood sounded, very broken up about the entire affair, I imagine Miss Perry must feel similar…supposedly they all knew each other since high school."

She gave a slight nod, "Well…I suppose we could look for them. I am, at least, I'm not sure if you had anything you needed to attend to."

He thought about it, "Being a Magister and a Primogen makes tasks like these difficult…this may have to be a whole-Chantry effort…"

"Then I'll contact the other apprentices."

"Yes, thank you, Iphigenia."

* * *

"This is unfortunate."

"Yes. Quite."

"Perhaps we should…try again." Phaedra smirked, "Phaedra. Lovely to meet you." She held a hand out.

"I'd rather not."

"Mister Parker, are you new here?"

"To this city, yes. To the Camarilla, no."

"Ah. You see, for me, it is the opposite."

"I don't care about you."

"Very well." She looked away, "You're rather acidic, you know. You won't last long if your will is as brittle as ice. You must be like water and have some give, otherwise you close yourself out of opportunities."

He didn't dignify whatever she said with a response.

She looked ahead, the hilly field they were in was a bit gar away from downtown, perhaps the logic behind it being that they would find a Sabbat influence, or at the very least, a warehouse, "I suppose we're out to hunt Sabbat. We can chat another time."

"Glad you've finally caught the message."

"Well, well, it looks like the old hag purchased herself a parrot." Phaedra heard a familiar voice from behind her, turning to see Poe and a large man standing at his side.

"There's one." She said, pointing, "Attack."

"… _what?_ " Derek turned to her, "You expect me to attack? Ugh, you're simply useless." He held out a hand as a blue glow clouded his hand, then Poe's, but nothing happened.

"Hmm. How old are you in Kindred years?"

"…sixteen…"

"Oh. Yes, I'm far older, you're the useless one then. Try the big one." She pointed to Gottfried.

"I don't think we have time to stand around and select who I should murder!" He snapped as Phaedra got out her axe to prepare for battle.

Poe laughed at their display, "I'd say this fight is already decided." His eyes flickered over to the large man, "Gottfried, kill her chimp. I'll take on the hag herself, we have unfinished business." His smirk grew.

"Yes, sir." Gottfried flashed away, flashing in front of Derek, slamming him with a Potence-laced fist before Derek even knew what was what.

Phaedra watched as Derek was taken out in one hit, then she turned to Poe with a smile, "Hello Polonius. How have you been? Thriving and well, I see."

Poe grit his teeth, pulling his sword out and dashing at her. Phaedra felt a powerful scar tear into her, up from her chest and nearly through her neck. It was clear that he just attempted to decapitate her. She coughed up blood and stumbled back, holding her neck and shuddering, "Dear god…I've made you quite upset…" She looked over at Gottfried, "If I couldn't handle one, I don't think I can take both…"

Poe looked at Gottfried, "That one is still alive, make sure he turns to ash." He then looked at Phaedra, "I'll help you in a minute, this one's head is still attached…" Gottfried nodded, slamming one of his electrified fists into Derek's body, blood sprayed everywhere.

Phaedra clutched her axe tighter, "You know, it's rather unfair, that speed of yours. Nothing of mine can really keep up with it. Besides, perhaps…" She held a hand out, "Let's try naptime."

The glow went around his head but did nothing, "Face it, you're outmatched. Your entire organization."

"Ah hah…who's the hag now?" She smiled

"I let you live last time. I won't make that mistake twice."

She held her axe firm in one hand, and started summoning zombies with the other, "We'll see about that."

Poe dashed towards her, luckily she blocked it with her axe, but the force from his sword was unlike anything she had ever felt. The bite behind it, the hatred, she didn't _think_ he was using any offensive Disciplines, (though there could be something Poe wasn't telling her about the Ishtarri Clan). She had to use both hands to hold him back, the heels of her boots considering giving out with the amount off force she put on them. While their faces were just inches apart, she managed to smile, "Your hair actually looks quite nice like that. Your hair is very nice in general."

Poe scowled, since both her hands were more than concentrated on her axe, he used his free hand to uppercut her in the stomach, growling as he did so. Even his bare fists had a burning passion behind them.

Any still air in her lungs was expelled as she stumbled back, holding her stomach, "What a low blow…" She wheezed, holding her axe out defensively.

"Did you want me to aim for your head again?"

"No, no, that's alright…perhaps an area with more…flesh and less organs…"

Poe dashed in, this time he was too fast for her to defend, he slashed her right where he punched her earlier, this time he was clearly forcing a fall from her. She gasped and fell on her rear, her axe tumbling to the ground. She held an arm over her face, her other hand out to summon a specter last minute.

Poe growled, "This again…" He fumed, "Gottfried, get rid of this ghost…" Gottfried nodded, abandoned Derek's maimed body to fight the specter.

Still with Celerity on, Poe leapt in the air, trying to plunge his sword through Phaedra's downed body. Phaedra hardly rolled out of the way, grabbing for her axe and stumbling to her feet, rearing back to slam the blade into his back. He dashed back slightly, but his sword was still stuck in the ground. He held in hands in a fighting position. She chuckled, lunging forward to slice him in the shoulder.

Poe dashed out of the way again, "Even without my weapon, you can't hit me. Face it, your Dominate is useless on me, Necromancy is far too slow for me, and Auspex will only prolong your agonizing death. You living this long is a joke as far as I'm concerned." He crossed his arms.

"And yet you have yet to kill me, so clearly, I have some sort of survival skills."

"In your case, dumb luck." He said, "Huge emphasis on _dumb_."

She chuckled softly, "If you insist." She clicked her axe handle to the ground, "Derek, I think we should retreat about now."

No response.

"…suppose I'll have to give him a lift back." She mused, then looked back at Poe and Gottfried, "Well, it was lovely to see you gentlemen again, I do hope we meet again. Perhaps as friends?"

"You're dying out here, hag. Mark my words." Poe pointed at her, "You told me that I best stay on your good side, Phaedra the husband-eater…then I fought you for two minutes, and realized how pathetic you are." He smiled, "Why don't you just admit you're beat, and roll over and die for me? Because you're not escaping Gottfried and I, and if you think you were going to escape, you're even dumber than I thought, which would be _really_ saying something astronomical."

"I'm sure if you were in my shoes, you would have eaten him as well. Besides, I was famished."

"I say he got off easy."

She laughed, "Well, he had to put up with me for ten years."

He ran right past her, hastily trying to pull his sword from the ground. She held her arms out and pushed against him with the opposite force, more or less tackling him to the ground. Poe flew back, being completely pinned down by Phaedra, "Unhand me, you dirty hag." He growled.

She held his wrists with both hands, her legs wrapped around his, her hips atop his. She leaned in so their faces were inches apart. "I could do a lot with you from here, Polonius. And you dare imply me unimaginative." She smirked.

"Is this how you exact your karmic retribution to your husband?" He raised a brow, "By objectifying other men?"

"Good question. I merely find it amusing, is all, how I've essentially taken the words you spoke, and suddenly stuffed them back into that big mouth of yours. What disciplines are you going to use on me from here, hmm? What weapon will you pull? I'm not pathetic, our styles are simply different. There are hundreds of types of intelligence you know, just because someone doesn't share your particular kind doesn't make them unintelligent."

"Oh yes, I forgot about your _obsession_ with lecturing me…"

She chuckled softly, "I don't have an obsession with lecturing you. I have an obsession with history. Which, I think, ties into you a bit. I like people because I like to learn their history…yours is certainly one that confounds me. I'm obsessed over that."

"If you don't get off me, you're going to be sorry."

"Suppose I'll never get to see what your lips feel like against mine, what a shame." She gave a devious smirk before she suddenly jumped up off of him, grabbed her axe, stuck it on her back, and grabbed for Derek. Trying to make a break for it now was at least some sort of progress, she hoped. She seemed to get her wish, as Poe was too preoccupied with pulling his sword out of the ground, and Gottfried was still battling her specter. Phaedra and Derek lived to fight another day.

* * *

As soon as the door opened and closed, Raven pulled her hood down and smiled at her childe, "Hi Rainy."

"Hello." Rainy gave a small bow, she looked a little distraught over something.

At least all the maps were gone, and all the books about travelling were gone, the signs of moving. "Is something wrong?"

"I've just…" She sat next to her, "I've just had some nightmares…nothing new…with me…" She looked at her hands.

Raven scooted in closer and put an arm around her shoulders, "Is it anything you'd like to talk about?"

She felt her shaking, "Someone in the Camarilla said I should be executed…"

She looked rather upset, "No…that isn't true. I ensured our safety with the Prince. He allowed us in his domain."

"I know." She hugged herself, "I'm just…scared now…"

"Don't be scared. Even if you were brought to the Prince to be executed, he would deny the accusations."

She sniffed, trying to brush the tears away from her eyes, "It's…it's just been so much lately…I'm sorry…I feel so stressed…"

Raven closed her eyes and held Rainy's head closer to her chest, "As long as you're with me, you're safe. I'll always take care of you."

"You will?"

"Of course."

She cried quietly for a little, as she held Raven, trying to calm her nerves.

"Shh…" Raven gently rubbed her side, keeping her close, "If you ever need any help with anything, I'll be there to help you. No matter what. You just need to ask."

"Mmm-hmm…" She said.

"Did you want me to go find a blood pack to drink from?"

"No, that's okay." Rainy said, getting cozy in her arms, "I like just…being here…"

"Okay." She smiled, "Well, we can stay here as long as you'd like."

"…Raven…?"

"Mmm hmm?"

"Why did you Embrace me?"

Raven paused for a moment, before she went back to rubbing one of Rainy's shoulders, "Because I was lonely. And…when I met you, you made me feel…not so alone…I was too scared to lose you."

"Because…I'm not good at anything…I'm not strong…like other vampires…"

"None of us are at first, Rainy. You're still young."

"But…even amongst young Kindred…I feel like I'm…behind…"

"That has quite a bit to do with our clan as well…" She said, "Our disciplines don't exactly allow for violence…so it isn't necessarily fair to compare yourself to others. We're pacifists…we heal. I've never involved myself in fighting…"

"Okay…I just feel like…my weakness…is going to get you killed one day…"

"It won't."

She gave Raven a small squeeze, relaxing a little.

Raven gently rested her head on top of Rainy's, keeping an arm wrapped around her waist, "If I didn't have you here, I would be killed much sooner than I would if you were here."

"Don't say that." She said, "Even if you didn't become friends with me, someone as sweet as you would find someone to spend time with soon."

She gave a small smile, "I wish it were that simple."

"I think it is. You're a lot harder on yourself than you should be. I think you're really nice and sweet."

She shook her head, "Thank you Rainy…that means a lot to me."

"I…really like you. I think you're cool." She said. _Okay Rainy, maybe stop talking now…_

Raven giggled and squeezed her a bit tighter, "Thank you, Rainy…you're certainly…one in a million."

"Mmm-hmm." She smiled.

She gave a small, almost nostalgic smile, "You remind me of my daughter's best friend, sometimes…" She said softly, "She was so quiet and reserved, but the sweetest girl I've ever met…"

"I…I remind you of your daughter's friend?"

"A little bit…I'm sorry, that was inappropriate…"

"It's okay." She giggled, "I didn't know I reminded you of her. That's interesting."

She gave a little sigh, "I wonder what happened to her…"

"Do you know what happened to your daughter? And…and husband?"

She closed her eyes and shook her head, "I'm not sure about Dove. Griffin…" She looked out the windows, "I believe he was killed."

She put a hand over her mouth, "I'm so sorry…"

"I held the smoking gun, really…" Her voice hardly sounded like her own as she stood up, "I need to get some air, I'm sorry."

"Right…I'm sorry…" She looked at the ground.

"…call me if something happens, okay?"

She nodded, watching as her sire left the room. This wasn't good. Any time she was in an embrace with Raven, she just wanted to kiss her, to be with her, to touch her. But she was with Phaedra, or, was she? Did she enjoy her time with Phaedra? After all, the woman more or less said that they were in an open relationship. And would she live long enough to see if Raven would even want her? The man in the suit supposedly wanted her executed.

* * *

 **A/N:** More questions asked than answered, it seems…Thanks for reading!


	28. Chapter 28

**A/N:** Here's chapter twenty-eight! Approaching the 30% mark pretty fast, huh? Enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs. There is some risky business, if you're not a fan, skim over it.

* * *

The page in the 'Lure of Flames' book flipped again and again, Victor only paused to stop and rub his temples, "I suppose I should be thankful that I have time to read this now."

"Well, there's always something else you could be doing. And I don't mean me, this time…" Venus said.

"Hmm, and what's that?"

"Oh, I don't know. Just seems like there's always many things to do in this place."

"Yes." He sighed, turning the page, "I think I'll look at one of the other texts shortly…if I do that, then our enemies won't be able to keep up with me."

"Not that they were before."

He chuckled for a bit, his entire arm lightning up on fire, and a he held a flame in his palm, "As you can see, I'm getting quite the hang of this one." He said, as the flames died out seconds later.

"You should just be a little careful using that around allies."

"Yes, I'm aware." He rose from his desk, "Having the Kindred's weakness around at all times is a great responsibility."

"One you're more than capable of handling."

"I don't know why you feel the need to flatter me so much." He chuckled, going over to his bed where she was sitting and giving her a hug, kissing her lips as well.

She hugged him back, "You're more than deserving of it." He kept kissing her for a while, rubbing her back as he squeezed her tighter. She situated herself into his lap, "Someone feeling a little frisky?" She smirked.

"Mmm…perhaps…" He said, "I must admit, I think we've switched places…now that I'm away on missions or meetings…I…I constantly think of you…"

"Is that so…? Why don't you show me what you think about…?"

He went back to kissing her, this time a bit harder than before. He also reached up and held her breasts with both hands. She reached back and unzipped her dress, shimmying it over her shoulders and standing up quickly to let it pool at her feet.

While she was still standing, he pulled her in by her butt, kissing her stomach endearingly once it was exposed by her dress coming off. She sighed and closed her eyes, reaching back to take her bra off before she tossed it across the room. He kissed a bit harder, meanwhile he started fondling her butt, giving it a soft massage.

She grabbed at his coat, "Before I take anything else off, you need to get started." He nodded with a smile, taking off his coat, suit and shirt, then his pants and boots, laying back on the bed. "That's better." She grinned before she slid her panties off and crawled onto the bed, her hips hovering over his as she leaned over him and kissed him.

He kissed her back hungrily, whispering in her ear, "I want you."

She shuddered, "Then take me…"

He licked his lips as he rolled over to be on top, going back a bit to start making out with her breasts. "Victor…" She moaned, closing her eyes as she pushed his head down a bit.

He kept one hand on her butt to caress it, and the other on the breast he wasn't sucking on, decompressing all the while. She gave another frustrated groan, squirming and clawing at his shoulders. He pulled his underwear off, letting the blood blow through his system via Blood Buff, then he then started humping her with his erection.

A scream tore through her lips, but not one of ecstasy or release, it was one of anticipation. She clung onto his shoulders and squeezed her legs around him tightly, scattering his name out with strings of curses.

He gave her a squeeze, moving in to penetrate her. "Yes!" She gasped, closing her eyes and moaning as he finally pushed himself up inside her. She kissed at his neck, licking and biting whenever he'd give a particularly deep thrust.

He let out a stifled sigh, massaging both her breasts as he kept thrusting inside her over and over again. She bit her lip once she felt his hands and pulled herself even closer so he could feel her chest up against his.

He also kissed her neck endearingly, continuing on for a while until he finally tired out with her. Her panting was beyond refreshing, so was the minimal amount of sweat she was covered in, "You always get me so excited…" She panted out.

"Yes, you must forgive me…"

"Why would I forgive you…?" She asked, "I like it…"

He smiled and kissed her, "Good."

She squeezed herself around him, "I could sleep here beside you for eternity…"

"And I, with you, darling." He kissed her again, "Goodnight Venus."

"Night Victor…"

* * *

"Cissy seems kinda nice." Anastasia said, sitting with Skelter in his backyard.

"For a Ravnos, yeah. Guess she's innocent anyway. Shouldn't hold any grudges."

"Do our clans not get along?"

"I just know they're bad news."

"So…having her in our group is bad?"

"Maybe she's different…but…who knows."

She played with her dress, "It's nice that we have a plan now, to take out Victor…"

"Or at least a last minute idea, yeah." He looked up at the stars, "It's too dangerous as it is now."

"…seemed to take the focus off of Killian…"

"We got an excuse to kill him now, son of a bitch…"

"Wait, we have an excuse now?"

"He's in the Sabbat."

She gave an exasperated sigh, "I thought Nines coming back would make everything better…not worse…"

"He's been an asshole recently, I don't know what his deal is…" He sighed, "I gotta talk to him or somethin'."

"Pfft…Jack couldn't keep us together…we would've fallen apart if our group was like that for much longer. And yet…with Nines back, there's _still_ a divide…"

"We'll sort it out." He sighed, "Maybe I can talk to Damsel."

She stood up, "I don't know how much more of this I can take…"

"What do you mean?"

"I don't want Killian to be _let back in_ after what he did to me and after joining the Sabbat!"

"Then let's kill him." Skelter stood up as well, "If you won't, I will."

"Pfft, it's not like we'd be able to _find_ him." She said, "Sirius only said he's in 'the Sabbat,' that could mean anything."

"Well, I don't mean right now." He snickered, "But I'll be hunting him."

"But…we should really focus on the Camarilla first…"

"I can multitask. I don't like the thought of you having nightmares over this."

"It's not him I have nightmares about."

"Victor?"

She nodded, shaking a little, "I could be, the most powerful Protean user…who ever lived…I could be…a Methuselah…with…ancient Protean…I could turn into a huge mythical…beast of the avian skies…but…he could still just…boil me away in seconds, and have blood to spare…"

He held onto her and rubbed her back, "We'll kill that jackass too, he won't be around much longer. Not with all of us hating him."

"But how?"

"Damsel's been looking into it." He said, "I've been trying to come up with strategies. You had a good idea a while back with the handcuffs, we gotta think of something else like that."

She nodded, looking ahead, her eyes widened, "Shit…it's one of those monster things again…" She said, looking at the fleshy monstrosity in front of them.

He turned around, "How the hell did it get here!?"

"We have to protect your house." Anastasia pulled away from him. First, she called on her powers of Protean and Fortitude, giving her the trademarked birdlike appearance. She then called out a trio of ghostly wolves, which started attacking the creature, in addition to Anastasia herself.

Skelter looked proudly upon how well she was doing, but didn't have much time to. He activated his war form as well and started attacking its legs, hoping to render it immobile.

The Vozhd roared, trying to swat at both of them, however, it was too heavy and slow to hit either of them.

Anastasia looked back, giving a nervous chirp at how close the Vozhd was to getting to Skelter's house. She clawed at it with all her might, the pair trying to take it down before he caused any damage.

Skelter panted a bit, holding out a claw to send a beetle out to burrow into the beast's face. The Vozhd roared in pain, aiming to swat Skelter down while he was attacking, but Anastasia dove in and knocked Skelter over, protecting both of them, Anastasia then got up, clawing at the beast once more.

Skelter continued to hack away at its legs, seeing as it continued to stomp around. Anastasia did the same, she also wearily summoned another horde of wolves to attack the monster, in an effort to put a stop in its tracks. The Vozhd growled, rearing a claw back to knock Skelter's house off of the map.

Skelter winced as the entire top floor was demolished. And he was sure insurance wouldn't cover that, even if he did have any. He growled and continued tearing into the beast's legs. The Vozhd destroyed the rest of Skelter's house, it looked like it was trying to head towards civilization like the last Vozhd did. Anastasia meanwhile kept clawing at the beast, angered by how little she was doing. Skelter was temporarily fueled by the huge hole the beast just left in his wallet, so he continued the attack with a faster pace.

Soon the Vozhd was felled, turning to ash as it died. Anastasia turned back into her humanoid form, "James…" She looked back at the wreckage of his house.

"Fucking hell…" He grumbled, "Let's just…go get some blood."

"I'm so sorry…I…I tried my best…" She clung to him, "But…but…I guess it's different with only two of us…"

"It's alright, maybe I'll just…stay at your place for a while…"

"Okay." She smiled.

* * *

"Didn't even know you could use a computer."

"Shut up." Damsel didn't bother looking up as Nines shut the door to her apartment, "I'm buying shit."

"Why would you want that?"

"You're in a great mood, what happened?" She asked, sitting on the couch, ignoring the news on the TV as it blankly scrolled across the screen. She had a laptop on the coffee table and was looking on some rather shifty looking website.

"I just like pissing you off." He sat next to her, "Those Tasers?"

"Yeah…" She muttered, "Too expensive." She muttered, "I got some tranq guns."

"Tranq guns?" He asked, "You think they'll work?"

"It's worth a shot. Can't defend yourself if you're passed the fuck out."

"How much?"

"Money?"

"I mean, how much sedative?"

"Enough to knock out an elephant."

"So we're bankrupt."

"I mean, not yet."

He sat back on her couch, "You see Maya in a while?"

"No…I thought she left."

"Wonder if something got to her."

"That'd kinda suck…" She sat back too and sighed, "What else can you do to hold someone back? Light the tower on fire?"

"I think Jack already made it pretty clear that we had that idea at one point. They wouldn't let it happen again."

"Good point."

"I like the sound of those guns. They have good silencers?"

"Yeah, kinda."

"We can post gunman out of sight then, maybe knock a few Tremere."

"As long as they leave the tower."

"That'd be good for Catalina too."

"Uh huh."

He kicked his feet up on the table, "Sometimes you're actually pretty smart."

"Hey, thanks." She said bitterly, closing her laptop and leaning against him, "What do you even like about me?"

He paused, "That's a funny question. I don't know, I just do."

"I just feel like…there are better Anarchs than me…like Anastasia, or even Catalina…"

"Anastasia doesn't like me, in case you forgot."

"Well, that's just cause you're an idiot."

"I guess."

"You're not gonna say anything about Catalina?"

"She's not you, alright? I like you, Courtenay."

"Fuck, stop calling me that." She scowled.

He snickered, "You can get me back, you know."

"You're name's cool though." She pouted, crossing her arms.

He snickered and put an arm around her shoulders, "I like Catalina because she's an Assamite, and she's not Jeanette."

"Okay, but only Jeanette is Jeanette."

"You get my point."

"Yeah, I guess so…" She muttered, "She is pretty nice."

"You still distrust her?"

"Not her." She said, "I don't like her friend. And something about Sirius rubs me the wrong way."

"What'd he do?"

"He's…so sketchy…just sitting in the back…and, and how'd he know about Killian? And Victor?"

"He's a Setite. He snoops around everywhere."

"So, what if he betrays us?"

"He won't."

"Dammit, you're so cocky." She looked up at him, "How do you do it?"

"Sixth sense."

"You jackass." She pouted as he chuckled, then leaned in to kiss her. She obliged, kissing him back. It was a gentler kiss, but she didn't mind, it almost helped her relax.

But, it was then that her mind started running, "So…are we going to talk about…the stock room…?"

He raised a brow, "Want more?"

"No." She crossed her arms, "I didn't like that."

"Sorry."

"I want to be fucked like a princess, not a dirty street whore."

"Right. My bad." He gave a little sarcastic smirk.

She turned back to him, "Can we do that?"

"You want to have sex? I guess."

"What, 'I guess'? I thought dudes always wanted to do it…that display in the stockroom certainly proved it…"

"I was in a bad mood that day."

"Yeah, clearly." She said, "Maybe I'm in a bad mood today."

He pulled her in again and kissed her lips, "If you want to go through with this, you have to clear off your bed."

"Ugh…can we do it on the couch?"

He snickered, "If you insist. What, you have enough of cleaning in the Last Round?"

"Plenty."

He held her hips and lifted her up into his lap, taking off his jacket before he pulled off his undershirt and she gasped. He paused and looked at the door, then the windows, then back to her, "What's wrong?"

"…why is there so much hair…?"

"You're fucking kidding me…"

"It's like a carpet…" She said, her lips contorted in a grimace, "And not one of the nice soft ones either, like one of the wiry ones at the back door…"

He grabbed his undershirt and put it back on, "This really is your first time, isn't it?"

"Is that…is that everywhere?"

"Maybe we should wait a little longer." He said with a smile, "I don't want to be puked on."

She got off of him and sat down next to him, "Not all guys are that hairy…"

"No, they aren't."

She almost looked traumatized. "Ew…" She shuddered, "I think I'm….gonna go to bed."

He shook his head and stood up, patting her hair, "You had a long day, alright. Night Damsel. Take care, alright? Those guns were a good idea." He said before he left.

She sat back on the couch, completely befuddled, before she reached for her phone and called a familiar number, "Anastasia…when you get the chance, can you come over? I need help…"

A few minutes later, Anastasia entered the room, she looked fairly tired, "Hi…"

"Hey…jeez, what happened?" Damsel stood up, fetching some blood right away.

She sat on Damsel's couch, "Did Nines tell you about the big fleshy monster the Cam and us fought in the streets?"

"Uh huh…there was another? Are you okay?"

She nodded, "It was in Skelter's backyard…destroyed his freaking house…we had to fight it _by ourselves_ …"

"Jesus…" She handed her the gallon of blood, "Here…"

"Thanks…we already had a little bit though…" She started sipping from the container.

Damsel sat back down, "So you two are both okay then?"

She nodded, "We killed it…damn Sabbat Tzimisce guy has a lot of time on his hands, that's for sure." She said, "Too bad Catalina and her friend are the only two who know anything about him."

"Yeah, we'll have to sit there and conduct an interview or something to scrounge up whatever information we could get…"

"He's probably just a stark raving mad monster like the rest of the Sabbat…"

"Yeah…probably just as hard to put down, too."

She nodded, her weary eyes landing on Damsel, as she smiled, "So what did you need help with?"

"Uh…" She twiddled her thumbs, "So. You and Skelter. You're…together."

She blinked a few times, "How'd you figure that out? Damn it…I wanted to keep it a secret for him…"

"Sorry. Nines told me."

"Well, I like him. _Actually_ like him." She said, "He's not just a good time like all the others were." She shrugged, "It's why Killian and Jeanette are having temper tantrums, basically…"

"Yeah…I mean, that all makes sense." Damsel said, waiting a beat, before looking back at her hands, "So…yeah…I'm…kinda with Nines. I think."

"Oh yeah? It's about damn time, some would say…"

She rolled her eyes, "Well…" She crossed her legs, "I got adventurous, I guess. But now I don't know what to do, because he's…"

"He's what?"

"Really hairy. And it's disgusting…"

Her cheeks puffed up, then she started her trademarked boyish laugh, for a while. She laughed and it echoed around the room, "Ah…I'm sorry…" She kept laughing, "I really needed that…" She took a sip of her blood.

She crossed her arms, "I honestly don't know what to do…I can't…" She sighed, "I like him a lot…he's so nice and he has a great heart…and he's really strong and he has such nice eyes…and then…there's that…"

"Yup…well…" She took another sip, "No man's perfect, I guess."

She crossed her legs, "Guess you have the opposite problem with Skelter."

"The opposite problem?"

"Well…he has _no_ hair…"

"Are you saying bald men can't be attractive?"

"Well…I don't know…what's his problem then, his big mouth?"

"I don't know…sometimes he can just shoot his mouth off, but what Anarch doesn't?" She shrugged.

She sighed, then looked back at Anastasia, "Do you have any advice…?"

"I don't know…it seems kinda…abrupt to just end a relationship over hair…"

"Well, I hadn't planned on it…" She said, "I just…wasn't sure if you had any tricks for…ignoring it."

"I have no idea…I couldn't really get past sex with the hairy ones…not without a lot of weed, anyway…"

"Dammit." She sighed, "Maybe I'll…ask him to keep his shirt on…that still feels mean…maybe I'll shave him in his sleep…"

She snickered, "Sounds like a plan…he probably still has a lawnmower on 'em somewhere…"

"Ew!" She shuddered, "Fuck my life…" She growled.

She laughed, "I guess…that's the human body, huh?"

"Yeah…." She pouted, then reached over and hugged Anastasia, "Thanks for coming over…"

"Aw, you're welcome, sweetheart." She hugged her back, "Glad I could help."

She gave a little smile, "Guess I'll let you get back to your man."

"Alright, you have a good night, Damsel."

"You too, 'Stasia."

* * *

 **A/N:** Bet Anastasia's wondering why her problems can't be as easy as Damsel's… Thanks for reading!


	29. Chapter 29

**A/N:** Here's chapter twenty-nine! Love all around in this chapter, hope you like it!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs. There is some citrus in this chappie too, if you're not a fan, skim over it.

* * *

"Alright, this should be pretty cut and dry." Cadmus said in the taxi, "Strauss said that Voerman called him about some thugs in the parking garage, so he wants us to get rid of them. Should be pretty fun."

"Yeah, sounds like it." She said, "I hope I have enough ammo."

"How many guys could it be, four or five?" He asked, "Leave to Voerman to bitch about something like this…although…from I've noticed she's on the phone with Strauss all the time anyway."

"Of course she is…" She muttered bitterly, "She can't do anything by herself."

"I heard she got a visit from an older Sabbat Malkavian." He said, "Sound familiar?"

"And survived? That's impressive…" She crossed her arms, "Does sound familiar though. Wonder why he spared her."

"One thing's for sure, this Sabbat isn't fucking around."

"Not like the last ones, no."

The taxi stopped off near a parking garage, Cadmus got out and stretched briefly, before he got his axe out, "Alright, this should be quick."

"Good. Then maybe I can get back to my cereal."

He smiled, "Is cereal really the _only_ reason you haven't been turned yet?"

"Well…not the only reason, but it's up there."

Cadmus crouched low, hiding behind one of the pillars behind the parking garage, but he was spotted by one of the thugs anyway.

"Hey…hey you…" One of the thugs said, drinking from his beer, "You…you like…you like hide and seek…over there…pal?"

Cadmus revealed himself, "This is just sad."

" _You're_ sad!" Another thug said, as if they said the most concrete comeback in history.

"Are any of you _not_ wasted?"

They started opening fire at him. Cadmus held a hand out, a blue glow came from it. He possessed the thug nearest to him, and said thug turned around and started blasting his allies. He then glowed both orange and green, as he began hacking the gangsters to pieces.

Angelique got out her pistols and started shooting at them, aiming for their heads, "This is almost _too_ easy…"

A new wave of thugs came in from the lower levels of the parking garage, but Cadmus leapt towards the miniature army, blood and gore flying everywhere as he kept dicing them up. Angelique couldn't help but laugh, seeing as Cadmus seemed to have a blast with it anyway. She aided him if he looked like he needed it, but really, he seemed to have everything under control.

"Tch." Cadmus put his bloodied axe away, "Therese could have just had a ghoul to do that…didn't really need me…"

"Yeah, really, that was a piece of cake."

He looked around at all the gore and all the dead bodies, "You go back by yourself…I'm going to hang back for a while."

She paused, "You don't need my help for anything?"

"Nah, there a lot of dead bodies here…they're going to go to waste if they just…waste away…I think I'm going to take as many as I can to Phaedra's room. Hopefully she can preserve them, because then she would be good for like, a month…"

She gave a little sigh, then turned around, "Yeah. Right. Okay. Bye." She stared walking off.

"Something the matter?"

"Hope you have an enjoyable wedding ceremony."

"Wedding ceremony?"

"With your little…girlfriend, fiancé, whatever she is."

He looked disturbed, or at the very least confused, "You think I like Phaedra?"

"It's pretty obvious."

"But I'm with you. What, did you think I was just going to abandon you one day and just start flirting with her?"

"Yeah."

His eye twitched, "You think _that_ little of me?"

"I just…" She crossed her arms, "Never mind. I'm going home."

"She needs to eat flesh to survive. And she's being hunted by at least two or three people I can name." He said, "And because I want to _help_ her, I'm just, a love slave to her?"

"She's everything I'm not!" She whipped around again, "She's tall, she's pretty, she's got more weight to her, she's smart and speaks Italian and is actually a vampire, I'm just a toy for you, just forget it!" She turned around again and started stomping off.

"So this is just about your insecurity?"

She didn't respond, she just kept leaving.

He took a few steps forward, "What? Because I don't treat her like dirt like everyone else does automatically means I'm in love with her? I'm not allowed to be welcoming to newcomers? I'm not allowed to help other women, or be friendly with them?" He shouted, "I don't know if this a little newsflash for you or not, but I've worked with Miranda for nearly twenty years, and you were never jealous over her."

"Of course I was. Then I saw her hook up with everyone but you and felt better."

"Well, you don't have to be jealous of Phaedra, either. I just wanted to make sure she was safe. If it weren't for me, she would have _left_ the Camarilla…"

"I want to go home."

"Then go."

"I want to go with you." He could see how teary her eyes were now.

"Tch. I told you, I'm going to stay here and get these bodies to the red tower, for Phaedra." He clenched his fists and looked away, "Do you understand what I'm doing? I don't want all the newcomers to just, run away, and for us to be screwed. We're fighting a war on two fronts! We'll need all the help we can get, we can't just…drive someone away because…their clan is weird…or because they act a little annoying. But…you thought I was doing all this because I was cheating dog…"

"I'll be at home when you're done." She whimpered, not caring if he heard or not, as she walked off.

"Fleance."

"What?" She paused.

They were both looking away from each other, he put a hand on his forehead, "I'm sorry."

She sniffed and shook her head, "Me too…" She said wholeheartedly, "I'm just a big jerk…"

"It's fine." He turned around, "I realize that you could've gotten confused. I feel like if I just mentioned my intentions with Phaedra earlier, you wouldn't have gotten so mad. I'm…I'm worried about us. The Camarilla I mean. There's a new Sabbat…I know damn well the Anarchs have new members…I don't know who…but…they have to have newcomers…so…I just wanted to make sure we were getting new people too."

"I understand…" She turned around, then ran towards him and hugged him, sniffling, "I'm sorry…sometimes I just think I…I'm not good enough for you…"

"Well that's a load of bullshit." He squeezed her, "I love you."

"I love you too." She gave a little smile.

He looked ahead, "I feel kinda bad for what she's going through, so I'm going to continue being friends with her…I think she can be useful to us…if that's okay."

She nodded, "I agree completely."

"Alright…" He looked around, a bit daunted at all the bodies, "I guess I'll…start…"

"I'll help."

"I also…kind of…wanted to do you on one of these cars…too…"

"…oh…" Her cheeks turned pink, "Okay."

He snickered, "You can say 'no' Angelique. Feel free to call me out on being a perverted old bastard, any time." He laughed.

"No, that sounds fun." She smiled, "I just…don't want to be caught."

"You're right, it's too risky." He said, "We can just save it for later."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah." He said, "But…uh…don't make me bite myself again…ever…" He said, feeling a chill or two, "I…uh…I hate needles…a lot…I know…teeth aren't needles…but…" Another chill.

"Oh…okay. I'm sorry, I didn't know that." She squeezed him, "Sorry."

"It's fine." He squeezed her back, "Alright, let's get some of these bodies for Phaedra and get home."

* * *

"You quit, right?"

"Yeah…"

"Good. Then this will be your new office."

"It smells like cow shit."

"Probably because there is some down here, somewhere. Lots of farmers used to live in California during the late forties, you know."

She sat at one of the computers and started poking around, "Jeez, these are nice."

"Of course they are." Gary leaned against the wall, taking a blood pack out of his suit and drinking it, "You ready to meet some new friends?"

"I want to know what the fuck you are first and what you turned me into."

"I'll cover that later."

"Fine, then show me your little friends."

"Edgar, Cressida, come meet the guest!"

The doors flew open and Cressida stormed in, grabbing Gary by the arm, "Listen here, you cocky asshole, we had all our systems breeched by a Malkavian who stumbled down here when you were on a date with your little girlfriend here, it's time to talk."

"Later." He put a hand on her shoulder, "I'll call Strauss later."

She growled, then turned to Brooklyn. "Ugh. Another."

"Not just another. She's a genius. Brooklyn Keys, newest member to our sect."

Brooklyn looked up at Gary, "What? I never said I wanted to join yet…"

"You're with us now."

She looked back at Edgar and Cressida, then to Gary, "Why are they so ugly?"

He let Mask of a-Thousand Faces die, "Ta-da."

"Ugh…"

"You're on your way there too, toots."

"Cressida has a point though." Edgar said, before he had a chance to greet the newcomer, "Made it pretty clear he was with the Sabbat…probably at least a century old, given how easily he beat us all. He knows the same nooks and crannies of the Camarilla that we do. He read it straight off my damn laptop…"

"Really?" Gary crossed his arms, "This is rather concerning then…you're sure he left?"

"He had to…what else would he want?" He asked, "Unless he wants to kill us all…"

"Could be likely."

"What's going on…?" Brook asked in terror.

"Nothing to concern yourself with." Gary swatted a hand, "Make yourself at home."

She gave a nervous sigh, then looked at them, "Your names were…?"

"Cressida." Cressida grumbled, walking off into another room.

"Edgar." Edgar crossed his arms, Brook could see a sledgehammer strapped to his back, "So how good are you with this stuff anyway?"

"Uh…" She swallowed hard, clearly terrified, "I'm just good with computers…"

"Very good. Took me ages to even track her down." Gary said, "She's Mitnick two-point-oh."

"We'll need her. We need better security on these systems so our Malkavian friend doesn't screw us over." Edgar said.

"My thoughts exactly." Gary said, "Well, Brook, acquaint yourself with the system the best you can. You need help, go down the hall and call for Mitnick. He'll help you out."

"Uh…yeah, okay…"

"I'll Embrace you when I find the time." He swatted a hand and walked down the hallway, "Have fun, toots."

She looked from her screen, then back at Edgar, "Is he always this confusing?"

Edgar shrugged, "I guess our leader never really came forward as a straightforward guy, did he?"

"I have no clue what the fuck is happening…he just…met me in a Mausoleum…told me he was hiring…bit me and left…I met up with him again and he took me here…"

"I'm not sure how much I'm even allowed to tell you." He said, "Don't want to piss Gary off. Not many people live from that."

"Right…" She looked back at the computer and started clicking around, "This is gonna take me ages to get used to…"

"Eh, you'd be surprised. Didn't take me very long."

She looked at her hands, "Am I going to turn…into…things like you too?"

He didn't respond.

She looked back up at him, her eyes nervous, before she gave a little smile, "Guess it's good I was never much of a looker anyway, huh?"

"Prettiest thing I've seen in months." He said, "Which is sort of a given, considering where I live."

"Hey, thanks." She looked back at the screen and started clicking around, "I guess when you're stuck with me or walls literally composed of shit, I do come out on top."

"This is going to sound crazy, but you get used to it."

"I…I really hope so…"

* * *

When Sirius entered the kitchen, he saw Juliet in there, humming and cooking, seeming really as happy as could be. She looked up as he entered and smiled, "Hey."

"Hey there, Miss Sunshine." He chuckled, sitting at the table, "You're in a good mood."

"Hmm? Oh, guess so…" She leaned up against the counter, "How was your day?"

"Eh…fine…I barely remembered most of it…I was up all night making a broad soil herself."

Her cheeks flushed, "Don't pretend you didn't enjoy it."

He laughed, "The look on your face!"

Her cheeks grew even hotter, "What look?"

"Nothing."

She glared at him for a moment, then turned around and grabbed her cloth off the counter, continuing to clean, "You're telling me nothing happened to you today?"

"Eh…we talked about assassinating someone today." He said, "Big chance of pace considering our boss wanted us to do nothing but 'wait' a few days earlier."

"Hey, maybe you inspired him with that 'go-get-em' outlook."

"Yeah, right, I just hide in the shadows and fuck with everyone."

She giggled, "Exactly." The timer rang and she pulled some bread out of the oven, again, it looked very fruity and sweet, the smell was almost intoxicating. She put on mitts and pulled the bread out of the pan, starting to slice it up.

"You make the portions a bit more appropriate for one person, or did you cook for a family of seven again?"

"I eat a lot."

He snickered, "I know you do."

"Thanks." She grumbled as she put a few colored pieces on her plate and sat at the table, eating, "Did you want me to get a job?"

"Eh, if you want."

"Like, do you need the money?"

"Pfft, I think Juliet forgot who her master was…"

"Ugh, whatever." She rolled her eyes and grabbed her glass of wine, drinking from it, "Just trying to be helpful."

"Jesus Juliet, I'm just joking."

"I know." She took another bite, "I just thought it might make things easier? I don't know how you get your money."

"Probably gonna keep it that way."

"Uh huh." She took another bite, "I'm not gonna complain…it's a great place. So long as I don't get in trouble for living here."

"You're fine…no one knows about this place."

"Good." She was silent for a moment as she ate and drank, pretty thoughtful about something, then she stood up and started washing her plate in the sink, "I don't really feel sad anymore…about anything."

"That right?"

She nodded as she rinsed her hands off, "It's…like I started all over again…it's so nice…"

"I guess in a way, you did." He smiled, "A Follower of Set ghoul."

"Uh huh…maybe that's why I can tolerate you."

"I think you can more than tolerate me."

"Pfft."

"In the words of the great Juliet Rhodes, 'don't pretend you didn't enjoy it.'"

"Of course I enjoyed it." She muttered.

"Yeah, judging by the stain on your panties, you did."

Her cheeks turned bright red, "Shut up."

"You could probably fill all your little cooking cups and bowls with it. We should try it one day."

"That's disgusting."

"M'kay, if you say so…"

She crossed her arms, "I'm going to take a shower and then go to bed."

"Have fun."

She gave him one last glare before she went up to the bathroom to shower. And of course, it was a very eloquent bathroom that made her feel like some sort of royalty. Afterwards, she got out and went to the bedroom, looking around as if she was waiting for Sirius to appear.

Sirius walked over and stood at the doorway, "'Kay, goodnight."

She sat on the edge of the bed, "Sure you don't want a goodnight drink?"

"I thought it was disgusting." He crossed his arms.

"I thought…filling cups with my…" She waved a hand in the air, "Stuff…I thought that was gross…"

"Really? I think you need to open your mind."

"But…I use those…to eat…"

He rolled his eye, "Jeez…you're overthinking this, alright…get back…get ready for some fucking." Her cheeks blushed before she crawled back on the bed. He took his coat off, as well as the rest of his clothes, save for his underwear, "Alright, got a preference this time?"

"Preference? Surprise me."

"Surprise you…I'll just blow you really hard, you seemed to enjoy that last time." He got on the bed, throwing her robe off, "Don't need that." He kissed her hungrily, fondling both her breasts and squeezing her tight.

She groaned and wrapped herself around him, her nails already digging into his shoulders just from the passion of the kiss itself. He rolled over so that she was on top, he then reared a hand back and spanked her, a good number of times, each strike harder than the last, and the first one was plenty hard to begin with.

She gasped as she was spanked, then grunted with each following hit, biting her lip and cursing as well, "Fuck, why the hell do I like that so much…?"

"I had a sneaking suspicion." He said, spanking her a bit more, "Groan like a bitch when you want it to stop."

She shook her head and kept grunting and clawing him, until the pain became too much, "Okay…okay…" She panted, "I still want at least one ass-cheek…"

"Want me to cool it off?" She gave a little nod and he moved away a bit, so she was still facing down. He lightly bit one of her butt cheeks, sucking and licking it with no restraint. Occasionally he would switch to the other one, and all the while his hands began to massage the area around her womanhood.

She rested her forearms on the mattress, her head on the pillow but kept her butt propped up for him. She moaned and squeezed at the sheets, "Bite me, Sirius…drink me…"

"You sure?" He asked, "I…I don't know…"

"Please…"

He bared his fangs, sinking them into Juliet's butt and drinking her blood. A feeling then shook him to his core, she had tasted better than anyone he had ever drank from. (And he had stunned many a rich folk with the use of Serpentis). He groaned as he kept sucking from her, he felt his member both perk up and crawl up her ankle to the base of her leg. She then felt herself get sprayed as Sirius groaned and drank a bit more, humping her leg or ankle, or whatever he could get with an absurd amount of force.

A scream filled the room as a burning feeling spread through her veins and clouded her mind like nothing she had ever felt before. She kept moaning and panting, processing what Sirius was doing to her leg in the meantime only aided her climax. He collapsed on top of her, "Well…I guess I just defeated the purpose of your shower…"

She panted a bit, "That's okay…"

"Jeez…I'm surprised you're still awake…" He got up and started wiping her off with tissues the best he could, "Usually humans aren't too talkative after they get sucked dry."

"Yeah…they…" She closed her eyes, "Always called me the keg…"

He laid beside her, giving her a squeeze, "Sexiest damn keg out there…"

She wrapped an arm around him and nuzzled her head under his, "Well…I'll always be here whenever you need a drink…"

"I mean, you taste so good, that you'll get covered in semen every time I drink from you…so…yeah, we'll save that for emergencies…"

"Mmm hmm…"

He kissed her forehead, "Night, Juliet."

Whatever she said was muffled by blanket.

* * *

 **A/N:** Juliet finally got her wish…Thanks for reading!


	30. Chapter 30

**A/N:** Here's chapter thirty! {party balloons, streamers} Internal and external crisis aboard in this scene, hope you like it!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs.

* * *

The mountains were high and treacherous, unlike anything most of the Tremere have ever experienced, "Well…here we are…dear me…this haven looks like a castle…" Victor said, looking at a large stronghold at the opposite side of a fissure. The only structure connecting the two planes of rock was a tiny bridge.

"Should we head back and get reinforcements?" Iphigenia asked.

"No. I want to end this way, now, if possible." Victor said, "Be prepared, this could be the lair of the Tzimisce himself, armed with who-knows how many creatures at his beck and call."

Delilah looked like she'd have a panic attack, "Yes, sir."

Leonardo adjusted his tie, "Should be an experience for all of us, at least."

"That's being optimistic." Iphigenia muttered as they walked forward, her sledgehammer in hand.

"Ah, I see they're sending some of their shovelheads through towards us." Victor said, watching the Sabbat vampires run across the bridge, "Kill them all. Be wary of your blood pool, any ghoul you find, you are to feed from."

"Understood." Iphigenia ran forward to whack them with her sledgehammer. Victor too, walked forward, his pistol out, and a hand in his pocket. He only shot the vampires once, which didn't kill them, but it made them lose their footing, and fall into the horrendous gorge beneath them all.

It wasn't long until they reached thy entrance to the macabre castle, "Alright, we shall split up from here, taking on different fractions of the haven." Victor looked at the others, "Good luck, my pupils."

"You too, Mister Magister." Delilah said nervously, before they all split ways.

* * *

Iphigenia and Leo had yet to split apart from themselves, until they heard a huge thud on the ground, "Well, it looks like the Camarilla sent some rats scuttling in the manor, hmm?" Vernon asked, his fists lit up with Potence, as he seemed perfectly ready to fight the duo in the dilapidated lobby of the Sabbat stronghold.

Iphigenia nodded to Leo before she ran forward with her sledgehammer. The unspoken code seemed to be 'Purge', as Leo held a hand out to fell Vernon with the unfortunate discipline, while Iphigenia swooped in to club him over the head. Vernon vomited up blood and was hit by the sledgehammer, "A Tremere I see…" He growled, wiping the blood from his head, he dashed forward with unquestionable speed, punching Iphigenia in the face with his powered up fists.

Iphigenia was floored, crying out as splinters of wood carved into her flesh. Leo adjusted his glasses before firing bolts of blood at him. Vernon was smacked back, "Wretched boy…" He sped at Leo, drawing out a broad sword, it was bathed in lighting as Leo was slashed.

Iphigenia grunted as she stood weakly and brushed off her shoulder, covering her body with a coating of her own blood before she ran forward to whack Vernon again. He dashed back, "Ah, so you're _both_ Tremere…" Vernon said, "Perhaps your Prince is wiser than I had anticipated…" Iphigenia chuckled before she lunged forward to hit him again.

Vernon maneuvered out of the way, with Celerity this was an easy feat. Iphigenia felt the electrified sword carve up her back, "Face it, you'll never be able to catch up to me…" She grit her teeth, then looked over to Leo, who was rising to his feet slowly. He held a hand out and used Purge again as soon as he could.

Vernon threw up even more blood, "You arrogant boy…" An orange glow came off of him, it inspired terror into both Tremere apprentices, as it was a powerful aura that came off of him. Vernon then sent the blood through his system, specifically through his muscles, as he dashed towards Leo and drove his sword through his body.

Leonardo gave a wrenching scream, shutting his eyes tightly. He thought it would be all over, and yet, he survived, nothing but pain wracking his body. Iphigenia ran forward as Vernon held Leo to the wall, rearing back to hit him in the back of the head.

Vernon dashed back, deactivating his passive Disciplines, all of them, he then held a hand out, as a gang of Sabbat vampires came out from the woodworks, "Finish them off!" He commanded.

Iphigenia looked around, nearly completely surrounded. She gripped her hammer tightly and started swatting at them, bashing their heads around and using Purge if they got too close. Only when there was silence again did she carefully lift up Leo and leave with him.

* * *

Maybe she would rather watch the door. Or go with Leo, travelling around this massive place. It felt like a dungeon. It felt like a place where she would die. In the daylight, she wondered if the place was actually beautiful, if it would have felt less terrifying. But her wits regained themselves as she recalled why she was here.

Maybe she could at least prove herself worthy of being in the Chantry if she managed to survive.

She entered a large, gothic room, with an arena in the center, at the opposite side of the room, was Raphael, sitting in a large elaborate chair, looking almost like a throne. The poor lightning revealed his blonde hair and black and red hoodie, and his green eyes looked Delilah up and down. He took a sip of his goblet of blood, and he stood up, cracking his neck a few times.

She nervously tipped her hat without even realizing it, the heels of her boots clicking against the floor as she held a hand out protectively.

His bones snapped as he began to grow in size, and his skin turned darker as fur grew out. This Protean seemed to provide Raphael with a lean, panther form. He growled and ran at Delilah with his claws out.

She gasped and stumbled back out of the way, hardly avoiding the attack. She grabbed onto her hat with one hand, the other was out to use Purge. Raphael threw up a good amount of blood, holding his stomach in pain, he snarled, his eyes the size of dots as he sized Delilah up again. He held a paw out, bats flew out and attacked her, sapping some of Delilah's blood away from her, giving it back to Raphael.

She gasped and looked down at herself, her dress tattered and torn. Her brow fell as she used Purge on him again. He threw up more, falling to his knees and crying out. He kept up with her and send out Bloodsucker's Communion once more.

She grunted and stumbled back, _This is so scary…_ She shut her eyes closed and used Purge one last time, running away as fast as she could.

Raphael fell to the ground, turning back to his human form. He teared up as he felt the pang of emptiness, the pang of hunger, he crawled back to his goblet, if he could salvage at least one blood point from it, he could ward off the frenzy waiting deep inside him. The one that he _knew_ would take him over due to his clan lineage. He scarfed whatever was in his cup like a pathetic beggar, panting afterwards.

* * *

For whatever reason, Cissy said she was too busy to go to the Last Round with Catalina. But, she figured maybe Cissy needed to go catch up with one of her crimes, or get some blood to drink.

She did not figure she'd come home to see Cissy on her couch.

Naked.

Straddling some burly blonde man.

Who was also naked.

It was at least a solid minute before the beefcake underneath her suddenly pulled away from the kiss and looked at Catalina, "Who the fuck is this?"

Cissy's lipstick was smeared, most of her makeup was, before she turned to Catalina, "Oh…didn't think you'd be home so quickly…"

"You have a sister?" He asked.

"Roommate. Sorta. She…used to let me live here." She gave an awkward smile, "Why don't you head home, sweetheart, we can catch up later?"

He got up and pulled his pants on as soon as she gave him the space to, then grabbed his shirt from the floor and left, grumbling something under his breath on the way out.

Cissy sat on the couch almost in the position of a guilty puppy, "Sorry…uh…girl has her needs…"

Catalina face palmed, "Why…why…why…why…why…why…why…why…why…why?"

She grabbed a blanket and covered herself up, "Because I keep spending time with you and getting all horny…I dunno, I went to a bar out of town, found that guy, started hitting on him…I mean, I didn't want to do him in a dumpster…he said he had a girlfriend so we couldn't go back to his place…"

"And you couldn't have done it in a car? Or a scummy alleyway? Or a booth of a poorly lit club? It _had_ to be my place?"

"I can clean the couch off…we didn't…really get to any of that stuff yet…"

"You or him didn't stain anything?"

"No. Promise."

"Ugh…well, at least I won't have to worry about that…" She walked into the kitchen, Cissy heard the sink going for a brief period of time.

She stood up and pulled on her shirt and pants, heading into the kitchen, "I'm really sorry…"

"No, it's fine, I too spend my free time having sex with strangers, it's really fun." She rolled her eyes.

She rolled her eyes, "I've always been like this. I mean, look at me, you expect me to be any different?"

She squeezed the excess water out of her washcloth, starting to polish off her many swords and blades, "I don't know." Their eyes met, "I try not to judge based on appearances."

She sat at the table and looked away, "Guess it just makes me feel…grounded. Like I have a purpose."

"Sex…makes you feel like you have a purpose?"

"Yeah….making people feel…wanted. Making myself feel wanted."

"Right." She looked back at her own reflection in her sword, "I guess we just have different purposes, is all."

"Yeah…I…never really found anything else I was good at…"

"Well, I mean, a basic rule of thumb for Kindred is the longer you stay alive, the more powerful you'll get." She said, "I knew you feel like you suck right now, but if you keep at it, your powers will actually be quite formidable." She said, "It really helps when you hang out with other Kindred, who can help you grow."

"Okay, but even besides all that Kindred nonsense, I'm not good at anything else. I don't have any skills, any hobbies…I'm useless."

"You're a good shot."

"I guess…"

She sat at the table once she finished cleaning everything off, sitting across from Cissy, "Let me ask you this, then, what did you like to do when you were an innocent kid? Before you knew what sex was?"

She crossed her arms, "Played games with my sister."

"I didn't know you had a sister."

"She went to medical school. I was a high school dropout."

"Huh…so she's probably not Kindred…"

"I would hope not."

She nodded, "I was an only child…my parents were fairly…normal…my human days were fairly normal…"

"That must have been kinda boring…"

"It…it was peaceful, I really liked it, being normal and boring." She said, "I wasn't brought into the vampire world _willingly_ …well, I guess no one was, but, in my case, I just…miss being a human, and worrying about…human things…"

"I guess that's true…I'm still…adapting."

"Well, that's why I showed you the Anarchs…they'll help you with that, I'm sure. That guy in the suit who made you sleep in the dumpster, Victor? He's in the Camarilla, the enemy. And then the Sabbat, another enemy, are composed of monster-Kindred, like that blue guy who could change your flesh."

She nodded, "So…if I visit the Anarchs, you think I'll find myself?"

"I mean, I don't want you to get your hopes up…but, I want to help you. I can't just leave a Ravnos fledgling by herself."

"Thanks Cat…" She smiled, then got up squeezed her, "You're too good to me!"

Catalina smiled and hugged her back, "Sorry I overreacted earlier."

"You didn't overreact…that was my fault."

"Well, I forgive you."

Cissy squeezed her tighter, "You're the best person I've ever met…"

"That can't be true."

"I'm pretty sure it is."

"Alright." She snickered, "I appreciate it."

"…would you be mad if I invited him over again at another time?"

"Just…just…I don't know…don't make a mess anywhere, and…make _sure_ I won't be home soon…and no upstairs with him…"

"Okay." She said with a bit of a smirk, "Some sort of compromise, at least, if I can't hook up with you."

"I'm straight."

"Uh huh. You keep telling yourself that." Cissy looked over her, "That's what I thought until I met you." She walked off into another room.

* * *

The door opened and Slade saw Iphigenia standing in the doorway again, leaning against it with her arm that wasn't wrapped in bandages. "Slade, I'm so glad you could make it." She smiled.

"Yeah…uh, hi…" Slade said, "What the hell happened to your arm?" He asked in a lower voice.

"Sabbat mission." She said just as quietly, but her voice supported the sound, "I got off a lot safer than my comrade, he was put into torpor."

"Jesus…really?"

She nodded, then stood up tall, "Did you want to come in?" She gave a little smile, "Halcyon's missed you."

"She has?" He asked, "Yeah, sure thing."

As they walked in, Slade saw Halcyon and Harmonia sitting in the same spots they were before, Halcyon in a green dress, while Harmonia was in a light blue bath robe. Halcyon looked up at him with a smile, "Hello, childe of fabric."

"Hey Halcyon." Slade said, "Have you guys been doing okay?"

She looked down at her plate of buttered toast, "As much as grains and fats will supply."

Iphigenia shot her sister another look, "We've been just fine."

"What have you been up to?" Harmonia asked.

"Me? Uh…" Slade fumbled, he couldn't even _remember_ what lies he fed to Harmonia to keep the whole vampire thing a secret. He nervously sat at the table, "Oh…I'm just…trying to get myself out there…a friend of mine has gone missing…so…that's kinda…distracted me…"

"Missing?" Her big blue eyes widened.

Iphigenia nodded, "We've been looking. Myself and my coworkers." She said.

"Who is it?" Halcyon asked.

"Dragomir." Slade said lowly, almost pleadingly. He didn't care how shady this sounded to Harmonia, Halcyon could very well be his only hope. A Malkavian ghoul is still one with insight.

She blinked a few times, "Oh…I think he's with the lions."

Iphigenia took a sip from her 'wine', "Hmm…"

"What about Genevieve?" Slade whispered, "That name ring a bell?"

She looked down at her toast and shook her head like she had sinned, "I…I don't know…it's like a dream but I don't see it now…"

"Relax." Iphigenia said, "Why don't I make you some tea?"

"Please, sister."

Iphigenia stood up and poured water in the kettle, "Neither of them have been reported dead, at least. That's good news."

"I'm so sorry to hear about that…" Harmonia said, "Did they have any reason to disappear?"

"I don't know." Slade gave a defeated sigh, "The…note…and the voicemail…they were very ambiguous…"

"Well…we'll keep our eyes peeled." She said with a small smile.

"Of course." Iphigenia said, "My employer seemed just as keen on discovering them as we are."

His sighs got shakier, "He always did things like this…he always ran away from the problem…they both did…I guess…" His shoulders sunk, "I guess I was always the glue that put everyone back together. When people bullied Dragomir in school, I was there for him…when Tess was bullied for her sexuality, I was there for her…I…it just…tears me up inside…that he could be out there, in danger…and there's _nothing_ I can do to help him…I feel so powerless…"

Harmonia looked like she was going to cry. Halcyon stood up and hugged Slade, "Don't let it tear at your insides. You can look for him."

"Perhaps he doesn't want help." Iphigenia said, "Perhaps he feels like a burden."

"I know he does. That's his thing." He looked at Iphigenia, while he tried to match the enthusiasm of Halcyon's hug, "He always does that. But…he was beloved, by a considerable amount of people in the…uh…our organization, they really cared when I told them that he was missing."

"We all have the ability to detach ourselves from the reality of our meaning." Halcyon said.

"I think what she means is we can all be a little hard on ourselves. I think he needs you, despite what he thinks." Iphigenia said.

He nodded, "I just hope he makes it out of whatever he's in, and that he'll come back soon."

"Me too…" Harmonia said.

Iphigenia poured her sister a cup of tea as Halcyon broke the hug and asked, "How is your girl?"

"Uh…she's fine…" Slade said, glad he was Kindred so he wouldn't expose a blush, "We're doing fine right now…I feel so bad…I was actually going to pick up more work from…uh…our employer…but…with Dragomir missing…I just can't focus…"

"I understand." Iphigenia handed her sister the tea, who sat and happily drank from it at the counter, "And I'm sure he would as well."

"I hope so…it's looking rougher and rougher out there, for us."

She rubbed a hand over her arm, "We're making progress at least. It's something."

"It doesn't feel like it." He said, putting a hand on his forehead, "Jeez…I haven't been doing this too long, is this what it always feels like?"

"I don't have much more experience than you do." She confessed, "Sorry."

"Right…" He said, "Maybe…I should go…"

"Of course. I can't thank you enough for coming."

"Yes, neither can I." Halcyon said, "Tell your fabric I miss her work."

"Good luck finding your friends." Harmonia said.

Slade nodded, heading for the door. Everyone was dropping off the planet like flies. VV, Dragomir, Genevieve. When would it stop? Was all this a Sabbat plot? Were they all dead? Is this the true form of the mischievous, dark nightmare that is the Jyhad, and was the deal with LaCroix and his Kuei-Jin allies only a mere tutorial? Maybe another person was missing too, now. Another victim. Someone who he didn't know anything about anymore. Himself.

* * *

 **A/N:** Slade's asking the real questions here…Thanks for reading!


	31. Chapter 31

**A/N:** Here's chapter thirty-one! Sorry this one took a while, things have been pretty busy, but we're not dropping this, don't worry. We have a legitimate end planned, and that isn't any time soon. Hope you like it!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs. Also, there's some sugar and spice in this chapter, if you're not a fan, skim over it.

* * *

Nines said they needed new hiding spots. Spot to put people where the Camarilla wouldn't expect it. Wouldn't be a huge problem if the Nosferatu didn't hide cameras everywhere. So, he asked his girlfriend a hefty favor.

Lucky it was one of her favorite chores. Grab the iron baseball bat, and hunt the Nossie cameras. Smash them to bits. It was as fun as ever, but they had recently been quite sneaky with them, so it was a little tough.

She heard a manhole cover open up, and that was the last sound she heard before everything went black.

* * *

She awoke in a haven that reeked of death, her entire surroundings were a tan color, spackled with red, and all four of her limbs were bound into the fleshy walls themselves. She could see a Tzimisce puttering around nearby her.

Her eyes slowly opened, blinking multiple times to ensure she was seeing correctly, before she let out a bloodcurdling scream.

"Oh, how I hate it when they wake up while I'm working with them…" Lafayette said, "Screaming won't get you anywhere…no one hear you, we're…at least fifty feet underground…so save me the annoyance…"

She swallowed hard, "Where the fuck are we?"

"Candyland."

She spit at the floor as close as she could get to him, "Fuck you."

"Oh, I'm going to enjoy making you into a Camarilla chair."

She pulled against the walls, "Oh, Nines is so going to dust you…so is Skelter, and 'Stasia…" She grunted, "Everyone, everyone will hate you for this!"

"So that makes you an Anarch." He said, "I'm even less worried than before."

"Underestimating us is your biggest mistake, pal."

"Yes, no group can hide behind the Tremere and then take all the credit better than you lot."

She growled and thrashed against the wall, "You'll pay for this you blue cocksucker!"

"Surely if your sect was actually _of merit_ , you would be in control of this city, and not the Tremere? Oh, I suppose I have to everything around here. I thought you Anarchs would actually be helpful to us, distract the Tremere while we take over, but…oh well, I'll turn you all into my servants instead."

"We're not here to help you, ya know, we run ourselves." She spat.

"Yes, and look how well you've done for yourself. You're backed into a corner."

She growled and thrashed again against the fleshy walls, "This could happen to anyone…" She grumbled, really telling herself that more than Lafayette.

Lafayette's hands glowed red, "The first thing going is your mouth." He said, as he started flesh-crafting her.

* * *

"She didn't leave you a call er nothin'?" Skelter asked.

"Nothing." Nines said, seeming rather peeved, "I should have sent her out with someone else."

"I don't even know who we're looking for…" Cissy muttered quietly.

"Damsel…she's…she's one of us." Catalina said.

"What was she doing, just camera hunting?" Anastasia asked.

"Yeah. I hope to hell it wasn't the Primogen who got a hold of her." Nines said.

"What would Victor want with Damsel?" Skelter asked.

"Not Madison. Golden."

"Should we just start looking for camera's that she got to and some she didn't to like…find out where she could have gone?" Cissy asked.

"That's the best we can do." Skelter said.

"Skelter and I could try and track her scent." Anastasia said.

Nines sighed, "As much as I hate the idea of splitting up, that might be our best bet."

"But if it is someone like Victor, then we'd need the whole team." Catalina said.

Nines let the idea sink through his head, "We'll stay together then. Too risky."

"Guys, she's down here." Anastasia looked at a manhole cover, pulling it open.

"What makes you say that?" Nines peered his head down.

"Cause this is where her scent goes." She hopped down, "Oh…god…there's flesh everywhere down here…"

They all trailed after her, Cissy looking the most disgusted, "Why is there so much…shit?"

"It's probably the Tzimisce who's behind this." Catalina said.

"Who knows, maybe we'll find Killian down here too." Anastasia said.

"That almost sounds too good to be true…" Skelter said.

A trio of head runners ran at the five of them, jumping up and roaring once they saw their meals.

Anastasia screamed and jumped back, while Catalina took her Desert Eagle out, in three shots she killed all three of them.

"Impressive." Nines smiled and pat her back, moving onward with them. Cissy practically looked traumatized.

They went lower and lower down into the sewers, the smell and the horrid amounts of flesh, blood and bones everywhere only multiplied. They eventually came across a large hall full of Lafayette's trademarked creations. A torso, a rabid monstrous face, and four arms instead of two arms and two legs, so they maneuvered like a spider. Some were hanging from a ceiling, and others scuttling around the ground. They all hissed when they noticed the five Anarchs entering.

"Shit…" Nines got his gun out and started firing as the other Anarchs began to fight back. Skelter and Anastasia used their war forms, while Cissy and Catalina grabbed their guns and started opening fire on anything that came near. Anastasia chirped in pain as she was surrounded, even with Fortitude up, the creations still cut deep. Skelter bustled in and helped her, the two of them were nearly unstoppable in combat.

"Be careful, it's aggravated damage." Catalina said, shooting at another one.

"What does that mean?" Cissy asked over her gunfire.

"It's harder to heal off aggravated damage than regular damage." She explained, "Usually it comes from fire, magic…or other Kindred claws." She gave a shaky nod, continuing to fire at the flesh monsters.

They kept advancing once that hall was clear, but as they got lower, more and more fleshy creatures came from the woodworks, almost as if they were coming from the very walls itself. "Damn it…" Catalina swore, "There's like…a-hundred of these things! We have to go back!"

"But Damsel's ahead…" Anastasia said, "Who knows how much longer she'll be alive, if she even is now…"

"Should we split up?" Skelter looked at Nines.

"We have to push through together, I don't want to lose anyone." Nines stated.

The others nodded, heading down and reaching Lafayette's lair itself. "Damsel?" Anastasia asked.

Catalina swallowed hard, pointing to a humanoid body, with horrendous hunks of flesh in it, the neck-length, red hair was the indication that it was Damsel.

Lafayette crossed his arms, confidently, it seemed. Maybe it was because he knew that hundreds of his creations would catch up to the five Anarchs and fence them into his room, "Never did I expect you to come down here and find me. You're supposed to be on the surface killing the Tremere for me. Shows how efficient you are."

"We don't let each other die." Nines said, unable to stomach the looks of Damsel as she was now, "Hand her over and we'll go peacefully."

"I don't really think it's a her anymore." He looked back at his creation, "More of an 'it', if you ask me."

"It was a yes or no question."

"I don't negotiate with Anarch trash." He narrowed his eyes, seeming completely content with a five on one matchup, "Especially Anarchs who get so easily bossed around by the Camarilla." Nines got out his Desert Eagle and fired, like an unspoken code of war.

In a snap, the Anarchs flew forward towards Lafayette, all ready to spill his blood.

Lafayette's head snapped back, he growled, holding both hands out as they glowed red, hoping to hit _someone_ in the mashup. Catalina screamed as her flesh rebelled against her and she became almost as deformed as Damsel, "That's one." Lafayette said. Anastasia dove in while in her bird form, trying to slash at Lafayette, but he avoided the attacks, Anastasia just as easily was able to avoid his Vicissitude.

Nines rushed over to Catalina's aid, seeming disgusted with Lafayette's work, "Nobody let him touch you!" He demanded.

Skelter's eyes darted from Nines to Lafayette, wondering exactly how he was supposed to do that, until he summoned his spectral wolves.

Lafayette was mauled away from Anastasia, though he took the beating moderately well, "Interesting move, Childe of Ennoia…" He said, "Hmm, now who will number two be?" He asked, his eyes zeroing in on Cissy, "Oh, well it has to be you." He charged for Cissy on all fours like a spider, leaping in the air with Vicissitude at the ready. She stumbled back and kept unloading her gun for his chest, absolutely mortified.

He snarled and grabbed her neck with his beefy hand, slamming her in the wall and flesh crafting her as well, "That's two, Anarch slime!" He shouted, nearly molding her into the wall before Anastasia slashed him away.

Lafayette flinched, "Another Gangrel…you two remind me of my associate Raphael…I suppose defeating you two will be a bit harder."

Skelter panted and lunged forward to clobber him in the head. Lafayette send out a flurry of bats in a panic, they stopped Skelter in his tracks and took a little bit of his blood too. But in seconds Anastasia corned him again, Lafayette used his own claws to counter hers. As the two Gangrel tried to deal with him, Nines hung back and darted around, trying to land hits here or there.

Anastasia held a hand out, and Lafayette was mauled by some wolves again, getting shot by Nines while he was still in place, he weakly stood up. He had injuries all over his body, but he still looked like he was ready to go, "You're too late." He taunted.

At first, none of the Anarchs knew what he meant, but then they heard the uncivilized screaming and screeching of fleshy monsters running in on all fours, dozens and dozens of them began to join the fray.

"God damn it…" Skelter grimaced as he looked around, "Nines, I'm not sure we can make this…"

"Let's cut our losses, pull a Vanderbilt!" He called, "Hold off the monsters, I'll grab Damsel, then we retreat! Understood?"

"Loud and clear!" Skelter turned back into his beast form and started holding back as many monsters as he could while Nines searched for the creation that most resembled Damsel. Anastasia tried to pick up both Cissy and Catalina at once, but she was mauled by the vast amount of creations romping around the room.

Lafayette blocked the injured Damsel, "As much as I'd love to watch you all run away, I think killing you would be much more enjoyable." Nines combined his Potence, Celerity, and Presence disciplines as he reared back to punch Lafayette in the face as hard as he could.

Lafayette flew back, coughing up blood as his tough, exoskeleton-like skull nearly caved in on itself. He crashed into the wall, blood and gore hanging out of his head and chest.

Yet he was _still_ slowly getting up, "Not bad." He said as he tried to use his claws to stand push himself back up into a standing position, "But you'll need more than that to defeat me."

"We gotta get outta here quick!" Anastasia said, "While he's still getting up!" She said, still trying to lug Cissy and Catalina's bodies.

Nines dashed in to grab Damsel as Skelter ran over with Protean and Fortitude, trying to hold Lafayette off for his friend. Lafayette held a hand out as he began to stand up, taking advantage of the close quarters Skelter initiated to use Vicissitude. Skelter grunted and looked down at his newly mangled shoulder, stumbling back to hold out a hand and send ravens at him.

Lafayette stumbled back, swatting at the birds, growling as he saw Nines and Damsel get away with their allies, "Well, the least I can do is kill you off." He send bats at Skelter to deplete the rest of his blood pool.

Skelter stumbled back and deactivated his disciplines, holding onto the shoulder that was gruesomely crafted. He looked to his left and right, listened behind him and heard no one. He grabbed his pistol and started firing, backing away towards the exit.

Lafayette began to gain chase, scuttling on all fours just like his creations. Skelter just kept firing at his face, then he started aiming for his already present wounds until he managed to escape and catch up with the others.

Nines turned around as soon as Skelter caught up, "You alright?"

He moved his hand away from his shoulder, panting a bit, "I need blood."

He grimaced at the look of his shoulder, "Let's get back to the Last Round then, quickly."

As soon as they got inside, Skelter sat in one of the booths, Nines laid Damsel down across from him, then headed into the stockroom. Anastasia did the same with Catalina and Cissy, "What the hell do we do?"

"See what blood does. Skelter's our guinea pig." Nines threw a blood bag his way.

Skelter grabbed it and tore it open as best he could, chugging it down. He looked at his shoulder and winced, "This ain't doing nothing."

"Shit." Nines walked in and looked closer, "Try another."

He grabbed another and drank that, but nothing healed, "Don't tell me we're stuck like this forever. Can't even move my damn arm."

"There's gotta be a way." Nines crossed his arms and looked at Damsel, Cissy and Catalina, "There just has to be."

"Politely asking the Tzimisce guy to turn them back to normal?" Anastasia guessed.

"Or another Tzimisce."

"What Tzimisce would want to help?" Skelter asked.

"Antitribu."

"Unlikely." Skelter said, "We'd know about them by now."

"I could make a few calls, see who's around." Nines said.

Anastasia sighed, staying close to Skelter, "Does it hurt a lot?"

"Not if I don't think about it." He said as soon as Nines left the room to make calls, "If I try to move it does."

She gave a shaky sigh again, "Well, that was terrifying…"

"Honestly didn't think I would make it out of there in one piece…"

Sirius came downstairs, "Hey guys…holy Christ…" He said, "I guess you weren't fighting a Tzimisce fledgling, now, were ya?" He laughed.

"I hope it was the leader…" Skelter said, "Jackass was fast."

"I think he goes by Lafayette, if my Sabbat snooping is up to snuff." Sirius said, "Jeez…he must've nailed half of you…"

"Just about." Skelter looked at Damsel, Cissy and Catalina, "Glad I got out of there as soon as I did."

He crossed his arms, "I might know how to get rid of it, but it's a long shot."

"Oh yeah?"

"There's this girl…" He said, "Shit…I have no idea how to track her…but…I think she has healing powers. Every time I beat the shit out of that Nagaraja bitch, she comes back the next day as if nothing happened. I think she's healing people for the Camarilla. Because _they_ got slammed by Vicissitude earlier too, apparently the girl just…waved it away like it was nothing. If I find her, I can…persuade her, to help us."

Skelter sat up, "You'd be a lifesaver. Not sure how much longer those three will last."

"Alright." He sighed, "Let me go start looking." He left.

A moment later Nines came back in, "I got nothing."

"Sirius's got a lead." Skelter said, "We might be in the clear."

"Really? How?"

"He's got connections." He said, "Not sure how, but I think he'll make it happen."

Nines grabbed a bag of blood and tore it open, drinking from it, "Let's just hope so."

After an hour, Sirius came back with Rainy, she had a little umbrella, as a light drizzle had picked up outside. She looked absolutely _terrified_. She shrunk from the loud music, as well as the gazes on her, as she folded in her umbrella, "Hello." She said.

"Those three on the tables." Sirius pointed, "And that guy's shoulder. Got it?"

Rainy closed her eyes, "You all have to leave the room."

"Eh? Why?"

"Because it would disrupt my process."

Nines looked at everyone, "Well, let's go then." He took them upstairs.

"That include me?" Skelter stood up, wincing.

"I'll get you first." Rainy said, casting Obeah on Skelter. His wounds from Vicissitude went away, once he left, she healed the other three.

"There." She said, walking away and preparing to fold her umbrella out, "Have a nice day."

"You too." Nines said as he watched her leave, the room stunned into silence.

"What the fuck was that?" Skelter broke it at last.

"Well, now I know why Nagaraja bitch keeps getting back up." Sirius said, "Wish I knew the process though."

"It's probably some kinda sorcery or something." Catalina said, "Thaumaturgy, blood magic…maybe she's an Assamite…"

"I shoulda' peeked an eye open…" Skelter muttered bitterly.

Damsel stood up and hugged Nines, shuddering, "I thought I would die…"

He pat her head, "Yeah, so did I." He paused, then added, "And I'm glad you didn't."

* * *

"It looks much better. I can hardly see it at all, really."

"It's not as bad as those traps in Ming-Xiao's temple." Iphigenia said as she peeled away the bandages around her arm and gently tossed them into the fireplace, "I had scars there for a week."

Leonardo still looked vaguely distant, some sort of foggy look to his eye as he flipped a page of the book he was reading. Venus was slumped on the couch next to him, looking as if she owned the place with the sprawl she was in.

Delilah scooted back into her arm chair, Iphigenia leaning back against the fireplace grate, "I'm thankful we all made it out alive."

"The Sabbat are a lot stronger than I had anticipated." Delilah said softly, "I've never really fought a Gangrel in war form by myself."

"There was a Gangrel, hmm?" Victor asked, looking up from his reading, he had five textbooks open at once across the desk, and none of them were Lure of Flames textbook, "Was he dangerous? And what of you?" He looked at Iphigenia and Leo, "Who did you face?"

"A formidable Brujah." Iphigenia, "Our foil, I suppose. I put in some good damage with my sledgehammer, and Leonardo was quite helpful with Purge, but he eventually overpowered us and left us with his lackeys."

"A Brujah and a Gangrel." Victor mused, turning a page to one of his many books, "I fought a Tremere Antitribu, myself."

"In the same building?" Delilah asked.

"Yes, in the higher quarters." He said, "The stronghold was well-defended."

"I concur." Iphigenia looked at the rings on her fingers, "How was he? This Antitribu?"

"She was…skillful, yet, younger than me…I should have finished her…"

Venus yawned as Leo turned another page, "I think we all wish we finished what we started that night." He spoke softly.

"That will come in a matter of time. Training and studying are the key to our victory. To crushing our foolish enemies."

"Of course." He said, rubbing his eyes and closing his book.

"Perhaps you should get some rest." Iphigenia advised, "You look like you're making yourself ill."

He gave a weary nod, then a low wave before he trudged off to his room.

"…I've never exactly enjoyed his presence in the first place, but I certainly don't like how gloomy he's become." Delilah said.

"He's been that way ever since we pulled him out of torpor." Iphigenia said, "Embarrassed, I think. Disappointed in himself. It should make him stronger. We have nothing to worry about, so long as he doesn't get too carried away."

"How exactly did this Brujah put him into torpor?" Victor asked.

"Stabbed him through the chest." Iphigenia said, "After giving him a beating. He was surprisingly courageous in that battle, every cue I gave him, he used Purge without hesitation."

"Hmm…how unfortunate." He sighed, "Well, all the reason to strengthen our forces."

Delilah nervously played with her hat, bending it down in front of her line of view, "Part of me thinks we're really frightening to the Sabbat and the Anarchs, and then the other part realizes that…" She let go of her hat, "There are really only two, maybe three Tremere who are worthy of their time…the others…we can be crushed like bugs. We're no stronger than they are."

"That's why you have to _use_ that fear, as your advantage."

She sat back a bit, "Makes me feel like some sort of corrupted dictator…" She just about whispered.

Venus couldn't help but laugh, a good loud one as well.

"Careful, or you'll alert the Regent." Iphigenia raised a brow at Venus, with a look implying she really didn't believe there was any danger there.

"That's what we are though. Beings of fear, secrecy, and distrust." Victor looked at Delilah, "I'm afraid if you're regretting your clan ties now, it may be a bit too late."

"I'm not regretting my clan ties." She decided, "I'm…" She pouted a tiny bit, "Very secretive. And fearful. And I don't trust anybody." Her brow furrowed, "But I'm also honorable, determined and confident." She stood up, "And I don't like the thin wall we're building for ourselves that can be knocked down with the right sized hammer." She said before she turned and left.

Iphigenia crossed her legs, "Seems the newer apprentices are really…quite nervous with everything that's been going on."

"Yes…" Victor said, "This isn't their first time in the territories of Jyhad, but of course, their role during LaCroix's age was fairly minimal…"

"Yes, door-watching and studying." Iphigenia smiled, "Honestly, I'm quite impressed they're still alive."

"Surprised?" He asked, "Well, all that studying's increased their skills, that's why they're still alive."

"Mmm, I suppose so." She looked at a pile of books, "I suppose I really should start to catch up to them, in that aspect…I…usually swing a sledgehammer at my problems."

"It's for that reason that Strauss suggested the Path of Mars to you."

She nodded, "I can't wait to get there." She smirked, her teeth looking exceptionally white behind those black lips, "But only time will guide me."

"That and years of crushing your enemies."

"Yes, I quite enjoy the latter."

"As do I, when the time is right."

She stood up, "Well, I suppose I'll leave you two alone then." She grabbed a book or two from the table, "I'll do some independent research."

"Very well." Victor said, standing up soon after Iphigenia left, "I need to be off somewhere as well."

"Is that so?" Venus asked, still lounging on the couch, "Something so dire you can't give me a hug first? It's alright, I understand." She swatted a hand.

He stopped at the doorway, turning back around to get to her level and give her a squeeze, kissing her cheek.

She hugged him back, kissing his neck briefly, "Don't get yourself killed, Victor Madison."

"Yes, dear. I'll be fine." He left the Chantry, his current destination was unknown, he would have to use his sense of smell, or maybe if it called for it, Auspex, to find what he was looking for. He was nearly out of downtown by the time he actually found what he was looking for. A meat market, but the specific section of said meat market was a bit further in the back than simply at the customer's waiting area.

So he wormed his way to the back. The smell was foul, yet it was everything Victor wanted, he saw the freezers, the mutilated cow carcasses on some of the tables, and the butcher wielding his bloodied sheers. The butcher faced Victor, his bushy moustache twitched a bit, "Hey…no one's allowed back here!" He pointed.

He chuckled for a bit, beginning a slow pace around the room, "From where do you get your…supplies, sir?"

"Supplies?" The butcher asked, "The hell you talking about? You mean…?"

"The bovines."

"Eh? Up north, quite a ways from the city, I'll tell ya that much." He chuckled.

"At a farm?"

He nodded, "Why are you asking so many—"

"It's interesting, isn't it?" He asked, glancing at the tables as he walked by, "All these dead animals lying around, their blood on, practically everything in the room, and yet, here we are, not disturbed, peacefully chatting away."

"Why would we be disturbed—?"

"And yet, if there were humans scattered around the tables. Their flesh…lining the walls, their blood all over the place, wouldn't we be terrified?"

"…I'm calling the police…"

"Wouldn't you consider humans a type of animal?" He smiled, "Didn't we descend from apes…?"

"Holy shit…you're crazy…" The butcher backed away, "You're wasted…or high…or both…"

"So why is it that we can do this to cattle, without batting an eye, hmm?" He asked, "What if cattle were the advanced lifeforms, what if they grew a taste for meat? Maybe they would hunt apes, monkeys, us. Maybe they would cook us and season us and eat us like gluttons. Poetic justice, perhaps?"

The butcher ran away, Victor really had to catch up to him.

"Or what about trees? What if trees were the sentient, superior lifeforms? Imagine, if we were fleshy strands of human, being chopped down by an axe, completely murdered in cold blood." He said, "And we would be crafted into whatever the plant people wanted, our flesh would cover the walls, be chairs for them to sit in, tables for them to work on. Clothing…for them to wear…"

The butcher shivered like crazy, he was a big, burly guy, and he was being scared silly by such a trim, scrawny little man. He hastily picked up the phone.

"Tell me, what do you do with their organs?" Victor asked, "Answer me this and I shall leave you. Their heart, stomach, lungs, where do they fit into the big picture?"

He swallowed hard, "They get tossed…you can't eat those…"

"So somewhere on this farm of yours, there are cows marching to their death, leaving behind plenty of remains…"

"Yeah…so what…?" He started sweating, "What, are you gonna raise an army of dead cows or something?"

A pause.

"That is all."

"Pfft, 'that is all' my ass! I'm calling the police, telling 'em you're fucking crazy!"

Victor held a hand out, a blue glow coming from it, "You won't tell the authorities anything, I was never here."

Once the butcher looked dazed enough, Victor left. The Anarchs wanted to kill him, he knew it. He knew how they played their game, he also knew not to underestimate them. If he were to die, it would open up a hole the Anarchs could easily enter. Bring their hopes up to ridiculous levels. 'If we killed Victor,' they would say, 'why can't we just kill the rest of them?' and then Nines would get his Anarch Free State back at the snap of his fingers. If they were to win right now, LaCroix would've held a Camarilla position longer in the state than Strauss or Victor.

It wasn't anything he couldn't handle, nor was it going to be something he can easily avoid. Nines was simple, not stupid. He might even get the first laugh, but Victor's plan had already been put into action. Pitiful Anarchs, they were going to have wished to die by their blood boiling, or by being burnt alive. Lure of Flames was going to have to wait, as Victor needed to study some more, obscure paths. If it weren't for the Sabbat, the Anarchs would all be dead already. But, fighting a war on two fronts was a complicated, if not, deadly process.

However in this case it will be an advantageous. The Sabbat had no idea how helpful they've been to Victor in killing the Anarchs once and for all.

* * *

He once scowled at Ventrue who slacked or sat in hallways, hogging up the chairs used for people who were waiting for a meeting, for people who needed them. People who congested the hallway with long lanky legs spread out for no apparent reason. But he sat there like a, well, corpse, staring at the pristine carpets.

His first task, not assignment, task. Failed. A huge red stamp on his record, he was sure.

He had Miss Belvidere to erase it, if he decided to move. If he really needed it. But, it was the fact that he was the inferior Ventrue that really hit him the hardest. Cadmus Vanderbilt was more successful than he. Miranda Frost. Maybe even Gerald Constantine. He was tempted to think as far as Sebastian LaCroix.

He was upped by Sebastian LaCroix. What sort of envoy was he, if he was worse than LaCroix? The demon handled the battle with an embarrassing amount of control, a systematic method, even when it was two against one, she managed to get out alive. Not only that, she saved his life. He didn't thank her. How could he?

He had never fought someone older than he was. He had never fought a Kindred before. It was simply out of his 'branch'. He was a man behind a desk, a plain face with neat hair and a nice tie to greet in the evening and wish farewell at night, handing over a stack of paperwork that would have taken days to complete. He wasn't a field agent.

He looked up when a figure stood above him, "Yes?" He asked dryly as he slowly met her gaze.

"Are you alright?" She asked, something about her voice came off as too perfect. Toreador, he determined. She also looked vaguely familiar, but he had met at least a-hundred people since he came here, no memory came to mind.

"Fine. Carry on your business."

She sat next to him, "I like your suit."

"Yes, thank you." He gave her an irritated look.

"I'm Tess. I believe we met briefly?"

"Yes, that's right." He crossed his arms and legs.

"You seem overwhelmed."

"It's best you don't pry into my business."

"I wasn't very helpful here when I started." She sat back. He tuned her out entirely at first, before he heard, "I was more suited for organizing paperwork and the more…secretarial job. But, Mister LaCroix had none of it. I would have quit if I wasn't infatuated with the man." She gave a small smile, "Regardless, I stuck through. A nuisance to friends and enemies alike. So much so, I really had no friends. But I persisted. And I learned quite a bit." She smiled at him again, "I learned how to use firearms, blades and tactful kicks in a matter of months."

"I never imagined myself dealing with the filth of the streets." He said lowly.

"Do you have much experience in the Camarilla?"

"I've never been in a single area for very long…I've always done a lot of moving…"

"Hmm, I see. That explains the inexperience. You never gave yourself time to adapt." She stood up, "I would recommend firearms at first. Build up your tolerance to fighting. You'll grow before you even know it. I wish you the best of luck." She smiled.

"…yes, thank you." He said curtly, looking back to the floor thoughtfully.

Tess's heels clicked as she trekked back to her room, opening and closing the door gently as she entered, "Slade, are you here?"

"Yeah, I'm here." Slade looked up from where he was sitting on the couch.

She shed her blazer and hung it up on the coatrack, untying her hair from the bun it was in before she sat next to him, "What were you up to today?"

"…sitting here…being depressed…"

She gently wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his temple, "He has to be out there somewhere." She spoke softly.

"But I don't know where."

"No…but I have faith he'll come back. He loves you so much…as…" She chuckled softly, "Silly as it sounds. You're his everything."

He sighed, "I've sent the message that he's missing to everyone, but the only people who've contacted me back were Cadmus and Iphigenia, and they haven't seen him or Genevieve."

"We'll just have to keep looking…they could be…literally anywhere, knowing them."

"Yeah…" His shoulders sank.

"We will find them, Slade." She rubbed his shoulders and kissed his cheek, "Did you want to go to bed?"

"Yeah, I guess." He got up and headed for bed, "That's only part of it though…I just…I've realized how little I've been doing in this Sabbat conflict…"

"You've been training me. We'll both be very strong when we do run into any."

"I don't know when that'll happen." He sat on the bed, "VV's still missing do. When will it end? Does this Sabbat just, like to abduct people, or are VV, Dragomir, and Genevieve really…" He couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence.

"No. They can't be. We'd hear about it. Whoever 'killed' them would be proud."

He didn't respond, it was clear he didn't know how true that was. He sighed and loosened his tie, starting to unbutton his shirt as well.

She pulled his shirt off for him, then took off her own tie and shirt, "No matter what happens, I'll be here at your side. That much you should be sure about."

He smiled, holding her close and kissing her, "Thank you, Tess."

"Anything for you, Slade." She combed her fingers through his hair before she held his face and kissed his lips again, "I think we could both use some rest."

"We could do something else first."

"Oh?" She smirked.

"Yeah, like this." He stuck his tongue out a little as he unlatched her bra, squeezing her breasts lightly while her bra hit the ground, "These were probably suffocated all night."

"Mmm, they always are…" She scooted herself into his lap and kissed his forehead. He squeezed them a little harder, pulling her in closer.

She gave the same pronounced groan he loved before she tipped his chin up and kissed his lips, nestling one of her hands into his hair. "I want to fuck these." He gave them another squeeze.

"Then let's arrange that." She smiled as she stood up and took her skirt off, clutching her chest and giving it a good bounce, "I think they'll like it."

He swallowed hard, "I know I will…" He reached down and took his pants off, pulling her down so she fell on top of him, giving her ruthless kisses. She giggled and wrapped her arms around him, keeping up with his kisses as her legs entwined themselves around him too.

His kisses went further into her mouth, and his hands briefly ran through her hair, before they felt up her butt. Her eyes screwed shut as she moaned, her hands squirming as she reached down to pull her panties off and toss them across the room. He squeezed her a bit closer so her breasts were pushed up against his chest, he also pat her butt occasionally as he caressed it.

She hissed his name and tightened her grip around him, grinding up against one of his hips as she left wet kisses at his neck. He smiled and helped her along, "Let me know when you're fully satisfied down there, then we'll switch and I'll hump you."

"I want you to talk dirty to me…" She whispered in his ear.

"What? About how much I'll fuck you?" He asked, "I want you to be soaked in me, Tess. I want to drench you with my cock. Some girls would be humiliated, but, I feel like you'd enjoy that."

She let out a rather pathetic sounding moan, "Oh, I'd love it so much…I want it now…" She begged, "Please…"

He rolled over so he was on top, then he took his underwear off, letting the blood flow through his body. He positioned his erection in between her breasts, humping them quite vigorously. She gripped the sheets tightly and cried out his name, one of her hands reaching down so she could pleasure herself at the same time.

The pressure he put on her chest drastically increased as he sighed and sunk down on her a bit, his member creating a bit more friction as he began his orgasm. She turned her face away and bit her lip, groaning deeply before she pressed her breasts together to supply more friction.

She panted occasionally, grunting out pleas for more and more, urging him to keep going.

He put one hand on her shoulder and one hand on the bed to keep himself steady, still humping her chest with more and more vigor at each passing moment. He moved himself beside her when they both tired out after quite some time, "I don't…I don't know why but…being with you…makes me think outside the box with these kinda things…"

She gave a little smile, "I'm glad I'm such a source of inspiration for you." She said before she reached over to grab a few tissues from the nightstand and wipe her chest off.

"I'm sorry…I could've gotten that…"

"Oh no, don't worry, I like it…"

He smiled, once she got in bed next to him, he kissed her lips, "Goodnight Tess."

"Night Slade." She wrapped her arms around him and kissed his cheek, "We'll find them…I'm…I'm sure of it."

* * *

 **A/N:** I dunno, Tess, you don't have any of that Malkavian insight on your side…well, thanks for reading!


	32. Chapter 32

**A/N:** Here's chapter thirty-two! What's with this, updates in The Emerald Knight's Tale and NPNP!? It's called both writers having more than five minutes to themselves… *phone buzzes* Ugh, maybe this is short-lived…let's hope not! Enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs.

* * *

Cadmus did his best but sometimes he was busy. And she understood that, but her appetite did not. So her visit outside was one taken with extreme caution. If the Setite found her, her fears were for Rainy, not so much herself.

To add salt to the wound, she couldn't even find a single person wandering the streets alone to try and steal off into the night.

"You know, it's a good thing your clan weakness pretty much _guarantees_ the fact that I'll see you prowling around out here, ain't it?" Sirius smirked, sitting with his legs crossed atop a wrecked car.

She slowly turned to look up at him, "It is…" She mused, "Well, in your circumstances."

He pulled one of his pistols out, "You might as well just make this easy for me. I'll get you one night or another…"

"I'm not sure about that." She said, "Just let me leave quietly and I won't bother you or your people."

"That a threat?"

"No, it is not." She said, "I know whatever my clan did to your people upset you. I will not do those things. Let me leave because I will not."

"Sorry, moneybags, but that's not an option." Sirius jumped off the car, when Phaedra started running away, he rolled his eyes and laughed, "Oh, I guess I should've expected seeing the trademarked Nagaraja move…running away…"

She laughed, "There's a reason I'm still alive!"

"Get back here!" He gave chase, shooting at her occasionally, bullets would whizz by Phaedra's head. She brought her hands up over her head to duck them, running as fast as she could towards the red tower.

He reloaded his gun, prepping one of his hands meanwhile, "Ah, ah, ah, you wouldn't wanna frenzy again, would ya? It might be easy for your little Prince to wipe your record clean a _second time_ …"

She stumbled to a halt, "Well, he'll know it's no fault of my own…" She turned to him, "In fact, perhaps, he'd be more inclined to hunt you down."

"That's not going to happen and you know it."

"I wouldn't question the Prince or his Camarilla."

He swung the barrel of his gun at her but she ducked and started running, "And here I am, _openly_ questioning your Prince and your Camarilla!" He laughed, "What are you gonna do, moneybags? What are you gonna do about it?"

She grit her teeth as one of her ankles questioned the running process in heels, but kept heading for the tower. Why was it so far away? Why did she allow herself to wander so far in search for food?

Sirius gave chase, but then Phaedra heard him yell out in pain, following the sounds of a wolf growling and tearing away at flesh. Bullets were no longer pelting her back. She came to a stop and turned around, her eyes wide at what she saw. The wolf who saved her turned back into Beckett, while Sirius was on the ground, bloodied. Sirius slowly got up, "Beckett…" He spat, his tongue flickering in and out like crazy, "What the fuck are you doing in California?"

"Last minute hunting, you know how it is." Beckett smiled, "Or, do you? No, I'm not talking about your hunt for blood. I'm on the hunt for knowledge. Seems you're a little lacking in that department."

"Piss the hell off." He growled, "She's mine…"

"Oh, I do not think so." He said, "Must the Setites always be such a dreary sort? What happened that caused you to apparently hold such a grudge over her? Did someone sneeze and she didn't probably give her condolences?"

"Pfft, I don't want to hear it. Considering that you're the laughing stock of our clan…"

Phaedra let out a shaky sigh, "Beckett, I owe you an arm and a leg for the rescue…he's been pestering me for ages…"

"That's seemingly the goal for a lot of their sorts." Beckett said.

"Laugh while you can." Sirius said, his eye narrowing at Beckett, "I ain't scared of you like the rest of the Jyhad is."

"Is that right?"

"For starters, my generation is lower than yours."

He looked a little unnerved, but he did his best to hide it from Phaedra, "That doesn't decide a conflict."

"Oh yeah? What about Kemintiri?" He asked, his tongue flickered a bit out of joy, "What if I mentioned her? Would that scare ya a little bit?"

Beckett immediately called on Protean once again, turning into the white majestic wolf he was in the beginning of the fight.

"Kemintiri?" Phaedra asked, "I suppose this is a name I should bring to the Prince…"

Sirius growled as his bones snapped and he began to shift into an animalistic form too. But unlike Beckett, he turned into a big green serpent. He gave a ravenous hiss, and the two beasts began to fight in the middle of the alleyway, neither side wanting to give in.

Her eyes went wide as she backed away, wondering exactly what other tricks Sirius didn't reveal to her. "I will repay you for this, Beckett!" She called before she ran to the tower.

* * *

"Greetings, young ones." Akeem nodded at Cissy and Catalina, "It seems I've found the location of the book I've been searching for. I would like you two to retrieve it for me."

"Ugh, finally…you've been looking for that stupid thing since forever." Catalina said.

"Supposedly, it is located in one of the nearby apartments." He said, "Though be wary, it could be full of hunters…"

"Oh…fun…" Cissy laughed, "Forgot about those…"

"I don't think you've ever been up against a hunter." Catalina reminded.

"Yeah…I…didn't know they existed…" She muttered.

She snickered for a bit, putting a hand over her mouth, "Right, we'll be right back with it, Akeem."

"I appreciate your enthusiasm." Akeem nodded.

Catalina led the way through the alleyways, "Hopefully, this will be quick." She said, "Unless they're the good type of hunters…"

"…there's a good type?"

"A _very_ good type." She said.

"Heh…heh, heh…great…"

She sighed, "That fight against the Tzimisce was…well…terrifying…"

"Every time I go places with you, I feel like 'death' gets redefined."

She nodded, "I can't believe he fought the core group of the Anarch movement so easily." She said, "He must be really old…"

"I don't like the…fleshy stuff…"

"It's the Tzimisce's clan Discipline, Vicissitude. It's awful." She said, "I hate dealing with them…"

"I can't blame you…it made me feel like clay…" Cissy shuddered.

"Me too." She said, peeking into the apartment, "Alright, let's see how tightly secure this place is." When the door fell back, she blinked a few times, "Okay…not at all…" She said, "Uh…" She walked inside, immediately putting a hand to her nose, "Aw…gross. Sabbat…this place is Sabbat…not…hunters…"

"I think I'd almost rather that…"

"Well, it means whatever tip Akeem got was dead wrong…" She sighed, as she eventually heard some Sabbat vampires run up to them. She pulled her Desert Eagle out and shot them down in three or four shots each, "I guess it doesn't hurt to clear this place out, at the very least."

"Jeez, that gun's powerful…" She took out her machine gun.

"We'll split up, I'll take this floor, you go on the second, we'll clear everyone out, and then I'll tell Akeem that his lead was full of shit."

* * *

She tried to remember the last time she was full. Really, truly full. Full enough to vomit at the thought of more food. Phaedra lifted a leg out of the suds and washed a hand over it.

Candles lit the walls a warm red color, of course she had the bathroom painted red and black. The colors of blood, and the night sky. For some reason, those colors were so serene to her.

Her eyes closed as she tried to enter some sort of meditative state. Something to take the edge off of thoughts of Sirius, thoughts of Beckett, thoughts of Cadmus and Rainy, of Jyhad, of the un-life. She tried to remember the last time she had really been stuffed…

"Phaedra, eat." Her eyes flickered up at her father's glare, "You're going to make yourself sick if you don't eat."

"I am eating." She splashed her fork into her bowl of soup, her mind burning with the sound of her father's Greek accent. She hated it, she hated that she had it, and even went through great strides to rid herself of it.

"We're going to have Panagiotakis and his family over for dinner tomorrow, if you cannot eat now, you will not be able to eat later." Her mother said.

"That is completely untrue." She muttered under her breath.

" _Kakomathiméno paidí…_ " Her father grumbled to her mother, who chuckled softly.

Phaedra didn't know Greek very well. But she knew that ' _kakomathiméno paidí_ ' was 'ungrateful brat'. She took another spoonful of soup, "Can I finish my schoolwork now?"

"You didn't clean your plate." Her father said, "Do you know how much—"

"How much work the farmers put into growing those tomatoes, how much labor the fishermen spent to get the clams, how much suffering the peasants put into mining salt, yes, yes, I've heard it all." She stood up, "But I am full." She turned around and went off into her room to study.

It was her sanctuary. Not her room, her books. Studying, learning, it was something her teachers were even impressed with. So long as she was learning, she was only growing stronger. She was only bettering herself, sharpening her mind against everyone. Soon enough it would be sharp enough to cut back. Or, so she hoped.

Her mother's figure entered the doorway about half an hour after dinner, "Phaedra…you don't even have lessons tomorrow, dear, we're heading back to Greece for your wedding…and you're studying?" When her daughter didn't respond, her mother looked a bit upset, "Phaedra, I'm speaking to you."

"Yes, I hear the sounds coming from your lips." Phaedra looked up, "I have three hours to myself, eight hours of time to sleep, and then another hour to prepare myself for travel. So…yes, I'm studying."

Her mother sighed and walked in, "When I was your age, I don't think I read a single book…" She chuckled softly, "I was arranged to be married with your father, I was ecstatic."

"Mmm hmm…" Phaedra turned a page.

"The wedding was beautiful. To die for, dear. And then, we tried to conceive."

"Lovely."

"We tried for many years, and nothing. The doctor told me I was likely barren." She said, then she smiled, "But, we tried one more time. And then I learned we were having you."

"Mmm hmm…" She yawned.

"Well, when you were in my belly, I knew you were a girl. I could tell. I heard it from God himself, he told me you were going to be a girl, and you were going to be such a strong, strong girl."

"Mmm hmm…"

"But I hadn't anticipated…" She looked up at her daughter with her big amber eyes, "That you'd become…so obstinate. When God told me you were going to be strong, I wanted wisdom, I wanted integrity and faith…" She shook her head, "And ever since we moved, you've…only shown bitterness and hate…"

"Hate?" She asked, "No. I don't hate you."

"Perhaps you don't think you do." Her mother said softly, taking her daughter's hands, making her drop her book on the bed, "Phaedra…"

"What is it?" Phaedra grew irritated.

"I would like you to pray with me." She insisted, "It was something my mother…did with me, the night before my wedding."

Phaedra blinked a few times. Why did her mother look so sad? "What is it?" She repeated, "Why do we need to pray?"

"Why…?" Her mother asked, like it was the dumbest question on the planet.

"I thought this was supposed to be…the happiest moment of my life, no?"

Her mother's smile weakened as she squeezed her hands, then closed her eyes and faced the sky, "The dowry…it is…quite expensive…and Panagiotakis, he's rather wealthy…so…we had to do everything we could to show our wealth…"

"No, that isn't the reason you're upset." Phaedra stated, "Though it might be one of them."

Her mother sighed, "You poor child…" She whispered, "This day…marks your last day of choice…" She said softly, before she squeezed her hands again, "Pray with me. Pray…God will be forgiving with you…"

Phaedra's eyes widened in shock as she looked down at her mother. She had always worn the mask of the happy-housewife for as long as Phaedra could remember. She had to admit, she was shocked. But, she supposed her mother had the habit of over-exaggerating.

* * *

He looked like a boar, to her. Bloated, must have been two-hundred, maybe three-hundred pounds. Mid to late twenties, maybe? His face was unshaven, dirty-blond colored hair, musty green eyes. A thick brow, almost a unibrow, but not quite. Vaguely ape-like face. She brought her glass of retsina to her lips and drank the entire thing.

"Ah, my dear son, Panagiotakis!" The man's father rang out, "Tonight is the night you become a man among men!" He said. The statement really couldn't be any truer. Phaedra was the only woman in the entire dining room. "And I thank Miss Kokino's father for such a generous offering. Together, I hope that our families may breed healthy children, and have lucrative success for many generations!"

Phaedra tuned out her father's speech, mostly because it was in Greek. She didn't like to have to translate his thoughts if she didn't have to. She'd usually listen to Panagiotakis, or his father, put in the effort to think over what they were saying. But when it came to whatever _her_ father was saying, she didn't bother even listening.

Instead, she watched one of the servants. His cheeks were flushed, he looked like he ran a marathon as he entered the dining room. What had he been up to? She smirked, imagining the man dropping a platter of moussaka all over the floor, and hopelessly scooping it back into the dish, hoping the guests wouldn't notice. Silly man. She won his little game by just not touching a thing at the table.

It wasn't that she didn't like Greek food. It wasn't her favorite, but there were some dishes that were excellent. And the wine was to die for. But she didn't trust an ounce of food on the table. It wasn't poisoned, surely, but she didn't like the thought of unknown hands touching food that would enter her system. Who knows what could have been on those hands?

Panagiotakis's father leaned in towards her, "Are you all right, girl?" He spoke in the sloppiest Italian she had ever heard, "You're not eating."

"Yes, I'm alright." She insisted, holding a hand up.

"Do you want different food?"

 _I want you to stop stomping all over the Italian language with that elephant tongue._ "No, no, I'm quite fine. Thank you."

He seemed hesitant, then turned back and started praising his son about, well, nothing, really. After all, he hadn't accomplished anything, per say. Her father glared at her like a hawk, but her lips just quirked into a smile.

And then his father started speaking again, and she started paying attention, "Look at what a beautiful girl she is…undoubtedly fertile!" He had a good laugh with her father. _Am I a sow now?_ "I must admit, I'm almost jealous that Panagiotakis gets her for life!"

 _For life? Oh, that's rich. I'll just…divorce him after a few years. Do these apes not understand the concept?_ Someone refilled her glass of wine as his father continued, "How does this sound, in nine months, if she bears a girl, you can have her, and if it's a son, then we get to have him?" The table laughed again.

 _The only way that pig is getting inside me is if I'm unconscious…_ She drank the rest of her glass and turned her gaze back to the servant. He'd nervously glance at the pair of fathers, then back at the wall, feigning innocence. She smirked at him, even gave him a wink, which made his cheeks light up even more. The empowering feeling lasted half a moment before looked around the table.

Everyone was looking at her the same way she was watching the servant. Rapt fascination, like they'd never seen a woman before. Their eyes drifting from her hips to her waist, her chest, her lips, her hair. When she'd meet their eye, they looked away. The tables being turned wasn't exactly enjoyable.

"Very well, has everyone finished dinner?" The father asked, before he stood up, "Good, then let us lead the wedded pair to the bedroom!"

… _what?_ She set her glass of wine down very slowly.

She nearly jumped out of her skin when Panagiotakis was at her side, taking her arm forcefully. She stood up, the chair squealing as it slid across the floor, then fell backwards. Her arm slid from his and her hand landed in his pudgy chest as she gave him a good shove, spitting in Italian, "Do _not_ touch me."

The silence in the room was palpable, until her father adjusted his coat, "The girl doesn't know what she's saying. She's simply nervous. That's all." He gave her a forceful push in the back, shoving her down the hallway.

She turned around and grit her teeth, speaking faster than she ever had between clenched teeth, "Father, I'm not sure if you've noticed, but I am human. I am incapable of breeding with boars, even if I was inclined to."

"Enough, you spoiled ingrate." He gripped at the back of her white gown before pushing her in the bedroom. She dusted herself off and met his gaze one last time, before he spat, "You'd better make us a son." Panagiotakis came into the room as well, before the door slammed shut.

He loomed over her like a second shadow. She turned her head and faced the man, a good foot taller than her, even in her heels, "Well…" She spoke in Greek for him, a small smile on her lips, "I'm not sure about you, but that dinner has completely exhausted me…"

Panagiotakis snorted before he picked up her hand, "I know I'm not much to look at." He spoke slowly for her, kissing the back of her hand. His facial hair scratched her soft skin in the most unappealing way. The smile on her face was a cross between a grin and a grimace, "But I think we will live a very fruitful life together."

She couldn't handle it. She took a step back, "Let me ask you this." She said, "I bear you a child. _One_ , child." She said, hating herself for even fathoming the creation process, "And then we divorce. We can raise the child together, but we lead separate lives. You can find a new wife, I can find a new husband, we can…keep the wealth within the family."

He chuckled, "Silly girl. That Italian accent is endearing, but the Italian mind is not."

"…hmm?"

"In Greece, we do not have divorce."

"… _hmm?_ "

"There is no end for us, in Greece. This pairing is for life."

"…ah…I see…" She said, a wide grin on her face, "Of course! I knew that." She stepped back, reaching her hands back subtly to feel for the doorknob. She could run in heels.

He chuckled and reached forward, twirling a curl of her hair with a sausage finger. She could feel course hairs on his finger brush against her cheek, "You are lucky I do not like women for their brains."

She closed her eyes tightly, "Yes…yes I suppose I am fortunate…" She bit her lip, then raised a hand, "I'm just as excited to begin tonight's proceedings as you are…but…" She sighed, "It is a bad time for me."

"Your excuses will not work on me, pretty girl."

"My name is Phaedra…and…yes they will. Because if we had sex, it would be impossible for me to have a child." She tried the doorknob, but it was locked. _Locks on the outside of the door? Christ, they want me to_ die _in here._

He chuckled, "Just because you're bleeding doesn't mean you can't be impregnated. Silly girl, you really are dull, aren't you? What a wonderful woman you will be…"

Her fake smile could only last so long. "Yes. Well." She looked at the clock. "Good. Right." She faced him again, "What if it ruined the bedsheets?"

"Your dowry is enough to pay for more with ease."

"I suppose I've run out of excuses."

"I agree." His shirt was discarded to the floor.

She let a stray curse out in Italian before she took of her veil, "Then please, at least fetch me a bottle of wine. That strong kind."

* * *

If she wore red, blood became invisible. Not entirely invisible, but bloodstains didn't look nearly as grotesque as they did in plain clothes. Not that any questions would be asked.

The blood on her hands smelled foul, at least to her. The smell of the stinking fish on the dock beside her smelled worse, she supposed, but just about anything made her nauseous at this point. The feeling of the slimy wooden planks beneath her knees made her feel sick, throwing her head over the edge of the dock to plunge her face into the sea water made her feel sick too. She thought it would make things _quicker_ , if anything.

When she pulled her face from the water, she reached her hands in and let the gentle waves clean the blood from them. She shook them out, watching the stray drops flicker into the sea, before she sat up again and looked out at the horizon.

The sea looked so endless. The gentle waves swelling, the occasional seagull flying by, giving a stray call. The stars that were tossed deep into the sky, sparkling like fireflies on the sea's surface. The murky trail of light the moon left in the rippling waters. That was one thing she hadn't lost since she moved to Greece. The Mediterranean.

One of the fish in the net beside her twitched. She turned her deep bronze gaze towards it. Its big white eye met hers, looking horrified as its big mouth opened and gasped for water, but only got air. It was surrounded in a net of dead brethren. The only survivor. It gave another weak twitch.

She reached forward and grabbed the net, pulling at it with no avail. The fish stopped moving, playing possum, or maybe just dead. She grabbed the net between her teeth and snapped it, just enough space to reach her hand in and grab the fish. It thrashed in her hand wildly, before she gently slipped it into the water. It darted into the sea with the speed of a lightning strike, disappearing into the murky night's sea.

Her hand reached for the blood soaked knife left on the dock again. It slipped in her fingers before she firmly grasped it and looked at her reflection in the blade. She looked pale, paler than before, but perhaps it was the moonlight hanging in the sky. And then she grasped the edge of the dock as she threw up again. The smell of blood filled the air once again.

She didn't know when the sound of high heels started, but she knew when they stopped. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, turning weakly to look at the woman behind her. She was stunned, really. How did she even find their private dock?

She wore a green dress that was a bit tattered, had a high ponytail, and the most outlandish tattoos Phaedra had ever seen. There was something truly gorgeous about her, in an offsetting way. Maybe it was those ghastly white eyes. The same eyes that scoured Phaedra up and down, seeming almost disappointed.

"Can I help you?" She asked in the smoothest Greek she could muster when her throat was absolutely devastated. The woman said something in response in a language Phaedra was completely clueless to. Phaedra stared on in blank confusion as the woman seemed to try a few more languages, before she suddenly spoke Italian.

"You're wounding yourself?"

Phaedra sat up, "Oh, well, interestingly enough…" Italian rolled off her tongue like second nature, thankfully, "That's a story for another night." She chuckled softly, ignoring the bile building up in her throat.

"Why." The woman stated, her voice grabbing Phaedra by the heartstrings and yanking on them.

"Ah…very…interesting question…" Phaedra said slowly, "Who…who does that make you?"

The woman looked at Phaedra again, as if she had made a grave mistake. "I had miscalculated this situation."

She raised a brow and wearily got to her feet, "Clearly…I certainly didn't expect company…"

"I had thought your life would have left you by the time I arrived." The woman looked her over again, "You wish for death?"

"Well, either that or a broken uterus." She grinned weakly.

The woman seemed to plan over her actions briefly before she approached Phaedra, kicking the knife into the sea, "Then allow me to put use to your paltry existence."

Phaedra's cheeks would have blushed if there was enough blood, "Oh dear, I'm certainly in no shape for horseplay…"

The woman hoisted Phaedra up over her shoulder like she was made of feathers. Phaedra's eyes were wide for many reasons. First of all, her raw wound lay open against the woman's shoulder, secondly, the woman certainly possessed super-human strength, and thirdly, she was lugging Phaedra around like a sack of potatoes, to where?

She gasped for air as a wave crashed into her mouth, it seemed the woman had plunged off the dock and into the sea. Phaedra shut her eyes and mouth, but couldn't prevent the moan of agony that escaped from the salt water seeping into her stomach.

And suddenly, air again. Dank air, it smelled of things Phaedra didn't recognize. Her eyes opened and she saw darkness as well, besides a single candle lit on a crate. They were beneath the docks? She didn't even know there was land beneath the docks.

She grunted as the woman threw her onto the sand, "An interesting fashion of life-taking you've selected."

Phaedra slowly moved her hands to her severed stomach, "Yes…I thought…I may render myself infertile…and perhaps die along the way…"

The tiniest smirk appeared on the woman's lips before she stepped forward and held a hand out, "I can give you what you're looking for."

"You're…offering to eat me?" Phaedra asked as she took her hand and weakly stood to her feet, "Oh, yes, look at that, you've even sharpened your teeth…" She said before she limped over to the artifacts, "And…look at these…" She picked one up, "You must be an archeologist…I recognize this." She turned suddenly to her, "How did you obtain this? It was in a museum, wasn't it?"

The woman's head slowly cocked to the side, "You know of artifacts of this caliber…?" She did a wonderful job hiding how she was feeling within the depth of her voice.

"Of course…I…had planned to study archeology…discover the truth behind the brash definitions humankind deduced for income…" She winced and held her stomach, "Before I became a wife…" Phaedra turned to the woman and added, "I don't care that you're a cannibal." She said, looking over her again, "We all have our differences. Their lives don't go to waste, either, they feed you. I don't see that as murder." She said, then added again with a smirk, "I suppose I should say 'ours'."

The woman in green looked at her skeptically, "Rarely do I find… _humans_ , who are unfazed by my curse…let alone members of my own kind."

"So you aren't even human…" Phaedra's eyes widened, "Then I care even less."

"You express no fear."

"That died a long time ago." She fell to her knees, "I'm thankful to be…without child. That is my only fear." She closed her eyes.

She chuckled softly and looked away, "Seems even time cannot pass the narcissism of men." She turned back to Phaedra, "You want my name."

"Yes, that's right." She said softly, "Then…you…you can eat me…put my useless life somewhere…please discover something..."

"You may call me Pisha." She said, "Your knowledge of archeology intrigues me." She crossed her arms, "I think provisions can be set."

* * *

"Back so soon?"

"Of course." Phaedra's heels clicked on the stone floors, "You sent me after a canopic jar, it wasn't very difficult."

Pisha reached forward and took the jar, looking closer, before looking up at Phaedra, "I had not expected you would be able to locate it."

"That was the easy part." She said, "Really, taking it was simple, too. They allowed _flash photography._ Which made little to no sense to me. It's as if they're _selling_ the artifacts there. For free."

"Were there cameras?"

"Oh, I'm sure there were." She said.

"…you took all precautions to avoid their stare?"

"No. I'm sure they have video of me taking it. If they confront me about it, I can pay my way out of it."

Pisha paced back and forth a few times in the cave, her heels making a distinct clicking against the surface, "Your bold nature disturbs me."

"Disturbs my husband, too." She chuckled softly, "The other night, he proposed that perhaps it is my acidic nature which leaves me infertile."

"Your wounds have healed?"

"Yes, seems your concoction did wonders. It's as if I was never injured at all."

Pisha sighed, "Tell me." She turned back to Phaedra, "Do you have _any_ amicable relations?"

Phaedra put a hand on her chin, "I'm not sure I do. My late mother? She was tolerable."

"No…alliances?"

"Alliances?" She asked, "A strange way to put it. No."

"Your life, by all means, is pointless." She asked, matter-of-fact-like.

"Yes. I suppose it is. But, doing work for you…it's pulled me from a likely bought of depression that was building up." She smiled, "Perhaps it's just because you're so beautiful."

Pisha pulled her hair down, letting it fall down around her neck, before she pulled it back up and looked at Phaedra, "You would be interested in doing more work for me for many more years to come, yes?"

"As long as it isn't forever. I do need some time to myself…"

"Nothing is forever." Pisha said simply.

"Hmm. Yes, well, I had assumed we were already working together quite well. Is there something I needed to sign?" Phaedra asked with a smirk.

"Come closer."

Phaedra's smile faded, "Pardon?"

"Come closer." Pisha stepped forward, bringing a hand up and motioning her closer.

Phaedra slowly stepped closer, "I had thought…" She started.

Pisha reached forward and took her left hand, pulling the ring off, "Take this."

Her cheeks flushed with just a touch of pink, "I must admit, I'm completely lost."

"You did not flinch when you saw my face. You did not flinch when you saw my residence, or my teeth, or learned of my…habits."

"I did not…"

She chuckled softly, "Your acceptance will either lead you to your grave, or to greater things even I could not reach. I hope I will survive to see what." She seized Phaedra's hips, "Do not make this difficult for me. Keep yourself still and your senses at ease. I'll bring a new purpose to you." And with that, Pisha's teeth found their way in Phaedra's neck.

* * *

"There you are, dear!" Phaedra called out over the waves, "You shouldn't stand over such a steep ledge, someone could give you quite the push." She didn't bother making her Greek come out as clean and dignified as she could, she slurred it with her Italian accent.

Panagiotakis turned around, a net in his hand full of little thrashing fish, "Woman." He barked, "You are to be in bed when the sun sets."

"Why?" She asked, watching the full moon cast rippling reflections on the shore's surface. It glowed and eerie red color, "So you can have your way with me?"

"So we can have children."

"As much as I adore that child-like innocence, I'm not going to put up with it any longer."

"What is the meaning of this?" He snarled, walking forward, dropping the net, "I ought to strike you for speaking to me like this."

"Mmm. Yes, yes, I know." She said, "I'm just the _worst_. For treating myself as something better than a womb and eggs."

He reared his hand back to hit her, but his movements were so slow and predictable, she easily stepped back out of the way, "Cute." She said, "You told me on our first night together that divorce was impossible. Marriage was for life." The net of fish on the dock started edging towards the ocean. All the fish working together to make it there, back to sea.

"…yes…"

She held up her left hand, before she grinned, revealing rows of dagger-like teeth that he could now see clearly, even in the darkness, "Then this marriage is over."

"W-What…?" He stumble back, the peer creaked, "You've become a demon!"

"Yes." She stepped forward slowly, "A demon with three deathly powers, all of which I could use to kill you, but none of which I will." She dropped the language and went back to her native Italian, "You brutish swine, you've oppressed me far too long. My mother warned me of your influence on my life. And I'm not going to stand for it."

He tried to step back further, but nearly fell into the ocean. The fish however, made it in, and broke free with ease.

"Ah, so then, what will it be, love? Shark bellies, or mine? I'm simply _famished_ …"

His scream filled the night air, and she let it. She let him cry out until he had no more lungs to produce air, no more throat to produce sound, no more mouth to shape the pain. Her stomach was full for the rest of the night, and the following morning, where she stayed with her sire in a cave hidden by the waves.

* * *

 **A/N:** I uh…*clears throat* might have missed being Phaedra…just a tad. Thanks for reading!


	33. Chapter 33

**A/N:** Here's chapter thirty-three! Alright, alright, we have to be finished with the new characters, it's chapter thirty-three for Pete's sake! No. No, no, you're wrong. Here are more. Hey, but there's more sect drama now! Bwah, hah, ha! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs. (Also, I don't own Kalliyan, she's from the Clan Quest Mod (nor do I own Akeem, but I've said that like three times by now)).

* * *

"Well, that took freaking forever." Tsubasa flipped her black hair back, stepping off the boat, "Didn't think it'd take so damn long to get to America."

Jun crossed his burly arms, stepping off as well, "With any luck, taking the Los Angeles region will be quite simple." He said, in an extremely deep, honorable voice, that sounded quite appropriate given he and his allies just came off a boat from Japan.

"I wouldn't rush it too quickly." Tsubasa crossed her arms, "There are Kindred crawling all over this country. It's gonna take a lot of work in order to recreate what Ming-Xiao did." She said, "So sorry to keep your bedtime lover waiting even more."

Jun rolled his eyes, "Where's Kalliyan?"

"I thought she was on the boat with us." Tsubasa turned around, "Son of bitch, Kalliyan! Are you coming or not?"

Kalliyan strode off the boat with a huff, looking like a child who was forcibly dragged to a dinner party with their parents, "I have stressed, _multiple times_ , that I do not want to do this, right?" Her voice was feisty, like Tsubasa's, yet classy. Hers was a bit more pleasing to the ear than Tsubasa, who could get annoying to listen to after a while, especially with the attitude she carried on her shoulders.

"Tough, it's not your call, newbie." Tsubasa said, "We're under orders." She said, "His orders, to be exact." She nodded towards Jun, "So be mad at him."

"Yes, but I enjoy living…or…at least…I suppose I should say existing now, shouldn't I?" Kalliyan asked.

The three of them looked like a strange sight to outsiders, well, maybe less so once they reached Chinatown.

The two girls both wore a gray blazer, but it was unbuttoned near the top. There didn't seem to be anything under the blazer's either, judging by how much skin was showing, in addition to the tattoos on their bodies. Kalliyan's tattoos were more dragons themed, a purple dragon here and there on her chest, while Tsubasa's were more serpent themed, with black and green snakes all over her chest. On their legs were black jeans and black boots.

Tsubasa ultimately carried herself a bit more confidently than Kalliyan, but that was most likely because Tsubasa had been doing this for quite a while. Her black hair was also much longer. Kalliyan's was about neck length, and even that was pushing it, while Tsubasa's went down her back. Her lips were fuller and pinker as well.

Then there was Jun, he was a large, well-built man, who looked as though he trained regularly, having the muscular body fit for a samurai. He has short buzzed black hair, and equally as dark eyes. He wore a black tee-shirt, black jeans, and black boots. Tattoos of horrid gothic imagery covered both his arms, and who knows how many more were under his shirt.

"Our first step would be to clear out Chinatown of any Kindred." Jun said, "We must take back the work that has been stolen from Ming-Xiao."

"Oh yes." Tsubasa said, "Because Ming-Xiao worked _so honestly_ for all of what she got here in America. Really, it's a shame she had to go." She said, Kalliyan snickering at the comments.

"Quiet." Jun said, "Ming-Xiao did what she had to, given the circumstances."

"Really, cause I heard she gave in and joined forces with some prissy Ventrue." Tsubasa said, "I bet he charmed her…hmm…I'd love to see him try that on _you_." She smiled, "Being about twice Ming-Xiao's age, you'd break his spine."

"The new Prince is a Tremere, we'll have to be careful." Jun said, "This won't be an easy victory for us."

"Not only that, but there's a Tzimisce running around too. Apparently he's too rampant for even the Prince to control." Tsubasa said.

Kalliyan looked from one to the other as if they were speaking a foreign language, "Are…are these dharmas you're talking about…or…names…or Kuei-Jin themselves?"

"It's Kindred terminology." Tsubasa said, "I know, it took me _forever_ to learn what the hell most of it meant. It's so stupid and unnecessarily complicated." She sighed, "Oh well, at least we probably won't have to deal with any clowns anymore…"

"The Ravnos?" Jun asked, "No, I doubt we'll ever see their kind again."

"Yeah, cause their ancient grandfather woke up and ate them for some reason." She cackled, "Now if only that happened to all the Kindred!"

"Shh, keep your voice down." Jun warned, "I think there's a Kindred around this bend."

Sure enough, Cedric was around the corner, he leapt back when he spotted the three Kuei-Jin, putting a hand on one of his scythes, "Greetings." He said, adjusting his mask, "I see what Gideon foretold was correct. There are Kuei-Jin coming here, to take our land."

"This was our land first." Jun argued, "It belonged to Ming-Xiao."

"Very well." Cedric said, drawing both his scythes, "You may make the first attack."

"No, you may make the first attack." Jun said, "You are outnumbered, it's the only fair and honorable thing to do." He said, as Tsubasa drew a black katana and Kalliyan took out a Colt Anaconda.

"I insist, you got first." Cedric said, "Curiously compels me."

"No, why don't you go—"

"Oh my god, were both of you idiots born in the eleventh century or something?" Tsubasa snapped, "If he wants us to go first, we'll go first!" She dashed off accompanied by a black wind, making her incredibly hard to follow.

Cedric backed away at the sight of Tsubasa's speed. A purple glow of skulls went around one of his hands as he called upon Necromancy. Hundreds of zombies began to rise from the dead, as well as a good handful of wraiths. Kalliyan screamed and started shooting at the nearer zombies, while Tsubasa slashed some of them down with her katana with ease.

Jun crossed his arms, "An interesting display of strength you have there." He said, "Are you Giovanni?" He asked, "Or…perhaps Nosferatu, due to the fact that you're hiding your true face?"

One could see in Cedric's eyes how disturbed he looked, "You seem to have at least a basic knowledge of how we Kindred work, how is that?"

Jun gave a dry smile, "Do you think we Kuei-Jin are all idiots?" He asked, as the horde of Cedric's wraiths flew at Cedric. Jun waved a hand out and all the wraiths froze in place as ice grew around their bodies. As they hit the ground, they shattered into pieces.

Cedric looked shocked, he had been around for centuries, and he had never seen a technique quite like that one. First, he called on Necromancy _again_ to call out more zombies and spirits. Then, he donned both Auspex and Fortitude, running at Jun, glowing both green and blue.

Jun looked like he was done for, he had no weapons on him to defend himself, at all. Unlike Tsubasa and Kalliyan, he had nothing on his belt to call on.

At least, until he _created_ both of his weapons.

Out of blood, he formed a sword in his hand, and out of fire, he formed another sword. He ran at Cedric, clashing with him with a fury with the likes of which Cedric hasn't seen before.

Cedric's eyes grew smaller and smaller. He quite frankly didn't expect a challenge in taking Los Angeles for the Sabbat, but here Jun was proving all of that wrong. How old was this mysterious man, anyway? He was no Kindred, no, he didn't even follow the generational diagram that Kindred know, so Cedric had no idea how to size this man up, other than knowing that he had hundreds of tricks up his sleeves.

Jun kept swinging at the offensive, but Cedric was able to parry the blows, and vice versa. It was obvious that the two of them were both hundreds and hundreds of years old, at the very least.

Once Tsubasa took out enough zombies, she dashed in front of Cedric, slashing at him while Jun kept him occupied. However, her katana broke the second she got into contact with Cedric's armored body. "Son of a bitch!" She yelled.

"Pull back with Kalliyan!" Jun ordered, "I will take care of this one myself."

Tsubasa gave a shaky nod, dashing off with Kalliyan. Cedric went back, the older, snappier woman certainly was fast, it was as if she knew Celerity. He faced Jun again, clashing his scythes with Jun's otherworldly swords.

Jun smiled, "How will it feel to be the first Kindred offering to my people?"

Cedric jumped back, "I'm afraid I won't be your first offering." He said, leaping back once more and summoning some of the undead to cover his escape.

Jun waited for the zombies to come to him, killing them easily with his flaming sword, "Very well. I suppose I'll have nice balanced dinner when I get home in Chinatown, but you'll just have blood, won't you?"

* * *

"Ugh, I forgot how much I hate these damn booths…" Damsel crammed herself in next to Nines, "Bet I have a splinter up my ass about now…"

Skelter grabbed a stool, then another for Anastasia, "It's about time we all got together to sort shit out."

"I know." Nines said, "We would have done this sooner, but I wanted to see who did what. See what happened when we _didn't_ make the first move."

"Risky move."

"Look, we don't have time for drama, or stories, or little grudges over each other." He said, "Damsel, go get me a blood bag."

She rolled her eyes, "Fucking lazy motherfucker…" She grumbled as she got up to go to the stockroom.

Nines took his jacket off and sat back, "I get that we've all done shit to piss each other off. It's human nature, we can't always get along with each other. But if we're gonna survive in this pit of hell, we have to stick together. We have to be able to count on each other, to trust our lives in their hands." He met everyone's gaze with his, "That's what we have that they don't. That's what the Anarchs have always stood for, as long as I've been around. We need to keep it that way. If we fall to dust and start tearing each other apart, we might as well raise the white flags and let them take us."

Damsel sat back down next to him and handed him a bag of blood, "Maybe some apologies are in order."

"Apologies, huh?" Nines said, "Alright." He sat back and reached for a lighter in his pocket. "Damsel, I'm sorry I'm a jackass to you."

"I didn't mean to me." She snapped, seeming rather irked with his attention.

He ignored her and looked up to Skelter, "Skelter, I'm sorry about all our arguments recently. I've been on edge, sure, and I need to be able to count on you the most. You're my right hand, alright? Mean the damn world to me."

Skelter crossed his arms and looked away, grumbling something under his breath.

Nines looked at Anastasia, "'Stasia, I'm sorry about everything I said. All the shit that went down, it was my fault." He swatted a hand before he brought the cigarette to his mouth and puffed out some smoke, "I care about you and your family, alright? This is your home, I get that. I hope it can stay that way."

Anastasia gave a quiet nod.

"I mean…if her brother is Camarilla…we'll eventually have to…you know…right?" Sirius asked.

"No…" Anastasia quivered, "He's just…misguided…"

"Really? I bet he's telling everyone in the tower that you're 'misguided' too." Sirius said, looking at Nines, "Look, what the hell is this all about, anyway? You're acting like D-Day the Second is swinging by tomorrow at midnight or something…"

"Victor Madison wants my head. He could come and try to take it in the next three minutes, or the next three years. I can't afford to waste time anymore."

Damsel looked generally peeved, "He'll have to get through all of us first."

"Sound as determined as you want, but Blood Boil will put a halt to that. A cold stop." He said, "We need an answer." He slammed a fist on the table, "Catalina."

Catalina gave a little yelp as she jumped, "Yes, sir?"

"We need to stop Victor in his tracks. It'll keep me around, and hopefully keep the Tremere off our backs." He crossed his legs under the table. Cissy jumped as she felt his legs brush against hers, considering she was sitting across from him. But, she decided she liked them there, and didn't bother to move. "Tell us about what you can do with Quietus."

"Well…uh…I can…remove sound from my body…I…can drain more blood from humans…than other Kindred…I can spit acid…I can coat my weapons with poison…and I can steal blood…" She said timidly.

He sat back and thought about it for a few moments, then asked, "Damsel, did the tranq guns come in?"

"Not yet. I think they'll be here like, next week."

He sighed, "Damn. If only Killian were here. He'd be the first to do the sniping."

Skelter sighed, then turned to Nines, "I'll do it."

"You will?" Nines seemed a little fearful, "It's not…picking up blood from the blood bank, er hunting down some Sabbat. You could be targeted."

"I'll do it."

"Alright. So we have a shooter. We just need a good plan. Catalina will do the assassination, Skelter will tranq him before the killing…we need a spy, too, to make sure the coast is clear. And I don't just mean the day of the attack." He looked up at Sirius, "I mean, days before. Weeks. You need to figure out Madison's schedule. His routine. He's gotta be alone at least a minute of his life every day. You need to find that time, find a window we could use."

"So I'm spying on the Tremere Magister, huh?" Sirius asked, "Sounds like a freaking blast." He snickered.

He chuckled, "Thought you might like that." He said, "The rest of this plan would depend on his schedule."

"So, I'm doing the assassination?" Catalina asked, "All I would have to do is…stab him…with one of my poisoned weapons. He…he doesn't know who I am, he doesn't _know_ I'm Assamite, so…one little stab would be all it takes, and then the poison would take him…"

"It's perfect. That's all we need. As long as you can do it quietly. Skelter'll knock him to his face too, so you won't have to worry about any repercussions if he notices you."

"Tranquilizers, huh?" Sirius asked, "We know how effective those are against Kindred yet?"

"I got enough to take out an elephant." Damsel said, "Apparently it kills apes and people. So…I'm hoping it'll do something. It was super expensive."

"Unorthodox strategy, but hey, it could be fun." He snickered, "Too bad he's too old for me, or else I could just freeze him with Serpentis."

"How old are you?" Damsel asked.

"Eh, pushing seventy, give or take."

She gave a little nod, sitting back before Nines continued, "But in the chance that this fails, we need to come up with more plans."

Catalina nodded, "I'll do whatever it takes to wipe out the Tremere from this city."

"Well, we can't just start from the top, unless we make a plan like Jack did. But even then, that didn't handle our Camarilla problem. If we get rid of Strauss—"

"Then what?" Skelter asked, "Think about it, if we get rid a' Strauss and Madison, who will take over? Voerman?"

Sirius slammed both his fists on the table, "I wanna kill both of those bitches in the most painful way possible. They will die in the next year or so if I got anything to say about it."

"Who, the Voerman sisters?" Damsel asked, "I mean, I get that they're annoying, but should they really be our top priority?"

"I understand that the group have different priorities than me." Sirius said, "When I'm in the Last Round, I follow your orders. But when I'm by myself, I'm focusing on Therese, Jeanette, and that stupid Nagaraja."

"What'd they do to piss you off again?" Skelter asked.

He shrugged, "Bad first impression, you could call it."

Anastasia blinked in surprise, "That's it?" She asked, considering that Jeanette has given her a world of pain ever since Anastasia's flimsiness, but her heart was too big to ever consider killing Jeanette herself.

"People who fuck with me don't usually last too long." He grinned, "That's why we may as well have this in the bag. Especially if getting rid of Madison works out."

Nines shook his head, "It's a shame it came as far as it did, but…let's call it self-protection."

Skelter sat back and crossed his arms, "Well, what other plans did you have in mind?"

"I was going to ask you guys. I've been thinking about Madison, mostly."

"We can't forget that Brujah guy, right? Who's after us?" Damsel said, "What do we do about him?"

"Brujah guy?" Cissy asked.

"Kingston." Nines said, "He's a member of the Camarilla, Primogen, I think. We oughtta axe him too, cause he's after Skelter."

"After Skelter?" Catalina asked.

Skelter crossed his arms, "Yeah, Nines, why me?" He taunted.

"Well, we might as well air out your dirty laundry." He smirked, "Skelter killed the former Brujah Primogen."

"…sure as hell wasn't like anyone else was doing anything useful…" He muttered bitterly as he looked away.

"Is that right?" Sirius smiled, "That's pretty cool." He laughed, "Wish we could do the same thing, except…to all six of them at once. And the Prince. Then we'd win."

Damsel snickered, "Yeah, if only it were that fucking easy. I don't know how the hell Skelter got away with it."

"He was walking back to his apartment by himself, course I'm gonna club 'em over the head…" Skelter continued to defend himself.

"Well…then I guess this official meeting's over. I know you all have a ton of shit to do." Nines smirked. "We'll try our little plan with Madison and see how it goes."

"Yeah, I have a shit ton of pornos to buy." Cissy stood up, "Least that's some way I can waste my time as a vampire."

Catalina took a deep sigh, burying her face into her hands, "There's no need for you to _share_ that with everyone…"

"Well…I mean if anyone wanted to join me…"

"No. No one does. I would bet money on it…"

"Anyone?" Cissy held a hand up.

"Try Jeanette." Skelter snorted.

"Who's Jeanette?"

"No one." Catalina said quickly.

"A bitch." Sirius said, while Anastasia just looked completely uncomfortable over the whole thing.

She looked around, "So she's a bitch, sure…but…would she be down for a fuck?"

"You'll find a safer time with a street whore." Skelter said.

"Well, it's not like I can get diseases." She laughed, "I don't get it."

"She's a little…nuts." Nines said.

"A Malk." Skelter said, "Not only that, but she's clingy. And possessive."

"Ah….yeah…I don't need that then…" She muttered, "I'll find someone else. C'mon Cat. Come help me."

"I am _not_ helping find someone to hook up with." Catalina said.

"Well, if you're not gonna screw me, then you can at least help me get screwed. I'd find that blond again but I don't know if I'll run into him."

"Alright, that's it, we're leaving." She started pulling Cissy away, "We're leaving so you don't embarrass me anymore…"

"Okay, bye!" Cissy waved to everyone before she was tugged out of the building.

"She is pretty green, isn't she?" Skelter muttered.

"She'll get there. Especially with Catalina's help." Nines said.

"Hopefully she doesn't have loose lips…" Sirius said, "Could screw us over…"

"That's the risk with letting new blood in. On the other hand, if she decides to keep her mouth shut and stick around, it's likely she'll be an asset to our cause."

"Better hope so." Skelter said as he stood up, "You wanna come back to my place?" He asked Anastasia.

"Sure." She stood up and grabbed his hand.

Nines watched them leave, smothering his cigarette into the table and throwing his jacket on, "Guess we'll call it a night. You have my number if you need it, right?" He looked at Sirius.

"Yeah, I should be good." Sirius got up, "Later." He said.

* * *

The couch bounced as she sat down next to him, then reached her hand in his bowl.

"Aye, I didn't give you permission ta reach your grubby paws in there." He sat up a bit and held onto his bowl with both hands.

"But I know you won't finish it all. Might as well help."

"I could finish this…"

"You could not." She said, "You ate an entire steak three hours ago."

"Yeah, dat was a whole three hours ago!"

Harper raised a brow before eating more popcorn, "Mmm hmm…"

He rolled his eyes and put an arm around her shoulders, balancing the bowl between their legs, "Have a good nap?"

"Uh huh." She said, "I dreamt of Cadmus doing a performance, he was amazing! He rocked the entire audience with a voice of the gods…" Her eyes were bright and lively as she told the tale, he could practically hear her heart thumping, "…and then, then he played his guitar, and everyone was begging for more!"

He scratched his chin, "Your dreams are a lot cleaner den mine…" He muttered.

"Hmm?"

"Nothin'." He kissed her cheek, "I'm glad you're feelin' better."

"So much better." She sank into him a bit, then started watching what was on TV, "What is this?"

"I dunno, I was channel surfin'."

She reached for the remote, but it was just out of her grasp, "Can you…can you…?"

Mercurio watched on with an amused expression, "Go on."

"Please…" She squeaked out.

He tipped it over her way, she snatched it up and stuck her tongue out as she looked at the buttons, before she hit the power button. "Hey!" Mercurio protested.

"I wanted to talk." She looked up at him and smiled.

"…hey…hey, I don' like that look. Dat's your thinkin' face…"

"Well, I have been thinking. About you, and me."

"…yeah…?"

"I…I'd like to start a family."

"I know ya do."

She was a bit frustrated with how quick he was to respond, "Well…?"

"I still think you're going too fast."

"Too fast?" Her shoulders sunk, before she turned back to the blank glass screen that reflected them, "Maybe you're right. We need to move somewhere better for children."

"Well…it's not even dat. And, even if I got over the whole…'we've been dating for a few weeks' thing, what would da kid even be? We ain't exactly human…we got two types of blood in us each, two types of DNA muckin' around inside us, how the hell does that work?"

"I did some research." She said softly.

He raised a brow, "Research, huh?"

"Yes. I spoke with Mister Golden."

"Uh…" His eyes darted around.

"A highly intelligent Nosferatu who…owed me a few favors. He told me about revenants."

"Revenants…?" He asked slowly.

"They…they're the offspring of ghouls, from what his shaky knowledge told me. The Tzimisce were known for having and using them, because they produce their own vitae, though it is weak."

"So, what, are dey like vampires?"

"Not entirely. They're…more like powerful ghouls. They can produce a very limited amount of vitae, so they age at about the quarter of a rate that a human does. Other than that, they sleep, eat, and reproduce, just like people. They can also have Disciplines."

"…so if we had dis super-baby, it'd be a baby for like…eight years?"

"Its…it's likely…"

"Christ…good thing we don't age either…"

"Yes, it is…" She giggled, "So…I just wanted you to know it's possible."

"Alright, alright, I get it." He said firmly, "Done with the talkin' now?"

"No." She said firmly, crossing her arms, before she said, "How was your day?"

"Quiet."

"That's good, right?"

"I dunno, S'been a while since I've seen that kid, what's his name, Dragomir? He was kinda a staple, once he started payin'."

"Dragomir…" She said, "The name sounds familiar, but I don't think I've ever met the face…"

"You'd know 'em if ya saw 'em." He chuckled to himself, then closed his eyes, "Sometimes I really think about that too much…"

She wrapped her arms around his torso, "What do you think about?"

"The vamps in our lives, the ones we're real used to. Dey could all just, disappear, like that." He snapped his fingers, "You or me, we could lose a regnant. We could lose a friend, we could lose anyone up there like that. It's a little scary, ain't it?"

"I suppose so…" She mused, "But, that isn't true all the time. Sometimes the bad ones disappear."

"Like LaCroix." He smiled.

"Uh huh." She leaned in and kissed his cheek, "Like LaCroix."

He wormed his arm down around her waist, "So Harper wants kids…"

"Mmm hmm…" She hummed as he pulled her back into his lap, then she giggled when he tickled her stomach.

"Who's saying I want any?" He asked.

"Nobody." She said, "I'm forcing you to."

"You're terrible."

"I know."

He pressed his lips against her neck, "I wanna get married first. I don't want to think about how awkward it'll be."

"Okay…then marry me."

"Who's saying I'm worthy of ya?"

"I am." She said, as if it were the simplest answer.

"Who's sayin' you're not gonna go find some nice guy with some…washboard abs and a nice haircut who's a good ten years younger?"

"Who's saying that's what I want?" She said, "Maybe I want someone with bad hair."

"…uh huh…" He blinked a few times.

She walked her fingers up and down his forearms, which were still tightly wrapped around her belly, "Maybe I want someone with bad hair and…and a few problems…a few bad habits, and a very dangerous job…" She turned her face to look up into his eyes, "Because I love him."

"And who's sayin' you won't love Mister-washboard?"

"Because Mister-washboard isn't you. Mister-washboard isn't a man I can trust…a man I can rely on…a man who's in the World of Darkness with me, who can understand the pains I've been through, who's taken care of me before we even became friends…" She rolled around so the position was a bit more intimate, "And because I would never want to live the rest of my un-ending life with someone like Mister-washboard."

He smiled, "I…I really mean that much to ya?"

She smiled back and nodded, "Of course you do."

He held her face with one of his hands, "Then….ah, screw it. Let's get hitched. We're gonna be livin' together anyway."

She giggled excitedly, then kissed his lips, "I do!" She squeezed her arms around him, "Can we make babies now?"

"Harper!"

* * *

 **A/N:** So, all the sides are making preparations, and there are still a ton of inert sides that haven't even begun their assault…thanks for reading!


	34. Chapter 34

**A/N:** Here's chapter thirty-four! We have a few different bits of drama…well, I'll leave it at that. This is a good one. ;) Enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs. Also, most of the conversation and the character Hirst in the last scene are from the Final Nights mod

* * *

His eyes jolted open. How long had it been raining? Did it just wake him, this wave of acid rain seeping through the rust in his dumpster?

He looked down at himself, then groaned in discomfort. Whoever threw a pair of work boots in his dumpster would pay dearly. He saw a teenage boy who outgrew them. Wasteful ingrate.

He sat up and moved the work boots away from his lower back, swiping a hand over his eyes. He reeked, put lightly, but that wasn't his primary concern. He could see the faint glow of the streetlights outside and jumped out of his dumpster, embracing the pouring rain that greeted him.

It was the closest he'd get to a shower at this point. Or running water. Or something that reminded him of living.

He adjusted his glasses and spotted a homeless man that looked at him with wide, terrified eyes. His lips nearly split with the size of his grin, "Hello…"

"Please…please, leave me alone!" The man begged.

Something in Dragomir stirred. Something grew out of him, something that had always been deep inside him, but never broke free. Until now, at least. He blanched before the being took over him, tackling the homeless man to the ground and tearing his neck open before draining him dry.

As Dragomir came to, he saw that he had paws, not hands. He was covered in fur, leopard fur, to be precise. It only lasted a second, before the fur seemed to sink into his skin and he reverted to his human-self. He looked at the corpse on the ground and tasted the bitter blood in the back of his throat.

Was this what having Gangrel blood was like? Did the beast strike whenever it saw fit?

He stepped over the body and trekked down the alleyway until he made it to the road, thankful the rain kept people out of the streets. He waited there, on the sidewalk, just waiting for a taxi to pull over.

The taxi driver looked him over once he got in the back seats, "Jeez, man, you look terrible…want me to drop you off at like, a hotel or something?"

Dragomir's eyes lit up, "Tim…?"

"Uh….yeah, do I know you?"

"It's me!" Dragomir exclaimed, suddenly full of life, "Oh, how good it is to hear your voice again! Yes. Yes, you should take me somewhere. Fate has put us together, Tim! My path will be lit with your lantern!"

"I think I remember you now…"

"Go. Go, where the floor-pedal takes you. It's where I belong."

"Uh…alright, but…you know, I can't remember you paying me last time…"

Dragomir reached in his pocket and handed the man a-hundred dollars. "Drive."

Tim slowly took the money, "Uh…right." He pressed the gas and started going, "Where?"

Dragomir sat back, kicking his feet up on the center console, "You make a valid point. I'm in need of a change. My identity has shifted yet again."

"Oh yeah…?"

"I can't be in California anymore. Or maybe I can. I can't be in L.A."

"I can't blame you. L.A. can be pretty scary…" He said, "So where are you thinking then?"

"I need somewhere as sinned as I am." He said, "Somewhere where I can find people of my own class…"

"…Vegas?"

Dragomir had a good laugh, and slapped his knee too, "Yes! Yes, it's Vegas! Vegas is right! Take me there!"

Tim flipped his turn signal, "I hope nobody reports me for that…" He muttered, cutting the wheel in another direction.

"If they do, they'll have me to deal with." Dragomir said, crossing his arms, "I'd need to go to a hotel first. To clean myself up. Can't go to Vegas without some sort of appeal."

"I guess."

"I've never actually been there, but I feel as though my mind has been there the entire time."

"I can relate to that."

Dragomir sighed and watched the blurred lights go by, "So much has changed since we last met, Tim. I've faced so many monsters, and yet, there are so many more…"

"I wish I was brave enough to face all my 'monsters'."

"Well, sometimes courage diverts from reality." He said, "Sometimes it becomes impossible to allow courage to shine through when it must be done to survive."

"…yeah…"

He closed his eyes, "…she isn't going to listen to me, is she…?"

"Hmm? Who?"

"My solace. I told her of my disappearance. I told her to find shelter and stay safe, but…" He practically melted into his seat, "She won't be content with that. She's likely lost her mind as we speak…"

"Your solace? What, like your girlfriend?"

"More than that. She's more than just a…a mate. And even if we tied the sacred knot, she would be more than that. She is my good. She is my grounding, the chain that tethers me to the ground. My solace, put simply. I am mad without her presence. Our minds fit together like two stray puzzle pieces, missing from the rest of the set. But at least we fit together. We have each other, but nothing else." He paused, "It grew to the point where…my actions were not only jeopardizing my life, but hers. I couldn't bear the thought of her urn in my hands, so I told her I was gone."

"What, like a suicide note?"

"…in a way of speaking, yes. And I don't think she responded to it well…"

"Well…if my fiancée left me a suicide note…god, I don't even want to think about it. I'd be miserable."

"But, it was for the best!" He threw a hand in the air, "So I didn't hurt her anymore! I need her as much as she needs me, but I can't…I can't keep destroying her life! It's…it's abuse, and she doesn't realize it…" He clutched his forehead as his eyes watered with tears, "And I can't do that to her…"

Tim actually seemed quite upset about the whole ordeal, "So you…broke up with her?"

"There is no breaking with us. We are one, we are…we are one…we can't be split. I just…can't leave my influence in her place…" He gave a shaky breath, "But we are still one…we are still….one…that cannot change…"

"You really…make love a big deal…I feel like the kind of relationship you have is something no one else on the planet has…"

Dragomir opened his eyes, his vision blurry to the real world, "I didn't even…see that I was blind to my other half until she came to me…she fell into my arms like she had always belonged there…well…because she has! She knew. Her vision…it's a lot clearer than mine. She sees things I couldn't dream of finding…that was another thing I simply…shouldn't be allowed to have access to…her insight…"

"Insight?"

He shook his head, "I've shattered my mask enough as it is…" He muttered, "It's a miracle I haven't been traced yet."

"So you really got into some big trouble…?" He asked, "Am I going to get in trouble for this…? Am I an accomplice?"

"You will not be involved. I can promise you that. What world of pain I've involved myself in transcends your universe."

"Uh…yeah…alright…good…"

He gently tapped a knuckle up against the glass, "I hear her…calling to me…and I hear him too…he's looking for me, damn, that idiot!" He suddenly snapped, complete mood whiplash, "I told him voice to voice that he could not find me! That he must leave me, he must let me go until this is over! But he's looking, damn that fool he's looking and digging in places he cannot! He'll get himself killed, and the graveyard will be dedicated to me! They'll crucify me over their graves and hang me there for eternity to stare and weep until I can't weep any longer!"

"Your friends, you mean?"

"Yes…my friends…" He whimpered, suddenly weak and hopeless, "They think that this sin is a scar on my back, but it isn't….no…it's a scar on everyone in that tower…everyone who I've ever associated with is in dire need of protection, but instead, they search for….they search for me…they plunge their hands into the flames and expect to draw out the coals without being burned…"

"I…I guess it means they really care about you."

"Of course they do…" He sniffed, "Because I let them, like a fool! I should have distanced myself. I should have knocked them to the ground instead of shoving them aside…" He held his forehead and wept a bit more, "I wish I could drink away this pain…"

"What, you can't drink?"

"No, I cannot…"

"Then…well, I guess you could just go to a casino or something…maybe play some games, try to relax?"

He sniffed, "I've always been a gambling sort…"

"Just…be careful with those tables. They can be addicting."

"Yes, I'm aware…it's in my blood, you know…gambling addictions….it was how my father and his father lost their lives…"

"Gambling killed them?"

"Yes, that's right…" He rested his head on the seat rest and sniffed, "My grandfather, he was the dealer. The dealer was shot when he was found to be cheating. And, my father…that excuse for a man, he spent every penny he had, and wasted away in a cardboard box…"

"Jeez…that…sounds terrible…"

"A fitting fate for a man of his character…" He mused, turning his gaze back to the red and white lights of commuting, as well as the streams of water that completely disoriented the images, "I need to be there before sunrise."

"Well, it's only like, nine. We have plenty of time."

"Then…if I were to…hibernate…you would keep an eye on my clock?"

"Yeah, sure. I'll wake you up when we get to a good hotel."

"Pick one for me with a good shopping mall nearby."

"Uh…alright, I'll try…"

It was only moments before Dragomir drifted off, Tim wondering why exactly the man reeked of dumpster, but deciding not to delve into it.

When Dragomir woke up from his dreamless state, he saw the bright lights of a hotel with vacancies. "You up?" Tim asked.

"Yes…" He said, clearing his throat and popping the door open, "I cannot thank you enough, Tim." He held a hand out as Tim started to hallucinate, "I was never here. Instead, you're taking a paparazzi back to their hotel in L.A."

Tim's eyes blanked before he cut the wheel and drove away. Dragomir turned to the door and gave a shaky sigh.

Tim picked a nice place, he decided. He certainly wouldn't be able to afford it, but it was still a very fitting place. The attendant behind the counter looked very concerned about who was entering, "Um…."

"Yes, hello. I smell terrible." He swatted a hand, "Sebastian LaCroix. Sign me in."

"Do you care which room?" She asked, still very grossed out by this man as she punched his name in.

"No. Yes. Get me one with a shower."

"They all have those."

"Then a bath."

"Yeah, they have that too."

"A bed."

"You're kidding me, right?"

He leaned an arm over the table and brought his glasses down his nose, his eyes bloodshot, first of all, but both of the irises were the color of blood. "Do I look like I'm kidding, Shannon?"

"Please…stop touching the counter…" She backed away.

"What room will it be?" He asked, readjusting his shades.

"Four twenty three." She handed him the key, "Six fifty."

"Oh, really? Interesting." He held out a hand and she just started laughing, before he turned for the elevator and went into his room.

It was lavish, that was for sure, but he wasn't in there for very long. After he showered, he rinsed his jacket off with the shower head and left it to dry outside the balcony. After all, putting it in the wash would certainly ruin it. He then did the same with his pants and put them on, but, as for his shoes? Well, he just decided to go barefoot. His golden shoes were ruined, there was no going back.

He made Shannon go into another laughing fit on his way out and went to the nearest mall, feeling for his wallet in his back pocket. He wasn't planning to use money, of course. Not yet, at least. But what to buy?

He strolled past all the menswear, and really, found nothing that suited him. Everything was either black or gray or beige and made of all cotton and sewn together in a factory with thousands of the same thing.

No, he needed something different. He grabbed the shoulder of a girl in the store's outfit, "Excuse me."

Her ponytail bounced as she turned around, then her cheeks flushed as she was greeted with his bare chest, since she was on the shorter side. She then lifted her head to look up at him, "Um…sir, you need to wear a—"

"Well, that's what I'm trying to do." He emphasized, "But nothing you have here is very appealing to me."

"I'm…sorry?"

"I want to see the items you don't sell. The items that make your managers cringe, the items that get stocked away time and time again that you can't afford to get rid of, in case some idiot accidentally decides to purchase it. I want to see the items that sit and collect dust for 'off seasons' and then get bleached in the lights for the entire time that they actually sit on the shelf, waiting and waiting—"

She blinked a few times, "Uh huh…yeah, uh…I'm gonna go get my manager…"

"Good. She'll know." He pat her shoulder and let her go.

By the time the girl came back with her manager, Dragomir was looking at himself in one of the full-length mirrors. "If only I could get tattoos…this would certainly be the place to do it, hmm?"

"Sir, do I have to call security?" The manager asked.

"Security? What have I done?" He asked, feeling rather accused.

"What did you want?"

"I want something you cannot sell. Something so wildly inappropriate that nobody purchases it. Something that's price has been marked down so many times—"

"If you don't stop him, he'll keep going forever." The employee muttered to the manager.

"Right." The manager said, "Fine, come with me." She said as she led him back into the back of the store.

Dragomir looked around a bit as he watched the people look at him strangely, "Perhaps no outfit at all is the best for me…"

She turned to him, "We have these." She held out a pair of black skinny jeans with paisleys all over them, the knees and thighs distressed a bit. "But I don't know if they'll fit."

"What size?" Dragomir asked.

"We don't know." She said, "Someone tore the tag out."

"Then I'll take them." He grabbed them, "Shoes."

"Ugh." She turned around and walked down a few aisles, taking out a pair of wingtip dress shoes with reptile hide accents and a paisley base, "There, you'll be matching." She handed them to him, "And for shirts—"

"Don't need one." He held a hand up and put both girls into a laughing fit as he turned and walked out, "Thank you, ladies." He snickered to himself as he walked back to his room.

When he put the pants on, they fit, despite the fact that they were a tad tight. And so did the shoes, even with some extra room. He threw the jacket on over his shoulders and adjusted it. Something about the outfit was still incomplete. His eyes landed on a necktie that had been left in the room before he came. It was tied to one of the bedposts, knotted tightly. He snickered and approached it, looking closer. Embroidered in the deep blue fabric was a series of golden fleur-de-lis, they even had a metallic tinge to them. He grit his teeth as he untied the fabric, then threw it around his neck, loosely tying it over his bare chest.

He looked back in the mirror and chuckled, then let out a howling laugh that filled the room. His soul lit up with a black flame as the beast inside him joined him in his raucous laughter.

He liked the clicking his shoes made on the pavement, a deeper pitch than his last shoes. He adjusted his glasses and pushed the door open to the nearest casino, the one brimming with life.

As soon as he sat down at a table, a girl in a bikini approached him, "Can I get you anything?"

He swatted a hand at her and looked at the dealer, "What game are we playing?"

"Blackjack." The man said, "You in?"

His grin nearly split his face in half as he reached in his back pocket and pulled out a few hundred dollars, setting them into the pile, "Let's do a warm-up round. I've never played the game before."

The others sitting at the table snickered and exchanged glances, ready to take his cash.

"You've never played before?" The dealer seemed pretty shocked, "Look, go find somewhere else to play—"

"You'll find I'm a quick learner. Let them go first, or however the game works."

The dealer raised a brow as he started shuffling. Then, one of the girls at the table spoke up.

"You know, cutie, let's try something else." She pushed her shades up her forehead, "How about BS? You gotta know how that one works. I'm not gonna get a thrill from taking your cash if you're just handing it out."

He snickered, "Fair enough."

"And after this, we'll do Blackjack?" One of the men asked.

"Sure thing, cowboy." The girl said, "Deal 'em out."

The cards started getting handed out, everyone eying each other over their hands before Dragomir plucked the ace of spades from his hand and set it down on the table. "Madeline, your turn."

"How'd you know that was my name?" The girl asked as she leaned in.

"Just felt right."

"Uh huh…" She said smugly, putting down a pair of cards, "Two twos."

"One three."

"One four."

"Three fives."

"Bullshit." Dragomir grinned.

The man sighed and picked up all the cards. The girl looked over to Dragomir, "Smooth."

"Mmm."

"One six." The next man said.

"Three sevens." Dragomir fibbed. A few people looked up at him, seeing as they also had sevens in their hands, but they had no desire to call him out, for whatever reason.

"One eight." Madeline laid down a card. Dragomir gave a loud laugh as they played into his hand.

"Two nines."

"Bullshit." Dragomir purred as the man picked them up.

"One ten."

"Bullshit." The other person sighed and picked them up.

Madeline looked over, "How are you so damn good at this?"

He tapped a finger to his temple, "Should have let me play Blackjack."

She narrowed her eyes at him with a smirk before someone cleared their throat and looked at Dragomir.

"Oh, my turn, is it?" He picked a few random cards from his hand, "Three jacks."

Again, someone flinched, since they had two jacks. But, once he opened his mouth and looked at Dragomir, he shuddered and closed his mouth, looking away.

Madeline narrowed her eyes. She could see his entire hand from the way she was sitting, and saw him put down different cards, "That…that…" She looked up at him, then shuddered, his eyes almost stabbing through her soul, before she put another card down, "One queen."

He grinned, "Bullshit."

She shuddered and picked up the cards.

One more circle around the table guaranteed that Dragomir won the game. The money was pushed towards him reluctantly. He shuffled his fingers through the cash as the colored lights of the casino reflected in his glasses, "Blackjack's next, yes?"

* * *

"I don't know how you keep doing this to yourself…" VV grit her teeth and pulled just a bit harder before a series of cracks were heard.

"Shit…that's it…that's it…" She gently let go of Killian's shoulders before he rolled them back and forth, "That's so much better…"

"I'm sure you pulled something…" She said, sounding quite worried, "Let me help."

"I'll be fine. Pulled muscles last like, half an hour with these bodies." He said, standing up off the bed.

She sat up and rubbed his back from behind, "If you insist…"

"C'mon, you can't tell me you've never pulled a muscle up there dancing."

"I haven't."

"Seriously?"

"I'm very flexible."

"Yeah, I know." He snickered, before the door swung open, "Pops."

Archie stepped in, "Killian. It's time for a little business meeting."

"Another one?" He asked.

"Yes, at the Last Round."

VV looked away, averting her gaze to the blank walls. "The Last Round, huh?" Killian asked, "Something tells me this is going to be a bloody meeting…"

"So long as you're there." Archie slung an arm around his son's shoulders and walked him out of the room, "The Anarchs don't know about this…this change, do they?"

"I didn't tell them, but it's possible they figured out…"

"Then I suppose this will be a bit risky, won't it?" He asked, freeing his son from his grasp, "You're going to go into the Last Round. If they pick a fight, then fight, but try to take a few names while you're there. If they're tolerable of you, if you prove to be a very good actor, then corner some of them. Understood?" His father handed him a powerful shotgun, thrusting it into Killian's arms.

Killian looked from the gun to his father, "Yes, sir."

"Very good." Archie grinned and pat his shoulder. "Let me pay for your cab."

The way to the Last Round was silent, but once they made it there, Killian paused at the front door. His father had already given him a handshake, then drove off. He was alone.

He knocked a few times, trying to hold the gun as casually as he could before he stepped inside, "Hey. I'm back." He called.

There was a still silence in the room. Damsel peered her head in from the doorway, glaring at him, "You're…back?"

"Yeah." He walked in and shut the door, "Got some good shit from the Sabbat." He held up the gun, his body starting to feel numb as the familiar smells of smoke and booze filled his lungs. The grungy rock music, the sound of Damsel's shoes scuffing up the already damaged floors. "Sorry I took so long."

She crossed her arms, "We heard you were in the Sabbat now." She tried her best not to look up at him, to pretend he was no taller than she was.

"Uh…yeah…" He looked away, "I was…pretending."

"…pretending?"

"You know how V disappeared?" He asked, "She's with me. She's safe. So am I. Let me go upstairs."

She looked him over quickly before she stepped back, "Go on."

Killian made his way upstairs, a hand made of jagged ice gripped onto his heart tightly at the sight of Anastasia. He tore his eyes away and looked at Nines, who looked at him with a blank stare.

In fact, the heat from all the stares in the room really started to burn. Skelter's death glare, Nines's blank stare of disappointment, and the stares from the newcomers he couldn't even place. He gave a weary smile, about to say something, croak anything out, before tears just started tumbling down his cheeks. "Dammit…" He hissed, swiping a hand over his eyes before he fell to the floor and started weeping like a little girl.

Nines's gaze fixed on the gun that had dropped to the floor, then back to Killian, but he didn't say anything. He wasn't able to.

Skelter crossed his arms and looked away, trying to tune out as much of his crying as he could.

Cissy recognized him, and looked over to Catalina with shocked eyes.

"The fuck…" Sirius's smug grin, (which was usually always plastered onto his face), disappeared, "What the fuck are you doing here?"

Killian sniffled and looked up at Sirius, "The hell…I could ask you the same question…"

Sirius snarled as his snake's tongue flickered out occasionally, his face basically told Killian that if he blabbed about Sirius's other loyalties, he wouldn't live to see the next night.

Catalina gave a few slow blinks, "Wasn't this the guy you were plowing the other night?" Anastasia made a face at the sound of that.

"Yeah, it is. I didn't know he was a vampire…" Cissy said slowly.

Killian pounded a fist on the table, "Look, I just can't do this anymore, alright!?" He sat up on his knees, "I don't want to be Sabbat…I don't want to come here and try to shoot my friends…you're all I got…Dammit!" He smashed his forehead into the floor, "What the hell am I supposed to do!?"

"Last I checked, you and your daddy were marching up to Sabbat headquarters." Sirius said, "Why the change of heart?"

He pounded a fist on the floor, "Because I'm an idiot…" He sniffed, then looked up at Skelter, his forehead was bright red from slamming it on the floor, "Skelter tried to kill me…and I was pissed, I wanted to get back at him…my dad mentioned something about killing him off…so yeah, I obliged…he guilt-trapped me…kept saying how he was the only blood I had left…" He sniffed, "Then I thought about Lark, I thought about how happy she'd be if I fixed the old man or something…if I did something right for once…god, I don't know…" He wilted again, "I just don't know…"

"You're a sad, sad man." Skelter said, "You can't even pretend to know what the hell you're doing with yourself."

"I just want everything to go back…" He whimpered, "I want to go back to…when we were friends…and we'd go and crush the wimpy Sabbat…we'd pout about LaCroix…nobody hated me…"

"And then you fucked up. A lot." Skelter said bluntly, "And now you're not welcome back."

"I didn't say that." Nines said.

"Oh, great, _now_ you chime in." Skelter glared up at Nines, "He'll have to kill everyone here before you realize he's bad news. Same thing happened to that Toreador chick. Wasn't until she called a Blood Hunt on your ass that you realized she was bad news. What's it gonna take for him, huh? Tryin' to rape 'Stasia? Turning to the Sabbat? Trying to come here and gun us down? That's acceptable now? Do we not have standards? What, a bum comes in off the streets, we gonna welcome him in? What's next, Nines? We that desperate? Cause I'm gettin' sick and tired of all this bullshit. Hell, we wouldn't even be in half the messes we found ourselves in if you didn't fuck up and let someone rub your face in the mud."

"Skelter, you're—"

Skelter snarled and stepped forward, stepping on Killian's face and grinding it into the floors, "Fuck this, Nines. You go and make a big deal about not bein' the leader, not bein' an alpha, not bein' the 'Prince of the Anarchs', so when the people speak and tell you we don't want him here, you refuse? We let him in, cuz' _you_ said so? When the hell did your word become the word of God?"

"Part of caring about everyone is including people who've made mistakes." Nines said after a heavy pause, "If we operated the way you want us to, you'd be kicked out too." He said, "We all made it clear from day one, killing Primogen or people at the top without an assembled plan was off limits. And you broke that rule. And then, you tried to kill Killian, which entirely unacceptable." He said, "I can pick and choose from the sins here everyone's committed, but I don't. Some people screwed up more than others, but that doesn't mean they don't have the passion to be here. And if you can't understand that, maybe you shouldn't be here."

Skelter looked livid as he stepped away from Killian and grabbed Nines by the shirt, "The _fuck's_ that supposed to mean, _Armando_?" Snarls were plastered on their faces that were just inches apart.

"Hey!" Sirius got up and tried to distance the two of them, his eye moving from one man to the other, "I'm not just gonna sit here and watch the Anarch movement of this state be broken up by a freaking _love triangle_ …"

"Love triangle…?" Cissy asked.

"This has surpassed the goddamn love triangle." Skelter spat out, "Nines, you got two options. Let him in, or kick him out. But if you let him in, I'm out." He gave a crooked grin, "I'd choose wisely."

Catalina swallowed hard, scooting her chair towards Cissy a bit. "We can't have both of you?" Sirius asked, "Christ, this sounds more like a Toreador band backstage…"

"I'm not going to entertain your little outburst." Nines said, "I'll wait for this to blow over."

Skelter made a sound that was awfully reminiscent to a dog snarling before he turned around and left. Killian looked down at the floors, still looking pathetic, "What the hell did I just do…?"

Nines held a hand out for Killian, "You're always welcome with us. You just might have to be careful around Skelter."

"What do I do…?" He asked, almost sounding fearful, "He's gonna leave…"

"No he isn't. He has nowhere else to go. He's awfully good at throwing around empty threats." He pat Killian's shoulder, "I'll talk to him."

"Okay…" He muttered, before he turned to the others, "So you got new recruits?"

"A few."

He looked at Sirius, but didn't say anything. He didn't bother looking over at the other girls before he looked at Anastasia, "And what about you?"

Anastasia held an intense stare with him for a bit, before she left as well, brushing past anyone who got near her, presumably to go after her lover.

Sirius shook his head as he sat back down, "Fucking hell…"

"You're not going to hurt her." Nines said. It was more of a statement than anything else.

"No." He said, "Not anymore. I'd rather jump off a cliff."

"But you did it before?"

"Yeah." He closed his eyes, "I did."

"You're gonna need to apologize then."

He shook his head, "I can't. I already have, too many times. Anything else I say won't mean anything."

"You gotta try."

"I know…" He wiped at one of his eyes, "Shit, I've completely broken her, haven't I…?"

"Nah…she's…she's strong. She'll be alright."

"So…is this guy Sabbat…er…?" Cissy asked.

"He's with us." Nines said, "But he'll keep playing Sabbat until they catch on. Right?"

"Yeah." Killian nodded, "I can do that."

"So you'll say you pinned Skelter down but lost him on your way out."

"Yeah…"

"You got a time they want you back?" Nines asked.

"No. Maybe. I don't know. I wasn't…paying much attention…"

Sirius eyed Killian carefully, "You're going to be playing the Sabbat?"

"Yeah." Killian looked over at Sirius, "Not like I wasn't before."

"You're going to have to be careful." He warned, "If you get caught, getting a disappointment speech from your dad will be the least of your worries."

"Yeah, I get that." Killian said, "I'll be real careful."

* * *

The four of them laughed at their complete success of a mission. Their target was eliminated with ease, almost making them question whether it truly was a vampire or not. However, when he turned to dust, it confirmed their suspicions.

"That was almost _too_ easy." Ella scoffed, the only girl out of the four commanders, "I hope all the idiots in this state are as easy as him."

"It's unlikely." Gavin said, "That spawn of Satan was slimy and cowardly. He wasn't a fighter. Some of them are…and they're deadly."

"Have you started looking through his phone to see who his contacts are?" Vance asked.

"Working on it." Ella scrolled through the cell phone in her hands, "He knew what he was doing though. Most of his messages have been deleted, aside from the very recent ones."

"Look through his contacts then." Gavin said, "Unless he deleted those too."

Hirst meanwhile was quiet, the obvious face of a novice, he was only recently promoted to a commanding position. Unlike the other two men, he looked like he barely fit the dark brown trench coat provided for the Society of Leopold members.

Gavin and Vance both had shaved blonde heads, while Hirst had longer brown hair. Aside from that they nearly looked identical, outfitted in tough coats, and covered with weapons. The former two both had strong, commanding voices, as they were respected leaders. The two of them as well as Ella were under the tutelage of Grunfeld Bach himself for a while, making them naturally swoop in quickly upon hearing of his death.

Ella had flaming red hair going down her back, with red lips and auburn eyes to match, as well as red nails. She wore a black tee-shirt, black shorts, and gladiator sandals. Her height was, less than average, but she usually blew holes through people long before they could take advantage of that anyway.

"Do you have a name for the devil that we killed?" Gavin asked, "Is it in his phone?"

"Kent Alan Ryan."

"I see." He said, "Any other information?"

"His most recent contact is this Damsel chick." Ella said, scrunching her face up, "Ugh…she sounds like one of those stupid freedom fighters who basically cause more trouble than they solve. Where is this Last Round? Let's kill this bitch."

"There's a time and a place." Vance said, "I've been surveying the area. The Last Round is no doubt a spawn for devils, but attacking it all at once is risky. We must be careful." He warned.

"What about Akeem?" Ella asked, "Does anyone know who Akeem is? He's mentioned on his phone once or twice…"

"He's a middle eastern fellow who only shows up at the Empire Arm Hotel parking lot at night." Gavin said, "He's likely one of the fallen."

"I see." Ella said, "So there's Damsel…and Akeem…wait…hold on…there's a chick named Venus in here too…she's mentioned a bit…who's she?"

"She owns Confessions." Gavin said, "That nightclub that was made out of a church." He said, "If she isn't a demon, I don't know _what_ is."

"She isn't." Vance said, "I've seen her out in broad daylight once, having an argument with some shady arms dealer. What the hell is his name? Fuck Lenny or something?"

"Alright, so we won't waste time on Venus." Ella said, "Then there's…Strauss…or something…who's he?"

"Maximillian Strauss." Gavin said, "Grunfeld always mentioned that name. Before we were stationed apart. Apparently he had a lot to do with getting rid of the head Archfiend, LaCroix."

"Hmm." Vance said, "Does anyone know what he looks like? Anything about him?"

A long pause.

"Not at all." Gavin admitted sourly, "He could be anyone."

"Yeah, all the other people on Kent's phones had a picture attached to them, but we still don't know a thing about Strauss…" Ella said.

"Let's head back to base." Gavin said, "Regroup with the main forces."

"Wait…we have a base?" Ella asked.

Gavin nodded, "It once belonged to a high-ranking infidel, but he died, so we built our base over it."

"I see." A sly smile spread onto her lips, "What a fitting place for us to live, in the house of a dead demon."

Vance nodded, looking back, "Hirst, keep out outpost in downtown safe, alright?"

Hirst gave a timid nod, splitting up from the three commanders.

* * *

 **A/N:** Four sides weren't enough. We had to do five. Heh. Thanks for reading! Let us know what you thought!


	35. Chapter 35

**A/N:** Here's chapter thirty-five! A bit of conversing after the huge wave of drama, and another wave right before it! ALSO huge thanks go out to ZenoLucario for your review! We apologize for being a little late on the thank-you, usually, we're pretty quick with that. We certainly have a lot more in store plot-wise, and thanks for reading! Enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs. Also, there's some spicy material early on, if you're not a fan, you can skim over it.

* * *

"Hi." Angelique said as Cadmus walked in, eating a hamburger that looked like it was from a fast food place, judging from the wrapper and Coke that was next to it, "Were you hunting for Phaedra?"

He shook his head, taking a seat across from her, "This time I was focusing more on Dragomir." He said, "It sucks…I thought I knew this city pretty well…and I can't find him." He said, "He…he must have _actually_ left the state…"

"Unless he's…" She put her hamburger down and stifled a hiccup.

"And then there's Genevieve…jeez…" He said, "Dragomir at least left a note, and a message…Genevieve just…disappeared. And other Kindred couldn't even understand her to begin with. And now they're both gone…"

"We'll have to find something out eventually."

He nodded, "I just don't like how it's affecting everyone. Slade can't really do work, Tess has to constantly check up on him…huh…I guess that's it. Dragomir didn't really make that many waves, I guess."

"I mean, really, it's the safest path for a Malk…"

He took a shaky sigh, "I hope they're not both dead…"

"That would really be upsetting…"

"I know, he was a big help when the shit with LaCroix was finally hitting the fan…"

She nodded, taking a sip from her soda, "Is anyone else looking for him?"

"Aside from Slade and Tess? Miranda, Victor said he would, but, he's too busy. He's practically running the Chantry, and he's Primogen."

"Jeez…guess that's because the Tremere started taking over."

"You say it like it's a bad thing."

"No, I mean, they must be just a lot busier now."

He nodded, "Jeez…feels like just yesterday LaCroix was in power…" He said, "Everything was gold instead of red." He said, "I don't know which room I like better yet though. They're kinda different. But I like it here better just because everyone else around me at least seems more content."

"What, as compared to the Anarchs?"

"No…just…Strauss's rule compared to LaCroix's. Straus actually gives us a small piece of freedom." He said, "Jeez…miss my damn necklace though…"

"Necklace?" She raised a brow and took another sip of her drink, scrunching her face up afterwards.

"Yeah…I had this badass dragon necklace…don't remember where the hell I got it from…but…I don't know…I guess LaCroix took it from me at some point. Thought it was too edgy or something." He frowned, the he looked even more annoyed, "Shit…that means it probably blew up when he did. I…I guess I'm not getting it back…oh well, I guess it's kind of a silly thing to worry about…"

"It's alright, I'd be upset about that too." She muttered, taking another bite of her burger.

"But it was just a trinket. I don't really need it." He said, "Look…uh…I'm…uh…sorry, about sending the wrong messages…about Phaedra…"

"It's alright." She said after a pause, "I was just being…" She shook her head, "Silly."

"No, partially, you were in the right." He stood up and moved to the chair next to her, facing her direction and looking her in the eye, "I don't…think I've been giving you enough attention…"

Her cheeks blushed a bit, "Do I act like I require a lot…? I'm sorry…"

"No, that's just…basic human…or…well, I guess I can't say that. It's just a basic idea of love. I feel like I was ignoring you…or…treating you like, just my ghoul…when you're clearly more than that."

"It's okay. I get it, don't worry. I was being selfish."

"No you weren't. If there was some new guy, and you were acting all friendly to him, and I didn't know the context, I'd get jealous too."

She finished her burger, then seemed to glare at her soda, "Cadmus, don't worry about it. It's behind us."

"Eh, I don't know, you still look kinda mad about it."

"I'm mad at the soda. I hate soda."

"Then…why did you buy it?"

"I didn't."

"…you didn't buy it?"

"Ferrum did."

"Oh, that's nice of him."

"He said I don't eat enough meat." She grumbled.

"…okay maybe it wasn't as nice of him as I had thought…"

She took another sip of her soda, "I can't tell if he's with Miranda or not."

"Neither can I." He said, "If it was the old Miranda, they would have screwed each six times by now."

"Even if it was the old Miranda, I don't know if they would. I don't know if Ferrum knows the birds and the bees at all…"

"Pfft…" He tried not to laugh, though it looked like it took every fiber of his being not to, "Poor guy…" He managed to say.

"I'm sure Miranda's good for him. They balance each other. I saw him wearing a necktie the other day."

"Really?" He asked, "Damn…Miranda must be really cleaning him up…"

"I wonder if he's rubbing off on her."

He shrugged, "Who the hell knows. They probably speculate about us like this too…"

"I think we both rubbed off on each other a lot."

"Yeah, you dress kinda like me." He stretched and looked at the ceiling, "It's sort of hot."

She blushed a bit and smirked, "Good."

"Did you uh…" Their eyes met, "Want to…you know…do it?"

"Yeah, why not?" She asked, "I just might…want a mint so I don't taste like soda…"

"We don't have to…if…Ferrum's idea of a decent meal is making you feel a little sick…"

She giggled a bit and stood up, "No, I'm fine, don't worry about me."

"Thank god, I'm so horny…" He shook his seat, about ready to snap up into a standing position, then he stopped, "Right…your mint…I'll wait."

"Lemme go see if I can find some." She giggled before she slunk off. She came back with a little white mint in a wrapper, "Ah hah." She popped it in her mouth, "Now I just gotta eat it."

He nodded, crossing his arms, "Going back…to what I said, I just…don't think I've given you much attention…so…I don't know if…the sex…will help with that…or something…I just want you to know that I'll always be here for you. And that I wouldn't abandon you for anyone else, even if seven more Miranda's and Phaedra's joined the Camarilla…"

She giggled a bit, "Thanks, Cadmus." She walked up and wrapped her arms around him, "And I would pick you, even if seven hundred more Cadmus's appeared."

He swung her into his lap, "How would you tell us apart?" He smiled.

"You'd be the one that loves me the most."

He squeezed her close and kissed her passionately, laying the top half of her body on the table as he reached out and fondled one of her breasts. Her eyes flew open the second she made contact with the table, but she certainly didn't hate all the attention. He could tell this much as soon as her legs flung around his waist and she laid back all her weight on the table.

He tore her jacket off, tossing it aside as he rubbed a hand up and down her stomach, clamping down on her boob a bit harder as he kissed her stronger. His ministrations became a bit easier as he felt her peel her tee shirt off and fumble with the back of her bra.

He reached both his hands back, gently stroking hers as she took her bra off. Once that was done he gave one of her breasts a kiss, before going down and kissing her stomach hungrily. He slowly unbuttoned and unzipped her jeans, rubbing her waistline adoringly as he got rid of them as well as her panties. "Cadmus…" She asked in a tone that implied she was only mildly bothered by something.

He looked at the table for a minute or two, "Too much?" He guessed.

"Why are you fully dressed?"

He smiled, "What, you want my clothes off or something?" He teased, taking his trench coat off and hanging it somewhere. The rest of his clothes were just tossed on the floor, but this wasn't news, as Angelique knew he had a fondness for his outermost coat. Once he was fully naked, he moved back towards her, rubbing her stomach with his hands and sucking on one of her breasts.

She closed her eyes with bliss, "I hope nobody tries to come in here…"

"It's fine…if it's Ferrum or Miranda, I could just wipe their memories, and anyone else would probably knock."

"Right…" She traced her fingers down along his spine bit her bottom lip. He closed his eyes and sent the blood through his system, humping her leg as best he could with his erection. Her eyes widened at the sensation, but she shut them tight and held him in closer, letting her blunt little nails dig into his back.

He hopped on the table, trying to lay back, "Hmm…" He felt the sides of the table, "I wonder if this thing can take it…"

"Do you want to go to the bed?" She asked, "Or you could just be on top…"

"Nah, I feel like I'd hurt you." He sprang up and dashed up the stairs, "Ready when you are, Fleance."

She chased after him, "But I can handle it!" She sounded quite determined.

She saw that he was sitting on the edge of the bed, "You want to be on the bottom?"

"I want to try, at least."

He nodded, a guilty look on his face, "I just…wanted to do the foreplay with myself on top for once…because it was getting me off quicker…but, we could try, sure."

She hopped up onto the bed and laid back, making herself comfortable, which was a sight within itself.

"Are you still…uh…wet…or, should I start over from the beginning?"

"Let's start over."

He laid on top of her and started kissing her again, feeling up both her breasts and rubbing his length near her lower abdomen, at this rate, it was the only thing he could do to ease the throbbing. She let out a rather shameless groan, pulling his head closer so she could suck on his neck. "I'm…gonna…" He bit his lip, "Ruin you…I can feel it…"

"Good." She kissed the space right before his ear, "Then do it."

"C-Can I…are you good?"

"Please…" He felt her legs wrap around his lower half and lock on. He screamed as he began to push himself onto her and penetrate her, he must not have been kidding about being turned-on fom seeing her lay back, because a relentless shoving followed.

At first, it seemed as if she might have wanted to take back her offer to be on the bottom, but after the first few thrusts, she regretted even thinking of it. She pleaded for more in his ear as the burning sensation in her lower belly grew hotter and hotter.

It looked like he wanted to bite something, but considering her height, he just grit his teeth between sighs, holding the back of her head with one hand and her butt with the other to force himself into her. It was the friction created from this that drove her right over the edge, as the rapid burning became an explosion.

Her warm panting filled the air as she clasped onto him, even as he slowly pulled out, "I loved that…you on top…"

"You on the bottom turns me on too…" He said, "You just look so…sassy…and relaxed…like you could take a good fucking…"

"Oh yeah…?" She smiled, then gave him one last searing kiss, "Thanks."

He gave her a squeeze, "You always belittle yourself for being small, or short…but…you still have nice curves." He said, "I'll try to be intimate with you like this more often."

"Okay…" Her cheeks were a tad flushed, "I wouldn't mind."

"Should I get off?"

"You don't have to…"

He smiled and kissed her forehead, "Then I'll stay right here." He said, "Goodnight Fleance."

* * *

Delilah wondered if the chime from her favorite bookstore was addicting or if it was the books themselves. Maybe a mix of both.

It was bad of her to purchase books that weren't about Tremere or magic or anything Kindred, but she still did it.

It was her addition. It wasn't drugs, or sex or anything evil. It was books. Sure, some of them had mature themes. Okay, maybe all of them, but she still needed something to help her relax. Because studying for hours after hours after hours until the moon rose again never worked. She wasn't Victor.

She wasn't sure she would ever be Victor. She surprised herself by living more than a year in this life.

"My, well isn't this a surprise." A voice said, one that chilled Delilah given how much it sounded exactly like hers. When she turned to see who it was, she was frightened even more.

Looking at Ebony for Delilah was perhaps like looking into a mirror, a tinted one at that. They dressed exactly the same, aside from that one wore red while the other wore black.

"Are you perhaps, a childe of Caine, as well?" Ebony asked, while their voices were certainly similar, their intonations were not. Delilah sounded cool, calm, quiet. Ebony sounded raspy, like a demon.

Delilah withheld everything in her power to hold onto her books, "You shouldn't ask such questions in the streets." _This couldn't be my sire, could it?_

Ebony cackled quietly, "The Masquerade is a foolish endeavor, childe. You would do best to ignore it, like those of the Sword do."

She shook her head and backed away, before she turned and started sprinting.

Delilah heard a deep ring before she was smacked in the back by a blood bolt. Ebony cackled a bit louder as the pedestrians on the streets began to run away from her in fear. Meanwhile, she began to chase Delilah down. Delilah gasped and struggled back to her feet, running as fast as she could with her heeled boots.

"Ah, ah, ah." Ebony held a hand out again, and this time, Delilah threw up, "Childe of the foolish Camarilla, no?"

She fell to her knees as tears pooled in her eyes, flinging her head over her shoulder to watch Ebony gain on her, "Please…just leave me alone…" She whimpered.

"Not even fighting back, are you? What sort of fools is this Camarilla even letting in, anyhow?" Ebony asked, "And why do you bear so much of a resemblance to me?" She smirked, "No matter. Your ashes are all I wish for tonight."

Delilah crouched low with her head to the ground, her hands covering her head, _I spoke too soon…_

Suddenly, the sound of running footsteps were heard. But they didn't sound like shoes, or paws. They sounded like bones and raw flesh snapping against the pavement at a rapid pace. And it sounded like a lot of them.

Sure enough, when Delilah sat up, she saw an army of about ten zombies sprinting towards Ebony, the lead zombie holding a golden axe, giving roars so fiendish, some of their jaws fell off.

Phaedra of course, stood behind them, "I taught them a new trick." She smirked at Delilah and held a hand out for her to stand to her feet as the zombies swarmed Ebony.

Ebony made a face and jumped back, destroying the nearest zombies with blood bolts, "How cunning of you." She smiled, "Now with you outnumbering me, you're sure to have the advantage…"

Phaedra scowled, "I certainly don't like the way she's saying that…" She muttered, grabbing her axe from the lead zombie and running forward with it.

Ebony dodged her immediate slashes, "So, would you say that you've brought back up?" Her eyes crept over to Delilah.

Her head shook rapidly as Phaedra spoke, "No, I would simply call this coincidence." She aimed for the backs of Ebony's knees.

"Right…then let me show you my… _coincidence_ …too…" Ebony snickered, as a golden blur dove into the battle.

Two figures were added to the mix, one of them parried with Phaedra's attack perfectly, and it was clear that they both had the aide of Celerity. The first figure warding Phaedra off turned out to be Poe, and beside him, Gottfried. The former smirked as the golden sword and golden axe clashed.

"Ah, Polonius, we meet again." She smirked, "Well, Miss Tremere Antitribu, let's make a deal."

"I do not strike deals with fools." Ebony crossed her arms, "Nevertheless, you may speak."

"Well, an offering then. Leave her to run home, and I'll fight all three of you." She said, glancing at the terrified Delilah.

"That isn't fair…" Delilah said quietly, but was ignored.

"Hmm…" Ebony's voice softened a tad, "That's what you wanted, isn't it, love? The Nagaraja dead?"

Poe backed away from Phaedra's clash, "We can kill them both with half the effort." He sauntered over to Ebony, kissing her for a while. Ebony sighed as Poe tipped her back a little bit, while Gottfried loomed over Phaedra and Delilah. Like he alone was going to defeat them both while his master and mistress made out behind him.

Potence joined the Celerity Gottfried was using as he darted towards Delilah first, rearing back a fist to pummel her with. She screamed and held out both hands, using Purge. Phaedra ran in from behind to swing her axe into his back.

Gottfried threw up, as did Poe and Ebony. Gottfried flinched even hard once he was slashed in the back, falling to his knees.

Ebony let out a bloodcurdling swear as she held out a hand and forced Delilah and Phaedra to throw up too. Poe dashed forth, the blood on his face not making him look any saner as he drove his sword back and prepared to stab Phaedra while she was doubled over vomiting.

She grunted as the sword went right through her midsection, "Ugh…" She looked down, then grabbed onto the blade so he wouldn't yank it out, "Well, now what, dear?" She smirked and looked up at him, "You gave me your weapon."

"Give me this." Delilah took Phaedra's axe and ran forward with it to swing at Ebony's face. It really seemed to take up a huge amount of her energy, considering how heavy the weapon was.

Ebony's eyes shrunk as she jumped back, backing away fearfully, "Gottfried, Poe, one of you! Stop this one!" Poe looked back, eager to protect his lover, Phaedra could tell, but his sword was quite stuck. Again. After fruitless attempts of trying to pull it away from Phaedra, he punched her in the face.

Gottfried meanwhile finally got up, flashing over to where Delilah was in an attempt to punch her from behind. She fell flat on her face, landing in the pavement with a sickening sound before she held a hand out to use Purge again.

The three Sabbat members threw up again. Naturally, Ebony turned the tables on the duo and made them both throw up. To the point where all five of them didn't have much blood left.

Poe and Phaedra locked eyes once they were done feeling the effects of Purge, the former seemed perfectly content with punching Phaedra in the face until he got his sword back. Her face was rather bruised, her broken nose the most jarring feature, before she let of the sword and let the jarring motion knock him back. She reached for Delilah's hand and started running as Delilah limped along.

Poe and Gottfried outpaced the duo, blocking their exit, while Ebony cackled from behind them, "This is your end, Camarilla sheep!" She laughed, _obviously_ fighting off a frenzy, (her abhorrent humanity most likely had something to do with that), "Your blood pools are shallow, and you cannot escape. This is where you two will die!"

Phaedra looked around, a bit unnerved, "How much blood do you have left, dear?" She asked lowly. Delilah wheezed and shook her head. Phaedra snapped her nose back into place before she gave a breathless sigh, "I have enough just for a useless show of zombies, but…they wouldn't be able to help very much…"

Delilah sniffed, then clutched onto Phaedra and started sobbing. Phaedra held onto her and gently pat the back of her head, "At least have the mercy to be quick." She said firmly to her foes.

"Unfortunately, I have no desire to waste my mercy on you pathetic wretches." Poe growled, rearing his sword back.

The trio threw up again, even though Delilah wasn't the one responsible for casting the Discipline.

"Who was that?" Poe barked.

A figure entered the two-on-three battle, "You two should run, while you still have the chance." Victor said, facing Poe, Gottfried, and Ebony, (who at this point, was frenzying on the ground), "Oh, Ebony…what a pathetic sight you have become…"

"V-V-V-V-Victor…" Ebony growled, trying to calm the beast within her, but she couldn't get up.

Victor's left arm began to catch aflame, "It's unfortunate it had to be this way."

"You…you…k-killed…N-Neo…"

"Yes, and I shall do the same to you."

"I won't let you!" Poe dashed at Victor, "Gottfried, kill this fool!"

"Yes, master." Gottfried ran forth as well.

Victor drew a knife, holding it to parry Poe's sword, "Get out! Both of you!" He looked back at Phaedra and Delilah.

Poe looked a little uneasy once Victor's knife caught on fire. The deep red color the tip was turning brought a primal fear into Poe's eyes, but this evolved into seething rage once Poe frenzied too. At this rate, Gottfried was the only Sabbat member not prancing around like an animal.

Phaedra tool Delilah's hand and started to run, calling out a thanks to Victor as they tried to avoid the frenzying Sabbat in the streets.

* * *

On his way to the grocery store, (not like he was getting anything, it was all for Juliet), Sirius saw a familiar blond leaning against one of the outer wall, smoking a cigarette. He acknowledged the Setite with a simple head bob.

Sirius put his hands in his pockets, "You seem to be a pretty cool cat right now, considering you nearly split the Anarch movement in two."

"Yeah, completely fucking calm." He said, "Not about to tear anyone's heads off at all."

"Hmm, it'd look good to the Sabbat, I guess."

"Yeah, guess so." He snickered, "I don't know how you do it."

"So you must know that your dad pretty much stole Hollywood right out from under the Anarchs." He said, "Don't know how the hell Isaac is still alive over there, it's a Sabbat city now."

"I called him…what, eight times? Hasn't picked up yet. He's pissed with me. I think he's disowned me at this point."

"Weren't you going to tell him that you tried to kill Skelter or something to keep up your appearance as a Sabbat member?"

"Who, my old man? Yeah, he didn't give a flying shit. It's Isaac I'm worried about."

"Not to mention the rest of the Anarchs." He said, "We could have lost two of our best Gangrel." He said, "I would try to change their minds, but I hardly know either of 'em."

"I used to be on good terms with all of them." He looked up at the sky and puffed some smoke into the air, "And then I started taking everything for granted. I had everything. I was on top of the world." He looked back at the ground, "Now I'm practically eating dog shit."

"Maybe taking some Sabbat names or something will win some of their respect back for ya."

"Not Skelter's. But…I don't care about him. I just…care about her."

"So this is a love triangle." He grinned, "I had a feeling Skelter was full of shit."

"She was happy with me." He muttered, "But I guess she's happy with him too…"

"Well, you seem to be more in touch with your emotions than Skelter." He said, "But, I still think it would help the movement if we could get both of them back."

"It's not like they left. It's all about Skelter though. He leaves, so does 'Stasia. He stays, so does she."

"I know, they _could_ leave, and that would be bad." He said, "How long have you two been fighting over Anastasia for, anyway?"

He shook his head, "When Lark died and I broke up with her."

"Lark…is…?"

"My sister." He let another cloud puff into the air, "Few months ago."

"Right." He faced ahead, leaning against the wall beside him, "So did she just…date Skelter after you…or…?"

He sighed, "I mean…it wasn't days after. Maybe a month 'er two."

"And that's when the fireworks started, I guess."

"Yeah…" He sighed, "I tried VV. Velvet Velour, I don't know if you know her. We're together now, or…whatever." He sighed again, "But she's not the same as 'Stasia."

He started snickering, then laughing, "Wow, you're in and out with Velvet Velour, basically a supermodel, and yet you think Anastasia is better." He said, "If that ain't true love, I don't know what is."

"Whatever. There's nothing we can do. Maybe…maybe we could be friends. That'd be great. That's my goal." He sighed, then he looked over at Sirius, "I don't know how you do this Sabbat and Anarch crap."

He turned to face him, a smug grin as always on his face, "It's a little deeper than that, but…yeah…I just got a seat in both offices, for now."

"So…are you…really Anarch, or more Sabbat?"

He laughed.

Killian looked back out at the horizon, "I don't think you'd care about any of these problems if you were just Sabbat."

"Look, kid, when you get old enough, you start to give less shits about what 'side' you and other people are on." He said, "I know, I'm not actually _that_ old, I don't deserve to be talking like I know everything. But my sire was. She was Embraced before America was even discovered…"

His eyes widened, "Holy shit…"

"Well, that's the problem we're kinda faced with. In the Sabbat, there are some geezers old enough to run circles around even Nines. If the Anarchs are gonna win…they gotta use like…numbers of something…but even then…there's mass Embracing that the Sabbat love to do. And this is _without_ me adding the Camarilla into account."

"I know. I'm…I'm not gonna lie, I'm scared…"

"Yeah…things didn't get any better even with LaCroix dead." He said, "I guess that's why I have a little bit of money on as many sides as I can." He shrugged, "So if the Anarchs or the Sabbat lose, I'll technically still be in the game." He said, "Not the most honorable of ways to play, but, given my clan, that's not really an option for me."

"Yeah, that's not a terrible plan…" He said, "Guess I'll be kinda…following the same plan." He said, "For now, at least. But," He looked back at Sirius, "I might need your help with this. You seem to know what the hell's going on."

"Course I do. Took me damn near a decade to tell all those creeps apart." He said, "Look, I'll do what I can to help you. You Anarchs seem to have, more of a soul…obviously. That, and there's a few of those Sabbat guys at the inner circle who I need to personally kill, but, I can't wipe your ass for you all the time, okay? But I'll keep my eye out for you. We might as well be in this together."

"Thanks a bunch…I'll do what I can to help you back." He smothered his cigarette up against a wall.

"But not a word about what I do to the others, got it?" He asked, "Last thing I need is Damsel squawking about this and that."

"Yeah, completely understandable."

He looked at the sky, "I'm still shocked that you like Anastasia better than Velvet Velour, but, I could relate to that."

"Oh yeah?" He smirked.

He crossed his arms, "My sire, Natalia, drop dead gorgeous. I thought she and I would be together forever. Then she ditched me and I bet if she found me now she'd just immediately try to kill me. But men would fall out of their chairs at the mere sight of her. Chick I'm with now isn't as good looking, she's a little heavier, but, I wouldn't trade her for anything. She wouldn't hurt me, cheat me, try to destroy the world like Natalia would. I'm…sort of glad I ran into her…really helps to remind me that I actually _have_ humanity somewhere deep down. Beauty is only skin deep, kid. If you took nothing else from that."

"Exactly. That's the thing with V. I mean, sure, the sex is great, she's never hurt me or anything, but…she's not happy. And neither am I. So it's…it's pointless. It's just killing time until my old man sets her free."

"So he's got VV _trapped?_ "

"Yeah, but she's safe as long as I'm with her. She gave me the idea to play along with the Sabbat in the first place…"

"That sucks. Your dad almost got Santa Monica too. Now Gideon's trying to get his hands on it. This is gonna be trouble if the Anarchs get surrounded."

"Then we gotta start striking back. You oughtta tell Nines this stuff."

"Eh, I could, but he'd be marching to his death in a straight fight against Gideon." He said, "Don't worry, I've been in tougher binds than this. We'll think of something."

"Yeah…let's…hope so."

"Maybe I should tell him." He said, "But I feel bad, we've been thinking about ways on how to get rid of the Tremere, I doubt he wants to think about the Sabbat right now…but, it might just be what has to be done…"

"Yeah, before it comes up and surprises him."

"Alright, well, I gotta go shopping for you know who." He started walking off, "Of course, Obfuscate makes the whole 'paying' thing optional."

He chuckled, "See you around, Sirius."

"Later Killian."

* * *

 **A/N:** Those two make unlikely friends…well, what'd you think? Feel free to let us know with a review! Thanks for reading!


	36. Chapter 36

**A/N:** Here's chapter thirty-six! Time to address a good deal of the madness, and maybe make some more. Also a little bonus scene that SigmaFang has no clue about! ;) Hope you like it!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs. Also, there is some sourness at the end! ;0

* * *

"There must be a good luck charm somewhere in my proximity…or, perhaps I saved the life of a mage…" Phaedra sat back and crossed her legs, "I don't know why I still live…"

Cadmus raised a brow, the two of them were sitting in the lobby of the red tower, Cadmus was waiting for his ghoul to return from her job, "You were attacked recently."

"Mmm hmm. Seems every time I leave this tower I'm attacked."

He crossed his legs, "This Sabbat is bolder than the other group…which…I thought was pretty hard to top at first…but…I guess Andrei's childe really wants vengeance…"

"Mmm, for whatever reason. I wonder if that Setite is affiliated with the Sabbat."

"I guess it's possible."

"Hmm, from an objective point of view, the lobby of this tower usually seems a bit livelier than the one held by the previous Prince." Beckett remarked as he strolled into the lobby, "Perhaps that is simply the result of Maximillian taking over Sebastian's place."

Cadmus smiled, "You could say that."

"Beckett!" Phaedra stood up, "I wanted to thank you for handling that Setite for me the other night."

"Think nothing of it." Beckett smiled.

"Wait, _you_ fought that Setite?" Cadmus asked, "How come everyone's met this guy but me?"

"Oh, he was nothing special." Beckett said, "A boorish sort who would sooner belong to nightclub security than a secret society of vampires. Usually Setites are less forward with their antagonism, nonetheless, it was there."

"Yes, indeed it is…" Phaedra mused, before she smirked, "So tell me, have you been able to go out for digs even with our curse? I've never found a night shift without loiterers…"

"I've been known to work alongside kine from time to time, only sticking with them if the goal in question truly _is_ Kindred in origin. I usually let them have the discovery for the mortal world, so long as I am able to gather the information I need within a reasonable amount of time."

"Ah, I see…perhaps, you could show me the ropes?" She asked, then with a smirk she added, "Grab a bite to eat?"

"I'm not sure how to break the news to you, but eating is not exactly an ideal activity for Kindred, unless you enjoy regurgitating what you've eaten."

She chuckled softly and looked away, hoping to ease out of the awkwardness with a slight smile, "Yes, of course. A date of your choosing, then?"  
He rolled his eyes, "Yes, why didn't I think so sooner? We'll have a good merry many dates, then we'll get married in a week, and let's not forget the honeymoon…am I…getting everything right?" He asked, "I'm not exactly accustomed to getting tangled up with complete strangers at the drop of a hat, which, seems to be your specialty…you might have better luck with, anyone else, depending on how much you lower your standards."

Cadmus stared on in shock. Of course, he barely understood the archeologist talk they were having before, but once Phaedra got flirty, he tuned in again, "Jeez…a 'no' would have sufficed…"

"I need to get back out to my search, excuse me." Beckett brushed past Phaedra and left.

Phaedra gave a few empty blinks, before she brought a hand to her mouth and chuckled quietly, "I've…made quite the fool of myself, haven't I?"

"Phaedra…" Cadmus said, "You okay?"

She brushed her fingers through her hair, "I'm fine. I didn't mean to offend him so much…" She mused, "I think it's…a wake-up call, if anything."

He crossed his arms, "Look, he was an asshole, but, he was right about one thing."

"He was right about many things." She said, "I'll be off to bed. Goodnight, Cadmus."

"I just don't get it, that's all." He stood up, "Aren't you seeing that girl, Rainy? Why are you still…sending out so many signals…?"

"I don't know." Her voice was drawn back a bit.

"You put a lot of emphasis on physical attraction, that's all." He said, "You've called people who tried to kill you handsome, and when you met my sister, you said she was beautiful as I was handsome." He said, "As if, that's the only thing that matters about a person." He stopped, not wanting to sound as harsh as Beckett, "Look, I'm just worried, because someone played this game before when LaCroix was in power, and they're still feeling the effects of it now. I know how smart you are, and even if you didn't listen to me at all, you'd turn out better than her…so…maybe I should've just kept my mouth shut…"

"I understand, Cadmus." She said firmly, "Thank you."

"I just think that you need to think about who you really love…or else…Rainy would just be…strung along, wouldn't she?"

"Yes, yes, I understand." She turned to face him, "I don't have the brain of a mouse. Let me think over a bath." She said before she went upstairs.

"Wait!" Cadmus held a hand out, but she already was gone, "I'm sorry…" He sighed, mostly to himself.

* * *

"You look like you're going to have some sort of heart attack." Iphigenia peered over at Delilah.

"I'm fine." She adjusted her hat for the umpteenth time.

She sat back in the couch, Venus sitting next to her, "Something happen?"

"Just…a Sabbat run-in." She muttered.

"Mmm, I'm assuming it was an unfortunate run-in." Leonardo turned a page.

"Nobody asked you to assume." Delilah clipped him off short.

"Yes, it seems they have an interesting culmination of members, that's for sure." Victor said, as usual, reading an absurd amount of books at once.

"Who was it this time?" Iphigenia asked.

"That same Tremere Antitribu I fought in the castle, with some assailants to join her." He said, "A Toreador and Brujah, if I were to assume."

"Why did she look like me?" Delilah put her book down and looked as if she were about to cry, "Is she my sire?"

Victor looked up from his studies, taking a deep breath and folding his hands, "No…she…she most likely did not sire you…though it is possible. I would chalk it up to coincidence…"

"That's why you don't like me…" She said softly.

He looked hesitant at first, "I was…lethargic, about your joining the Chantry, if that is what you mean. You see, Neo and Ebony were both…very dear friends of mine…but…they both fled and became Antitribu…"

"But…that's not who _I_ am…I would never do that…"

"I know, Delilah. I was…wrong…to think that way."

She wiped a few tears away, then picked her book up again and kept reading.

Venus smirked a bit as she looked back and forth between them, "Glad this was addressed."

"Yes, well, I should, conclude my studies, for the time being." Victor said, closing all of his books, "I have other matters to attend to." He left.

Venus sat back, then looked at Delilah, "I think you've made him upset."

She looked towards the door, "That wasn't what I was intending…" She crossed her arms in a huff, "But if he still views me as that…pathetic excuse for a girl, then maybe it was."

Venus chuckled, "He'll get over it, I'm sure. He was quite close to them. It hurt him a lot to lose them."

"I'm sure." She opened her book again and started flipping through pages a lot faster.

Iphigenia stood up, "I should…get going as well."

"So should I." Leo left as well.

"Guess I should too." Venus stood up and waved at Delilah, "Ta-ta."

* * *

"The fuck are you doing?" Damsel sat up a bit, "Why are you going so fast?"

There was a bit of a pause before Nines answered, "No reason."

She squinted through the fogged windshield, "That's Skelter's truck, right? What are you doing?"

"Nothing."

"Nines, honest to god—"

"Just keep calling Kent."

"He's not answering—"

"Well keep trying—"

"He's dead, Nines." A still silence proceeded, "He's dead. Alright? He's not gonna answer his phone." She sat back, "He's got it surgically attached to his forehead. If he's not answering it, then he's dead."

Nines just pushed down harder on the gas, a car blaring its horn at them as they swerved left and right. Damsel's head slammed into the window, "Ow, son of a bitch, what the hell are you doing!? Trying to kill us, too!?"

"Shut up and let me concentrate, Christ." He snapped, "Keep calling him."

"My god." She slumped back in her seat and pushed the digits in a bit harder than before, listening to the blank rings before his stale and outdated voicemail tone played. She glared at Nines, which she knew he could see from the corner of his eye, before she mashed the buttons again. And again.

Meanwhile, Nines was still chasing down the beaten down pickup truck, swerving around cars that were too slow. Finally, when they got close enough, Nines rolled the window down and peeked his head out, doing his best to keep his other eye on the road. Damsel caught on and grabbed the wheel as Nines exchanged a conversation. "Hey." He called, "You got time to talk?"

Skelter looked just as livid as yesterday, his eyes flickering from the road to Nines, "The hell kinda question is that!?"

"Maybe stop driving eighty miles an hour so we can then."

"Like hell. I'm getting away from you people and your crazy bullshit."

"C'mon, Skelter. Five minutes."

"You damn idiot…" Skelter growled as he rolled the window up and pulled over to the side of the road, mashing his foot on the breaks. Nines jerked his head back in the window and did the same, accidentally elbowing Damsel in the chest.

She let out a string of curses as she brushed herself off, "Asshole…" She muttered, "You're talking to him? Now?"

"Guess so." He pulled the shift into 'park' and pat her head, "Keep watch of the place."

"You're kidding." She grumbled as he slammed the door shut and went outside to chat with Skelter.

Skelter leaned against the back of his truck, "We gotta be quick before we attract attention."

"I got Damsel keeping an eye for us. Cops show up and she'll handle it." He put his hands in his pockets and lit a cigarette, handing it to Skelter.

Skelter looked at the offering, then back to Nines's face. "Maybe I did get carried away. But I'm still pissed."

"I get that."

He snatched the cigarette and stuck it in his mouth, "He's dangerous." He said, "He's good for us, sure, if he's loyal, and if he's focused, but he's neither of those. He's still upset about Lark, and 'Stasia, and god-knows what else. As long as he's thinkin' about that shit, he ain't thinkin' about us. He ain't thinkin about our cause, or what he should do or shouldn't do. He's thinkin' about him."

"I get that. But he'll never be focused if we don't help him."

He shook his head, "Sounds like we're complaining about some…stray dog…"

"There are some striking similarities."

Skelter couldn't help but snicker, "Well…I mean…I'll do what I can to tolerate him. But, he says something 'Stasia doesn't like or I don't like, I'm not sure how patient I can be."

"I'm not going to keep separating you two. You have to sort it out. I think you should talk to him. Sometime soon."

He crossed his legs, "I'll think about it."

"Uh huh." Nines looked up at the clouds, "And what about 'Stasia?"

"What about her?"

"What's up with her?"

"She's just as pissed as I am."

"I get that. But, is she willing to let him in?"

"Sounds like something you'll have to ask her about." Skelter said, "But…she's terrified of him. I can't blame her."

Nines sighed, "Well…you talk to her, then. Tell her you're in, but so is Killian. He's gonna try everything in his might to cooperate, and if he doesn't, I'll ask him to leave. Fair?"

"I still think we should have a say more often." Skelter said.

"Right. I understand." Nines said, "I'll see you around the Last Round, then." He pat his shoulder, "Sorry about that."

"Yeah. Me too. See you Nines."

Nines got back in his truck, putting it in 'drive'. Damsel looked up from her phone, "Huh. You're still in one piece."

"You expected me to be dog-chow?" He smirked.

"Maybe."

"Nah." He started driving at a relatively good speed, "We patched things up."

"I don't get it…" She said, "He's so tolerant with you. You could make a new rule that we have to wear bunny slippers everywhere, he'd argue with you, then do it for the rest of his life with enough convincing."

"Gangrel nature."

"That's it?" She asked, "That's…almost sad…"

"Well, that's part of it. It's also just part of who he is. He's a loyal guy."

"You better be careful not to pull too hard." She muttered, "You break that…crazy relationship, we'll lose a valuable asset." She looked up at him, "I almost thought we lost all our Gangrels."

"Sorry."

"Just be careful, okay?"

"I am."

"Mmm hmm." She kicked her feet up on the dashboard, "I'm thirsty."

"Last Round?"

"I was thinking my apartment."

"Alright. We'll take a detour then."

"Thanks." She smiled, "You can have some too."

"I was counting on it."

* * *

He shut the drawer once his keys were in, then turned for the living room, the familiar thick scent of paint filling his lungs. He grabbed the remote from the fruit bowl, not questioning why it was in there or who put it there, flicking the TV on. However, after it turned on, it turned off. He tried again, then it turned off. He turned over his shoulder and nearly audible gasped when he saw who was there.

It was Anastasia. She held another remote in her hand and had a smirk on her face.

"…the hell you doing here?" He asked, "And…where'd you get a second remote…?"

She laid it on the counter and sauntered forward, "I heard you came back to the Anarch movement."

"Uh…yeah. I did…you…were there, weren't you?"

"Well, things were a little tense." She reached forward and played with his collar, "I don't like a lot of tension like that, unless I'm the one that's building it up."

He gently took her hand and pushed it away, "What is this?" He tried to meet her eyes, but they were glazing over his body, "You're…you're with—"

She grasped onto his shoulders and met his lips with a ferocious kiss that absolutely knocked him off his feet. Well, not really. _That_ would be embarrassing.

Flames burned in his chest as he quickly held onto her, kissing her back. His hand seemed to fit perfectly around the small of her back, her fingers interlaced around his neck like they were made for that position. The light that had been covered in his mind was uncovered from just the contact of her lips, and the smile on his heart restored when her tongue pushed past his lips and deep into his mouth.

He pulled them back to the couch, done with asking questions. This was happening, and he wasn't going to stop it. This was the happiest he had been since he'd last spent a night with her.

As she tumbled on top of him, she gave a few empty pants and unbuttoned his shirt, "Killian, I…I need to hear it…" She said, her voice was laced with such tempting sounds, Killian couldn't resist undoing the zipper of her dress.

"Hear what?" He asked, trying a gentle kiss on her lips, but she had absolutely none of that, piercing her tongue through again. He stifled a laugh and started peeling her dress away before she stopped him.

"Say it." She said, "Say it or I'll stop."

"Say what?" He asked, before she stood up and re-zipped her dress, crooking her finger towards herself. He reluctantly stood up, leaving his shirt behind on the couch. She took a step closer and ran her fingers along his tattoo, before her hands slowly dipped down and unhooked his pants. But then she stopped and looked up at him with a smirk. "Say what?" He asked again.

She got up on her tippy-toes, (even in her heels), "Say how you feel."

"How I feel?" He asked slowly, "What?"

"How do I feel? To you…?"

He rubbed her upper arms, "Hot…?"

She laughed and playfully shoved his chest, "How do you feel about me? What…what are your feelings…?"

"What do you mean?" He asked, "What is this about?"

She leaned up against him and nipped at his earlobe before she whispered, "What do you think of me, Killian?"

He closed his eyes and embraced her, "I…I love you…"

He could feel her smile against his neck before she unzipped her dress and let it pool to the floor. She then yanked his pants off and fell to her knees, sliding his boxers down his hips.

"Stasia—" He gasped before she slowly slid his shaft into her mouth. He grit his teeth and grabbed the back of her head, withholding everything within his power not to start thrusting into her face. Something about her seemed so raw and delicate, like the slightest movement would knock her to the ground and break her.

She didn't stay very long before she slowly pulled away and stood up again, tracing his tattoo and breathing heavily on his chest. He pulled her up into his arms and whisked her up into the bedroom, afraid for some reason that she'd get injured.

She rested her head on his chest and closed her eyes, "I needed your love, Killian…I still do…" She looked up at him with her big amber eyes, and met her gaze, "I still do. I need it. I need it…" She closed her eyes, "Because it's everything you can give, isn't it…?"

He laid her on the bed, "I don't want your pity-sex." He said firmly.

She curled around like a snake and got up onto her knees, giving him another kiss that redefined romance for him as her arms looped around his neck, "It isn't pity…" She said, "Because what you give me is _real_ …" There was something so irresistibly throaty and raw about her voice that caused him to pounce, tackling her to the bed.

She gasped as he started kissing and biting from her neck down to her chest, swirling his tongue around the peaks of her breasts. Her sighs and moans were absolutely addicting, but what stood out the most was the amount of _need_ that was there.

Well, he wasn't one to torture her. That seemed like more of a game she would play.

He grasped her hips firmly and thrust into her with one fluid motion. She gasped, and the cry that pierced the air was beyond memorable. But even if Killian were deaf, he wouldn't need to hear to understand she was in bliss. Her hair was splayed out on the pillow around her, her arms thrown up over her head, grasping for some sort of grounding. Her brows were furrowed tight as her mouth opened, the slightest curl of a smile on her lips.

He held on tight and kept thrusting, but yet, he didn't feel the desire to lose control as he always did. Sure, she felt amazing, and she looked it too. The look she gave him was absolutely sinful as she reached a hand forward and grabbed the back of his head, pulling him down to whisper, "Come for me, Killian…" She pleaded, a tone of confusion present in her voice, wondering why he hadn't released himself yet.

He grit his teeth and thrust harder, but yet, he still couldn't. It was beginning to get frustrating, what was happening? She clearly reached her climax at that point from penetration alone, gasping and screaming in a voice that enraged him even more.

What was going on?

She panted as she unwound, brushing the sweat-soaked hair off of her face. He pulled out so she could give herself some space, but she sat up a moment later and held his shoulders, "You saving it for something special…?" She asked with a devilish grin.

"Y-Yeah…" He told himself, mostly, "Yeah."

"What?" She looked excited.

"Look…" He held her shoulders, "Why are you here?"

"Why am I still here?" She asked, averting his question, "Because I…I want more too…" She grinned, "I just can't get enough of you…"

"But…" He felt his mouth run dry, before she pushed him back and straddled him.

"Killian, there was something I wanted to show you…" She said, stroking her own stomach. Something about her actions was just a _little_ odd.

"What?" He asked, feeling his arousal slowly disappear. His own anger and confusion was beginning to clear the cloud of joy and love that had once shone through.

"My little pet…" She rubbed her fingers along her serpent tattoo.

He gave a little nod, "I know about your pet."

"Did…you ever find out his name…?" She asked, as the serpent inked into her skin started to crawl around her body.

His eyes widened before he rubbed them with the back of his hand. He scooted away from her as the snake peeled away, black scales and scathing amber eyes, just like hers. "What the fuck is going on!?"

"His name is Skelter…" Her grin was evil, "And he wants to play, too…"

Killian screamed as the serpent lunged in and bit him right in the face.

His eyes snapped open as he felt a cold body on top of his, generous breasts pressed up against his chest, a delicate arm thrown over his shoulder. He held his forehead, then closed his eyes as the familiar red curly hair tickled his neck.

And then, he started to cry.

* * *

 **A/N:** Will the Anarch drama blow over, or will it all come crumbling apart? Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed!


	37. Chapter 37

**A/N:** Here's chapter thirty-seven! This chapter features a lot of rather momentous relationship moments, but whether they're good or bad…well, you'll have to read and find out. Enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs. Also, there are some flames in the second and last scene if you're not a fan.

* * *

Anastasia heard the key rumble to the door before it peeped open, "You here?" She heard her boyfriend's voice, too.

She was curled up on the far corner of the couch, tiredly watching the television, perhaps in the midst of a catnap, she looked up attentively when she heard Skelter enter the room.

"Hey." He gave a small smile, "Mind if I sit with you?" She gave a small nod, readjusting how she was laying on the couch, still a bit sleepy, it seemed. He walked over and sat next to her, throwing his keys on the table and wrapping an arm around her shoulders, pulling her a little closer, "You got any sleep lately?"

"…a little…"

"You…" He looked around before he looked back up at her, "Wanna talk about it?"

She did what she could to sit up straight, rubbing her eyes a bit, "Too much shit is going on…" She said, "Why is he coming back?"

"Because he's…running into deep shit and needs Nines to get him out."

"Nines would be stupid to help him."

"Well, Nines is an idiot. But…" He sighed, "We gotta go back." He leaned back on the couch, "I don't want to. I _really_ don't want to, but what other choice do we got?"

"I'm not going back if he's going to be there."

"Nines told me if he does anything bad, he's kickin' him out."

"I'm not taking that risk." She said, "Because the 'bad thing' he'll do, he'll do it to me."

"Not if I keep you safe."

"Because that worked out so well before."

His eyes narrowed, then he sighed and looked away, "I know. I know, I'm…shit at takin' care of you." He gently pulled himself away from her, "But Nines needs us. And now that he's here, he's not gonna let anything happen to you. Neither is Damsel, or even the new guys."

"What the hell happened?" She snapped, getting up and pacing. The sound of her bare feet against the hard floor was all he heard for a while, "You were about to have a fist fight with Nines that last time I saw you, and now it's like they switched you out in the factory for a different person! What the hell changed your mind?"

"I talked with Nines." He said, "And I thought about shit. We don't have time to be fighting with each other when Tremere could come bashing our doors in at any second."

"So just like that, you flip-flop back to his side?"

He sighed, crossing his arms, "Yeah, I guess so." He paused, "Well, what do you want me to do?" He asked, "He saved my life, I owe him somethin'. He's never wronged me yet." He said firmly, "He's…he's gotta be right about this."

"He isn't."

"…how can you be so sure?"

"Because of what Killian did to me! Did to all of us!" She raged, "My Anarch memories of this year can basically be summarized as you and him fighting over me, and him being a major creeper. How can you change your attitude over Killian after _one_ conversation so easily?"

"Because we have two options. Worry about Killian and hope he doesn't fuck us over, or protect yourselves from the Tremere and Sabbat and whoever else is lurkin' in the shadows."

"And those are our only options?"

"You have any others, cause I'll gladly take them up."

"You go have fun with the Anarchs."

"I'm not going without you."

"You have to." She said, "You actually respect Nines."

"And I respect you too."

He could tell how jaded she was when she didn't even smile back. It typically didn't take much for Anastasia to give a big smile to even strangers, "I think I'm going to look for Cadmus. See what I can do about going Camarilla…or at the very least Independent."

"Stasia, stop. You'd hate it there, just thinkin' about it makes me sick." He sighed and held his forehead, "I'll go with you. Wherever you go. I just…need to tell Nines."

She pointed at him and snarled, "Do _not_ tell me to stop like I'm some kind of dog! I'm allowed to do whatever the hell I want!"

"Alright, I get that!" He snapped back, "Didn't you hear the last thing I said? I'm going with you, dammit, we can do whatever the hell you want!"

She finally stopped pacing, her nerves beyond frayed, "Well, I'm not going back…"

He closed his eyes, "What if I kill him? Really kill him?"

She shook his head, "It would ruin whatever sort of friendship you have left with Nines. You thought he wouldn't figure out about Rush, but he did."

"Well, that was the Cam's fault. No one like Killian, no one would figure it out."

"Fine…do whatever you want…"

"Well, I'd be doing it for you…if it wouldn't change anything then I'm not gonna go through all the trouble."

"Then don't."

He sat up and leaned his forearms on his knees, "Maybe I should just head home and let you think."

"Yeah…"

He stood up, "I'm sorry." He said softly.

"It's okay." She said, just as soft, if not also hoarse.

He held his arms out for a goodbye-hug and she ran towards his arms, giving him an endearing hug. He held her back warmly before gently breaking away, "I'll see you, alright?"

She gave a faint nod, when the door closed behind him, tears leaked down her cheeks. She weakly smiled to herself in the reflection in the window, gradually putting her hands over her face and crying.

* * *

"The library should be right around the corner." Miranda said, "Strauss wants us to investigate it and see if any Sabbat reclaimed it as a possible base."

"The hell would they want with a library?" Ferrum grumbled, "I don't get it."

"I haven't a clue." She said, "Cadmus told me that Andrei's forces had a claim to the building, so Strauss is worried that his successor is reoccupying the space."

"Guess that makes sense…" He muttered, "I never went in any libraries, I was always doing actual work…"

"Actual work?" She asked with a smile.

"Yeah…helping Andrei with whatever the hell he was doing. All the stuff that keeps me up when I think about it."

Her smile faded as she faced ahead, facing the library that was looming over them, "It all must have been, rather gruesome…"

"Yeah." He said slowly, "Want me to go in first?"

"We can go in together." She smiled.

"Right." He turned to the door and pulled one of the handles opened, his fists bared.

She half-drew her sword once she heard the hissing and growled all around the old building, "Shall I take the right side of the building while you take the left?"

"Yeah, good plan." He nodded before they split up. The second he was approached, he started punching them around, flaring up Fortitude to defend their blows. As the fight got a bit more heated, he used Protean and started tearing into them with his claws.

Miranda armed herself with a similar green glow on her side of the library, cutting down the opposing vampires with her cursed blade with ridiculous ease. It wasn't long before the library grew silent.

The silence broke, "Did we get 'em all?" She heard Ferrum's voice.

She ran a hand through her hair, sheathing her blade, "It sounds like it."

"Huh…" He joined back with her, "Works nicely, then. The two of us."

"Mmm-hmm, we do." She wrapped her arms around him, giving him an intimate kiss.

He held onto her closely, sliding his fingers through her hair, "Should we go tell the Prince we cleared the place?" He asked quietly.

"Perhaps." She said, her eyes fixed on a large wooden table, which looked in fairly good condition given how the rest of the building looked.

He turned and started walking towards the door, pausing and turning when he didn't hear her follow. "Got somethin' on your mind?"

She ran up and clung to him again, kissing him over and over again and hugging him so hard that her chest was pressed up against his, as a result her breasts were nearly splaying out of her kimono, "Ferrum…" She whispered.

His eyes widened as he caught her and did his best to keep up with the kisses. He was grinning afterwards, "That table, huh?"

She looked surprised, "I'm…surprised you know what I'm referring to…"

"Well…I don't know what the hell I'm doing, but I'm not clueless." She giggled, excited by his agreement, she kissed him even harder, running her fingers through his hair. "I just think…" He said between the heated kisses, slowly walking towards the door, "We should do this somewhere that smells a little nicer…"

"I'm not sure I can wait that long…" She bit her lip, "But…perhaps you have a point…"

He scooped her up, "I'll try'n be fast." He started out the door and ran towards the side of the road, flagging down a taxi and practically throwing her inside before he got in too.

Her smile was a combination of hunger and glee as the taxi started driving off, "I want you so badly…" She whispered, "Forgive me for being so…forward…I've…I've just never felt this way before…I've…had my way with others…but…for this, I'm excited down to my core…"

He scooped her up into his lap and rubbed his fingers over her lower back, "Is it something I did?"

"I think it's because of the…connection we have…I never had a bond like this with anyone else…that's why this feels so…real…"

"Ah ha…" He kissed her lips gently, "I'll do what I can for ya."

"You'll do great, I'm sure."

He snickered as the taxi stopped, reaching in his back pocket to throw out some bills before he got out of the car with her, kissing her as they more or less waddled to the red tower.

She sighed, feeling up his chest as they kept stumbling up the stairs to her quarters, once she opened and shut the door behind them, she pulled her kimono off, pulling Ferrum down to the floor with her kissing him madly. He grunted as they hit the ground, "The bed…?" He asked.

"Mmm…perhaps…" She sounded half-impatient, half-willing.

He got up as quickly as he could, draping her up over his shoulder and giving her rear a good smack as he ran up the stairs. She grunted, biting her lip and letting out a pleasurable groan as she was more or less thrown on the bed. She reached down and took her socks off, laying back on the bed with her legs spread. He could tell she was already drenched for him.

He swallowed hard, a bit daunted, "So…guess we kinda…skipped over that foreplay part, eh?" He pulled his shirt off and crawled into the bed on top of her.

"No, no, we can play with each other…I…I just really like you. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize." He looked over her body like a buffet, not sure where to start or what limits there were. "…uh…"

She crossed her legs, "Is there something wrong? Am I going too fast?"

"I just don't know where to start…what you like er what'll piss you off…"

"Nothing will anger me, my mind is very open." She smiled, "Do what your primal instincts are telling you, I promise I won't get cross."

His eyes flickered to her breasts and she swore that if he wasn't a vampire, she would've seen beads of sweat on his forehead. Eventually he slowly reached out and held both of them. It didn't take much time from there for him to dive in and start suckling on them.

She groaned a bit louder, humping anything nearby her, luckily it was his chest and abdomen that took the grinding. She wrapped both her hands around his head and pushed him down a bit further as he sucked her breasts. He let out a gravelly sigh and slowly ran his hands down her back, holding her hips as she continued her movements, "God, your skin's like…like satin…"

"Do you like it?" She chuckled.

"Course I like it…" He snickered, "What kinda question's that, princess?"

She sighed quietly and closed her eyes, holding his rear with one hand and rubbing at his lower abdomen with the other, "Feels so good…just…the anticipation…"

He snickered and rubbed his hands along her waist, muttering something about how tiny it was before he pulled her head close and started kissing and biting at her neck.

She cried out, "This reminds me of our first date in Hallowbrook…"

He stiffened up and moved away, "Miranda…I…." He choked up, "I'm sorry…"

"No, it's okay." She said, "It was a joke."

"Right…sometimes…" He licked her chest a few times, "I wonder what I did to deserve ya…"

"You're brave and sweet, that's what you did."

He snickered and kissed her lips again, rubbing a hand over her stomach, "So…uh…how does this work exactly?"

"How does what work?"

"How do I uh…" He seemed a bit flustered, "Get it in working order…you know…"

"The same way you use your blood to power up your muscles in time of dire strength." She explained, "You need to physically move the blood down to your lower section."

"Ah ha…" He kissed her neck before he pulled his pants and underwear off, letting the blood rush through his system before he sighed, "Already better…"

"Just a little bit more…" She begged quietly, "I need to make up for lost time, if you know what I mean…" She started trying to rub her sex against him again. He put his hands on her breasts and gently rubbed over them, his thumbs circling over her nipples. He then moved in and kept licking at them, rubbing his length against her womanhood.

She gave a seductive groan, "Steadman…" She moaned softly.

That was it for poor Ferrum. The grip on her hips was relentless and bruising as he slid all the way in. An ecstatic grin grew onto her face as she felt the penetration begin, she screamed with a smile, one that grew as the force from Ferrum's brute strength increased. He paused for a moment as he listened to her before he pulled out and started creating more of a rhythm.

She spread her legs as wide as they could go, giving one exasperated sigh after another. Her eyes grew wider as the penetration not only showed no signs of stopping, but got deeper.

Ferrum would have stopped if he _saw_ that she was practically passed out, but since his eyes were practically glazed over with lust, he only kept going. She followed his lead as best as she could, giving a few more exhausted sighs until her head crashed back on the pillow, with a small pool of drool coming out of her mouth.

He panted a few times and pulled out, his eyes quickly snapping back into it with a worried expression, "Miranda…? You alright…?" He laid next to her. She swallowed hard and closed her mouth, reaching her arms out for a hug. He held onto her and pet her hair, "I didn't mean to uh…kill ya…" She kissed his forehead, presumably going off into a state of sleep as she clung to him lightly.

He chuckled softly and held onto her, closing his eyes and thanking his lucky stars for the perfect girlfriend.

* * *

It wasn't the rejection that stung. She wasn't a teenage girl, and Beckett wasn't some jock who would tell the other kids in school to throw rotten food at her during lunch tomorrow. Though, she wouldn't be surprised if a vampire in this community would try and destroy her reputation from something like that, but she was sure Beckett wouldn't. He simply didn't care enough.

Her tub nearly overflowed, she wasn't paying much attention to it. She cut the water as quickly as she could and let her hair fall loose down her shoulders before she got in and closed her eyes.

As a historian, she liked to find the cause and effect behind things. It was simply the art of discovery, of learning. So of course, she delved into her own mind for answers.

" _Why don't you wear make-up like your mother? Your face is like a platter, it must look bright and promising to seem appealing." Her father held her shoulder firmly, "And you must seem appealing."_

" _Oh, must I? For your status to be upheld?"_

 _"Of course not." He straightened up, "Because you are my only heir. And I will not have my blood appear…less than satisfactory. You have a body of excellence, you just need to fill in the gaps, my dear."_

Maybe her family pressured her into her, well, _higher_ self-esteem. But what about everyone else? She sunk in deeper, letting her knees peek out of the suds as her face was submerged in the water.

Her husband's face came to mind. Like it was glued to the back of her eyelids, that devilish grin. The pain in her stomach where she once stabbed herself. He hurt her, sure, but what did he have to do with this?

 _Unless…I recognize anyone else as a better suitor…unless I'm searching for others, many, many others to erase him from my past? I can't still feel oppressed by him, can I? Is that why I crave the touch of those who are sophisticated and gentle…?_

Sophisticated and gentle. She remembered Rainy. _Rainy, the beautiful girl who I can share a bed with whenever I desire. But why don't I desire her for life?_ She opened her eyes and watched flames dance on red candles she had lit on the edge of the tub, _It must be because of Raven…For some reason, I can't fathom a life with Rainy without thoughts of Raven in the back of my mind…like I'm…borrowing Rainy._

But Rainy certainly didn't feel that way. Even at the mere suggestion of opening their relationship, Rainy seemed horrified. _All I want is someone I can stitch over the scar he left on my heart…Rainy is like a bandage that will peel off when she grows bored of me, because I'm not the woman she loves…_

She briefly thought of Pisha. Immediate warmth tugged at her heart, but it left a bitter taste in the back of her mouth. Even if she was with Pisha, would she really be happy? Pisha had made it clear she would never love Phaedra, even her name, or lack thereof, made it very clear how devoted she was to her previous lover. Pisha would see Phaedra as a replacement, and a poor one, at that.

Maybe it was the fear of living alone that made her just so attracted to everyone. Or the fear that she didn't have much time left to find the right person.

There was a light knock on her bathroom door, one that could only belong to one person. Her eyes peeked open and she gasped as her face surfaced, "Rainy?" She asked.

"Hello." She said, her quiet voice nearly impossible to hear from the other side, "I just wanted to let you know that I'm here."

"Yes…thank you. I'll be right out." She stood up and brushed the bubbles from shoulders, "Just a moment."

"Take your time."

It was only a handful of seconds before Phaedra got out of the bathroom in her robe, smiling warmly at Rainy, "Hello dear." She leaned in to kiss her cheek.

She answered her with a hug, "Hi."

Phaedra held her close, inhaling deeply, "How have you been? No run-ins with any…unpleasant Kindred?"

She closed her eyes and rested her head on Phaedra's shoulder, rubbing her stomach, "I'm fine. I don't like living in Chinatown though. I…I feel like a Kuei-Jin is going to knife me from behind and kill me…but…I don't think they're here anymore…"

"…did you want me to ask Strauss if you could move in here?"

She shook her head quickly, "That man in the suit will kill me…"

"What if I confront Strauss?"

"…I don't know…it wouldn't be right…because I'm not part of the Camarilla…I should stay with my sire…"

"Alright…if you're ever in threat, then you're more than welcome to stay in my room with your sire." She gently broke the hug.

"I know." She smiled, "Did you want to sit down somewhere?"

Phaedra nodded and sat on the couch, "Forgive me, my mind has been a bit scattered."

"Scattered?" Rainy asked, sitting beside her.

She shook her head and smiled, "Just a busy day. And the Sabbat are still after me."

She took Phaedra's hands and kissed them, "Remember to call me on your cell phone if you need help."

Phaedra smiled, "I'd nearly forgotten." She embraced her, "How is your sire?"

"She's fine." She hugged her back, "She likes to read in periods of momentary peace…or when we're well-hidden."

"Mmm, I'm sure that must be very relaxing. I've found myself doing quite a bit of reading when…avoiding the streets."

She nodded, getting a bit closer to her ear, "You should lie down, you look exhausted…"

"Would you…help me relax…?"

She smiled and lightly touched her forehead against Phaedra's, putting a hand on Phaedra's lips and curving them up to a smile, "Of course."

Phaedra laughed and put her hands around Rainy's waist, tickling her briefly before standing up, "Let's go to the bedroom." Rainy giggled as she was tickled, standing up and following Phaedra across the room, her heels clicking against the floor as she did so. Phaedra shed her robe as they entered, "There we are, dear. Mmm, I already feel liberated."

Her eyes widened, she reached back and took her heels off, "Did you want to talk about something?"

"…I just feel like a game bird…"

"Because of all the Kindred after you."

She nodded, "I'm just about starving myself to stay off the streets…"

"Aw…Phaedra…" She took a few steps forward and grabbed her hands, "Maybe you could leave the city with Raven and I…I…I know that I'm hunted just as much as you are…"

She pondered it only for a few seconds, "I can't leave the Camarilla…that would be entirely disrespectful…"

She nodded, slowly taking her blazer off, "Just lay down and let me take care of you…" Phaedra closed her eyes and didn't bother arguing, she just melted into her mattress and listened to the shuffling of Rainy undressing. She felt Rainy's naked body embrace her own as Rainy kissed her over and over again, giving her a squeeze occasionally. Phaedra combed her fingers through Rainy's hair and held her face as they kissed, slowly entwining her legs around Rainy's.

After kissing her lips, Rainy crawled back, kissing her chest adoringly while rubbing her stomach. Phaedra's hands roamed down Rainy's back, gently grazing across her shoulder blades with a feather-like touch.

She gave a shameless, yet quiet groan at the feeling of Phaedra's sharp nails gliding against her shoulder blades. "Oh dear…" She covered her mouth, "I'm more aroused than you are…let me try to balance that…" She reached down and massaged Phaedra's hips.

Phaedra grit her teeth, "Oh, no, no…if you need…if you need to, please…"

"Need to what…?"

"Be released…"

"…I suppose…the last time I came, it was all over you…I was really surprised…"

"So was I, but I loved every second…"

Rainy smiled, going back a bit further and kissing her stomach, as before she was increasingly merciless on her belly-button, sucking on it and letting her tongue slither in and out of it. She groaned a fair volume, her legs and lower body shaking as she kept sucking.

Phaedra gripped the sheets tightly and let her head roll to the side as she sighed Rainy's name, before she asked, "Rainy….what's your name…? What's your _real_ name…?"

Her response was touching her quite articulately, fingering her even better than last time given the fact that she knew Phaedra's body so well.

Phaedra tensed just momentarily before she melted into Rainy's hands quite literally. She let her cry of pleasure pierce the silence in the air and fill Rainy's ears like an award. She kissed her inner thigh, muttering quietly that she hoped this was helping Phaedra relax. She reached in slightly deeper, licking her inner thigh over and over again and trying to give her the best masturbation she could have.

Phaedra wasn't exactly sure if she reached a notable climax, instead she seemed to just soar above the world, like a sort of orgasmic bird. When she came crashing back into reality, she still felt like her womanhood was on fire, and Rainy was throwing in coals with each lick to her inner thigh.

"Want more?" She smiled seductively, giving her lower abdomen a pronounced lick.

She let out a deep groan that shuddered throughout the room, "I don't know if I can handle it…" She said with all honesty.

"Okay." She crawled up so that they were face to face and gave her a hug, "Is anything sore that you would like me to rub?"

She just held Rainy's face before she leaned in to kiss her lips, "You're the most affectionate girl I've ever met…"

She smiled, "Not many people say that. To them, I'm just the quiet girl…"

"Shh…" She kissed her neck, "Did you want some…?"

"Um…it's not necessary…"

"Rainy…"

"You need rest." She kissed her cheek.

"And you need attention." She sat up.

"I'm perfectly fine."

"Then you'll come back tomorrow for me to treat?"

She looked away, "I don't know about tomorrow…it…depends on what Raven has planned…"

"Then as soon as you can…?"

She nodded, "Of course. Or you could call me, if you need me."

"Yes, yes, of course…" Phaedra laid back, her eyes growing weary before she held Rainy close and reveled in the feeling, knowing it wouldn't last long.

Rainy started to give her a relaxing rub, around her shoulders and the base of her neck, and her stomach occasionally when she could, "Just relax and get some sleep."

Phaedra sighed and closed her eyes, "I can't thank you enough…" Her voice was quiet and exhausted, like she was half asleep already.

"I'll watch over you, you sleep as long as you need to."

Phaedra watched the smile in Rainy's eyes until she too drifted off, with a smile on her face.

* * *

 **A/N:** Heh heh, and yet, the madness ensues….thanks for reading! Let us know what you thought with a review!


	38. Chapter 38

**A/N:** Here's chapter thirty-eight! Keyword for this chapter: runaway. Enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs. Also, there's some zest in the first scene, if you're not a fan.

* * *

When Sirius came home, he saw the kitchen light was on, but Juliet wasn't in the kitchen, until about a second later the doors open and she walked in wearing her bath robe. "Oh, hey. Sorry, I ran out of shampoo, I had to use yours." She walked over to the fridge and grabbed an apple before sitting at the table and crossing her legs.

"Is that right?" Sirius asked, "Now you're gonna smell like a sexy beast instead of a woman."

"Uh huh. I mean, I still used my conditioner, soap and shaving cream so it shouldn't be too different…"

"I guess I'll be the judge of that later." He sat next to her, "Anything fun happen here?"

"I think there was a mouse in the other room. The…" She pointed a finger, "One. Down the…you know…hall…I don't know, there are too many rooms in this damn place…" She rambled.

"What?" His eye widened, "Fucking hell, I made sure this house was spotless when I got it!" He snarled and stood up, "I guess I'll find the little bastard and drain it dry…"

"Really? You can…find them that easy?"

"Yeah…sure…" He said hesitantly. His voice grew more and more distant as she heard him go from room to room, overturning furniture and knocking things over, to the point where she assumed he didn't have a clue as to where it was.

She closed her eyes and called, "It's probably gone by now."

"I have to find it now!"

"Why don't we just get a cat or something?"

"For one mouse? Isn't that a little extreme?"

"Well, I dunno, maybe there are more we don't know about."

"Don't say things like that!"

Her eyes widened as he shouted back, before she just stopped talking and finished eating her apple. Since he was out of the room, she reached into the freezer and grabbed a pint of ice cream, diving into it with a spoon.

He eventually returned to the kitchen, looking both annoyed and agitated, "Fucking hell." He plopped back into his chair, "Next time I'm out, I'm stealing thirty mousetraps. Put them all over the house. Profit."

"Uh huh." She smiled, "Sorry I brought it up."

"It's fine…I just…don't want a dirty house…"

"It's not dirty. Mice get in, especially when you live in the middle of the woods."

"I know, I know…" He said, "Huh…and I thought this was the perfect venue…"

"I mean…people can't get in…"

"People don't even know this place _exists_." He said, "And I plan to keep it that way. The contractors and realtors who gave this place to me were so doped up on Serpentis I doubt they even remember that this house is a thing."

"Good, I…kinda like it that way. I don't want to know what kind of enemies you have or think about them coming here."

"Yeah, everyone hates me, that's why I more or less live like a hermit."

"It's nice that I don't have to go to work, but…I'm gonna get bored eventually…"

"Huh…I thought endlessly porking you would solve that problem. I mean…you can take one of the cars out…if you want…oh yeah…you hate driving off-road…"

"I mean…maybe if you had an off-road car, it wouldn't be as bad…"

"Hey, I got tons of cars."

"Are any of them off-road?"

"Eh, some of them gotta be…"

She snickered, "Uh huh, I guess I'll look into it." She said.

He watched her eat for a moment or two, then he said, "You should see the disaster that's going on at work…it's great, there's a love triangle…"

"Really…? You guys have love triangles…?"

"I know…we're supposed to be political masters and warriors, but I guess some of the guys want to reenact a high school drama…"

She snickered and shook her head, "That's fucking priceless…"

"It might mean the disbandment of our little group." He said, "The chick at the center of the attention has lost it, the two guys lost it." He shook his head, "At the very least we're going to lose a lot of members…"

"Anything you can do to help?"

"I'm trying, but, no one's been listening to me." He said, "It's clear that this drama has started long before I joined…"

She shook her head, then closed the pint of ice cream and stood up, bending over to put it in the freezer. When she turned around, Sirius was gone. Her eyes darted around, "Fuck. Where the hell did you go?" No answer. She swiped her fingers through her hair as she slowly walked away from the table, "Sirius…" Still nothing. "Sirius, this isn't fun anymore." She put her hands on her hips.

She felt a significant length rub up against her loosely clothed rear, sliding up and down to create friction, while invisible hands groped her breasts.

"Fuck…" She hissed, closing her eyes, "Shit, I knew it was coming…like a goddamn jack-in-the-box…" She placed her hands on top of his. The invisible person knocked her to the floor, doing away with her robe and teasing his erection all over her lower abdomen.

Her cheeks where flushed bright red as she squirmed on the floor, "Let me see you…" She reached her hands out and held the back of his head, "I don't want to start making out with your nose…"

"But you look so helpless." His Obfuscate broke, and a naked Sirius was over top of her, "It was kinda hot…"

"Thanks." She smiled and pulled his face closer, meeting their lips for a searing kiss, "You're good at keeping this fresh…"

"Don't speak so soon." He said, "We've only been…well…whatever we are…boyfriend and girlfriend…ghoul and vampire…master and servant…friends with benefits…whatever the hell it is. We've only been that for a small handful of months…"

She slowly slid a hand up from his abs to his chest before it rested at his shoulder, "And I think I love you like a…a goddamn horny teenager…" She kissed him again, "But I can't get you out of my head and I don't want to."

"That's probably the blood bond." He rolled over and let her be on top, but it was revealed that this only so he could spank her mercilessly. She grit her teeth before she bit onto his shoulder, biting a little harder with each spank, not to mention the groans that he heard along with each one. "You're such a dirty little glutton…" He whispered, luckily for him her ear was right by him, "You gotta face your punishment." He spanked even harder, playfully pulling on her hair with his other hand.

She let out a moan before she moved her head away from his shoulder, shuddering in his arms before she shifted herself up a bit so she could grind against his abdomen. He smirked as she began to make a mess all over him, "I want you to suck my cock so hard…"

She slowed herself to a stop and brushed her sweaty hair out of the way, "Then stand up and I'll take care of it."

"You'd better slurp it all down, cause I ain't holding back."

"You let me worry about it." She kissed his lips again as he got to his feet. Once he was there, she sat up on her knees and slid her hands up the backs of his legs, gripping onto his rear tightly as she gave a pronounced lick to his length. It was only seconds later before he was entirely in her mouth. He gave a long sigh as he finally released what he had been holding in for the past quarter of an hour into her mouth, holding the back of her head to secure her in place.

He soon began a rhythm, more or less out of control, as the inside of Juliet's mouth was providing a better orgasm for him than before, even though he was aroused enough already.

After she continued to bob her head and take him in as far as she could, she licked up the last few drops and held his shaft, holding onto it with one of her hands, "It's like ice cream…"

"I doubt it actually tastes like that…"

"Not at all…"

He rolled his eye, lifting her up to a standing position and hugging her, "I guess we should rest up now."

She blinked a few times, "…huh?"

"Unless you want to sleep standing like this…"

She walked two fingers up his chest, "But you didn't fuck me…"

"Eh, but I'm pretty sure you orgasmed…unless…that was just…pee all over me…"

"Well, it wasn't piss but I didn't come either…I got close…"

"Huh. So you didn't come." He started walking towards the bedroom, "Oh well."

One of her eyes twitched as she followed after him, "Hey. Hey! This is entirely unfair." She reached forward and grabbed his shoulder, "How would you like it if you ate me out then I called it a night?"

"…I'd probably just…finish myself off…imagine that you just ate a five course meal…or were pregnant…or something really out there and erotic…I have a lot of blood in my system, so…I could afford to play with myself quite a few times…"

"Fine. Then I guess that's what I'll do." She crossed her arms.

"You're gonna touch yourself?"

"Guess so."

He took her hand, walking with her to the bedroom, "So, you're telling me that you're still a little horny?"

"More than a little."

"Hmm…why don't you tell me about it? In detail. Maybe throw in a little begging and I'll think about it." He said as they entered the bedroom.

"The hell?" She asked as she sat down on the edge of the bed, "Please just…give me something. I don't care what, I don't care how, I just need something."

"That's it?" He asked, laying back on the bed, "Alright, goodnight, Juliet."

"Fuck me, Sirius!" She demanded, crossing her arms.

He laughed, peeking an eye open and holding his arms out, "Come here…"

"Thank god." She crawled up onto the bed and started kissing him. He kissed her back, letting her boobs squeeze up against his chest. Her mouth hungrily sought his before she broke the kiss and started rolling her hips against his abs again to build up some sort of rhythm.

"Jeez…you enjoy this quite a bit, don't you?"

She panted a bit and laid over him for a moment, "I want you on top…"

"Oh, is that right?" He switched positions, "Like this?"

She nodded and slid her hands over his chest, her nails gently scraping the skin, "God, you're so hot, every night with you feels like…some…wet dream…"

"Good, I'm glad I can give ya some nice dreams, at least."

"Yeah, thanks sweetheart." She laced her fingers into hair, kissing him over and over.

"Look…" He rubbed her hips, "I didn't mean to piss you off…I was gonna get ya…"

"I know…" She smiled, "I…I know…" She closed her eyes, "Sometimes I just think it's all gonna fall apart…like this is all too good to be true…"

"You worried about me dying or something?" He asked, "I ain't gonna die on you. I'm too powerful."

She nodded and held onto him tightly before she kissed the column of his throat, "Thanks, babe…"

"I guess fucking you would show how strong I am." He started rubbing her lower abdomen.

She closed her eyes and nodded, "Yeah…yeah, it…it really would…"

"Alright." He pressed one of his thumbs on her nipple while the other hand teased the area around her womanhood, "Then I would get ready…"

She spread her legs and moaned, "Fuck…" She hissed through clenched teeth, "You're…p-perfect…"

"Say that again." He said, preparing his cock yet again.

"You're perfect…" She said stronger, her nails digging into his back, "F-Fuck me…please…"

"Alright, you did ask nicely." He drove into her, it was a bit clear that his intent was to absolutely ruin her. This much was obvious as the violent thrusting began almost immediately once he made contact. She bit her lip and let out a lovely sounding moan of release. Her legs locked around his waist so she could stay just that much closer to him.

His hands went around each of her massive butt cheeks, squeezing them and pulling them closer with each further thrust. Her hands, meanwhile, found his shoulders and dug in there. She felt yet another climax flutter deep inside her just from the feeling of his muscles rippling beneath his skin.

He gave a quiet sigh, closing his eye in an effort to give a few more thrusts before he ran out of energy. She was practically limp beneath him by the time he'd finished, a sure sign of success.

"There." He got off of her, hugging her from the side, "Happy now?"

"Yeah…" She said breathlessly. "My hips feel good and broken…"

He rubbed her stomach with one hand and the back of her head with another, "Good. Let's get some sleep then, I'll see you tomorrow after work."

She gave a little smile, "God…if you could, I'd be so pregnant…"

"Hey…" He frowned, "Don't…turn me on…and make me feel disappointed in myself…at once…"

"Sorry…" She gave a little smile, wrapping her arms around him, then mumbling in her sleepy voice, "I daydream of…getting married and…having kids…adopting them or…" She nuzzled her head against his chest, "Getting some…somewhere…"

He swallowed hard, both nervous and touched at her declaration, "You…want that…even after…?" He rubbed the back of her head with both hands, wanting to keep her warm.

"…mmm…" She squeezed him, "Night…"

"Right…uh…goodnight…"

* * *

There was a light knock on Raven and Rainy's hotel room. Raven's eyes widened as she looked over at Rainy, who was on the bed. She tugged her hood over her head and stepped forward, opening the door just a sliver.

"There's no need for such secrecy, Kindred." An incredibly deep, rumbly voice said from the other end of the door, making Rainy stir in her bed.

"What brings you here?" Raven asked quietly.

"I am Jun Oshiro, great Bodhisattva of the Kuei-Jin, and the new ruler of the city of Chinatown."

She expressed no emotion. "We will be gone by tomorrow morning."

"Very well." He said, "It is fortunate to see that some Kindred are capable of peaceful negotiations. I will return tomorrow to search the area."

"Thank you very much."

The door was slammed as Jun left the hotel. "Raven…?" Rainy asked nervously, "Who was that…?"

"We have to leave." She said, overall sounding quite composed, "The Kuei-Jin have returned." She paused, "We have until sunrise. But, at least…they seem more tranquil…"

"The Kuei-Jin?" She shuddered, "What are we going to do?"

"Leave."

"But then where?"

She paused, "I might ask the Prince for…local recluse areas. He might offer us a solution."

She nodded, moving towards her sire's side, "Should we go now?"

"Make sure you have everything. Anything that wasn't here when we first arrived." She said as she gathered a few charts and tucked them into her robe. Then she went into the bathroom and took some of the accolades provided, "And…um…anything else you may need."

She gave another nod, digging around for her own robe, she put it on over the rest of her outfit, putting the hood up, "I'm ready."

Raven nodded and peered around the room again before she left with Rainy, her bright blue eyes on high alert as they left the room, quietly paid the man behind the counter, then headed out for the streets. Once there, they clung to the shadows the entire time. Rainy knew the trip to downtown would take hours.

Rainy tugged on Raven's hand after a gathering of minutes, "Someone's following us…"

Raven's eyes widened as she squeezed Rainy's hand back, then slightly turned over her shoulder to see who was trailing them.

They were too far away to be seen at first, but Ebony made herself known once she cackled, "Where are we going, dear Cainites? What's the rush?" Rainy swallowed hard, immediately hiding behind Raven.

Raven continued until she was in a deep alleyway, somewhere far away from roads and blocked off by buildings, "Let us pass."

Ebony snickered, "Your blood is a most odd solution, that of which I do not know." She outstretched a hand, "You will come with me to my leader, or I will kill you and your duckling here."

Her eyes flared red as her body glowed green, "We mean no harm."

Ebony waved a hand, and Raven and Rainy began to vomit up blood, "Must we make this difficult?" She asked, pulling out a pair of pistols.

Rainy wiped her mouth, quivering in pain, "She's…Tremere…" She said, getting out a few pistols of her own as she glowed green while her eyes glowed red.

"Hmm…Auspex…and Fortitude…"

Raven looked around for another escape, but knew it would attract attention. She had to do something. She reached in her robe and took out a small knife, "P-Please leave us…"

"Die!" Ebony coated herself with a blood shield, firing at both the opposing vampires with each pistol.

Rainy jumped in front of Raven, hoping that Fortitude would block some of the damage. The two girls engaged in a shootout for a little while, both of their guns hardly doing a thing with their defensive enchantments up.

Raven held an arm up and hoped not to be hit by any stray bullets, before Rainy had to reload. "Enough." She hissed quietly, deep blue lightning crackling in the air overhead before she ran forward to knife Ebony in the face.

Ebony froze her in place by utilizing Purge once more, so Raven and her childe had to vomit up more blood. "Such strange powers, Master Lafayette will hear of your transgressions against the Sabbat!"

"Raven, you go ahead…" Rainy pulled her switchblade out, "I'll hold her off…"

"Sabbat…" Raven hissed through clenched teeth as she buckled over on her knees, only for a moment, "No." She said firmly, regaining her ground, "I need you to run, Rainy. To him." She nodded, praying Rainy understood her implications.

"I won't leave you here!"

"Please…"

"But what about you?"

"I'll hold my ground."

Rainy gave a shaky nod, it looked as if she wanted to say more, but she ran off.

"How sweet." Ebony snickered, "You're going to take the fall for your duckling…"

The blue lightning flickered again, but she seemed to hold more of a defensive stance than anything else. Ebony gave an insane laugh, firing away at Raven, adding an occasional blood bolt to the mix.

She held an arm out as she took the hits, really, her body hardly felt most of the blows, with Fortitude, Auspex and Obeah acting in her favor. She ran forward again to charge with her knife when she felt her blood pool dwindle.

Ebony grimaced, taking a step or two back, although for the most part trying to slash through Ebony was like trying to cut through pudding. Ebony kept firing away at Raven, calling on her own Auspex to make her shots a bit sharper.

Raven flinched and stepped back, desperately pulling on her hood to keep it in place. She rushed forward again when the window opened to slash at Ebony. "Oh, I grow bored of this." She waved a hand, causing Raven to throw up again. Ebony was meanwhile merciless with her shots as Raven was immobilized.

Raven grunted as she fell to her knees, but quickly struggled to stand, wiping the tears from her eyes as she put her knife away and looked for a path to escape.

"How dare you run from our battle!" Ebony called, chasing after her, bullets would narrowly miss Raven as she was being pursued.

Raven ran into a dead end and turned around, her eyes revealed how horrified she was before she turned back to the brick wall. A dumpster stood against it, which served as everything she needed. She jumped onto the dumpster, then scaled the wall, getting onto the rooftop of the building and disappearing into the shadows.

* * *

He felt bad for visiting his girlfriend so often, but if she was in a state like this, then it would be all for the better anyway.

There was something very wrong when he entered however. How clean the apartment was. Spotless, really. This would be fine if Anastasia wasn't a little, laid-back with her cleaning.

Skelter's worry increased when he saw a note lying on the now empty coffee table, it hardly answered any questions, yet answered them all at once.

 _Peace out._ And a peace sign below it.

That was it. No other information was on the note.

He picked up the note, checked the back of it, then folded it in half and put it in his back pocket. He grabbed his phone and dialed her number. When there was no response, he cursed and called Nines.

"Hey. What's up?"

"'Stasia's gone."

"Gone?"

"She's gone. She left. Told us 'peace out'. Dammit, Nines, this is your fault!" He roared.

"Relax. She couldn't have gone far. Did you talk to her?"

"She said she's not coming back to the Anarchs as long as Killian's there."

"Shit." He gave a sigh, "Then we just have to wait."

"Wait? Wait!?" Skelter wanted to throw the phone at the floor, "That's your answer for everything, isn't it? What are we waiting for, huh? Waiting for her to die? Madison wants her head more than he wants yours!"

"I'm almost certain she's with Vanderbilt."

"Oh, really? In the Cam? With Madison?"

"He'll keep her safe."

"No. No, no, we have to find her."

"We don't have time for this, Skelter."

"Well _I'm_ finding her." He said, "Fuck this, I'm not coming back until she's with me." He shut his phone and put it in his back pocket, storming out of the apartment.

Back in the Last Round, Nines cursed quietly as he closed his phone. Killian was sitting at the table, rubbing one of his temples. He didn't need to hear both sides of the conversation to know what was happening. Sirius was a little less observant, "What the hell was that about?"

"Anastasia's gone, so is Skelter." Nine said quietly, getting out a cigarette.

"Aw, seriously, it couldn't be worked out?"

"Well, she went missing. Skelter's out looking for her, and isn't coming back until she's coming back. And…well…she's not coming back until Killian's gone."

"Fuck." Killian pounded a fist on the table, "Nines, just let me leave. They're stronger than I am anyway."

He shook his head, "They'll get over it with enough time."

Downstairs, Damsel leaned up against the doorframe of the storage closet, trying to eavesdrop before she saw the door open. "Vanderbilt." She said, then her smirk faded when she saw how livid he was, "Shit, what's this about?"

"Where is she?" He asked.

"Who, Anastasia?"

"I need to see if she's upstairs or not."

"Yeah, go on up."

He went upstairs, fists clenched to ridiculous levels as he reached the top, "Where is she?!" He screamed.

Sirius looked confused, "Who the hell is this?"

Cadmus's dark eyes analyzed the five of them, he didn't recognize half of them, and out of those he did, he barely knew them either, aside from Nines.

"Is…is he Camarilla?" Catalina asked.

"Why…isn't she here…" Cadmus growled.

"It's cause I'm here." Killian sat up, "Nines, I swear, everything will be better if I leave."

"Skelter's out looking for her right now." Nines said.

Cadmus crossed his arms, "I got a voicemail from her. Said she didn't even feel safe in her own skin and was skipping town. I thought she was just trying to get attention so I came here. So where the hell is she then?"

There was a silence.

"Dammit!" Killian stood up, "I'm out."

"Killian, don't—"

"What good am I doing, Nines? I'm just another body for Blood Boil. I'm not doing shit. Those two are actually important, they matter to other people, and they matter to the cause. Thanks for the second chance, but this isn't gonna work."

Cadmus raised a brow, "Someone wanna clue me in on _why_ she left in the first place?"

"Why the hell should we tell you anything, you're in the Camarilla!" Sirius snarled.

He narrowed his eyes, "So you're the one who keeps attacking Phaedra, huh? Glad to finally meet you…"

"Oh, so she bitched to you about me too, huh?"

"Yeah, and I'll make sure you're the first casualty in this war for it."

"Enough." Nines said, "Cadmus is Anastasia's sister. He's family to us. We have a truce."

"What?" Sirius asked, eventually muttering something under his breath about how overall inactive the cause was.

"Wait…baldy's gone too…" Cadmus said, "Isn't that her boyfriend?"

"As I said, Skelter's not coming back until he finds her." Nines said.

He clenched his fists, with a flourish he turned around, "If she's dead…" He muttered, stomping out of the building.

"What the hell was that?" Sirius crossed his arms.

"This is bad…" Catalina said, "If she said she left the state a day or two ago, then she's probably long gone by now. We're…going to have to hold up the fort without her or Skelter for a while."

Killian took his phone out. "Kid, what are you doing?" Nines asked.

"Calling Skelter and telling him that I'm leaving."

Cissy stood up and sat next to him, slowing taking his phone, "Look, sweetheart, this'll work out."

Killian narrowed his eyes and looked down at her, "I keep forgetting about you…"

"What, how you half-fucked me?" She grinned, "Well, I forgive you."

"Forgive me for what? You were the one who told me you lived alone."

She giggled and avoided the subject, "Anyway, kicking yourself out isn't going to solve the problem. From what I understand, Anastasia's afraid of you. If you left, that really wouldn't change much for her, would it? I say she needs to face her fears." She sat back, "She needs to face you."

"And she won't. I can't blame her." He said, "Now quit bugging me."

Sirius and Catalina exchanged a glance, "Well, this has gotten juicy, fast." The former said.

"Killian, you shouldn't objectively leave though." Catalina said, "We already have two people missing in action and we don't need three."

"Look, if I leave, we get two back. Don't need to be a math genius to see which is the better deal."

"But she's probably out of California by now." She said, "She won't magically come back unless Skelter finds her, which, could take a while."

"Just stay for now, alright? I'll call Skelter later tonight and see what's up."

Killian sighed and crossed his arms, "Fine…fine…"

Cissy crossed her legs, "So…my place? Tonight?"

Killian snickered and shook his head, "Catalina, I pity you…"

"I don't know, I thought you two suited each other." Catalina said, Sirius burst out laughing.

"Yeah, see?" Cissy leaned in.

"I was hardly interested before, and I'm not now." Killian clarified.

"What?" She asked, genuinely surprised, "You're turning this down?"

"Yeah."

"Fuck." She sat back, "What a shame…"

"He's got someone else on his mind." Sirius said.

"If it's who I think it is, that ship probably sailed." Catalina said, "Call it women's intuition…"

He let his head hit the table. "I need a drink…"

Damsel came upstairs, "Hey. I was gonna head out."

Nines nodded, "Guess we'll close the place up then." He followed her down to help her close up.

"Good…I was getting too damn tired anyway…" Sirius got up, "Later."

"Should we go home together or are you going to get yourself sorted out a few times first?" Catalina asked.

Cissy looked up at her, "Why do I feel like you're taking hits at me?" She stood up, "This is a serious condition, you know."

Catalina rolled her eyes, "Across the world, there's famine and disease the likes of which this planet has never seen. Forgive me for not considering your orgy-obsessed disease a contender…"

"Orgy? Ugh, I'd love that, wish I actually experienced one of those…"

"Given your history, I'm surprised you haven't…"

"C'mon, let's go." She said, pausing as she looked at Killian, still moping there, "Hey. You got a place to stay?"

"Yeah." He said lowly, "Just go."

She shrugged and followed Catalina out, "You let me know when you change your mind, Cat."

"Change my mind about what?" She asked.

"You and me."

"Yeah, I don't think so. Like I said the other nine times, I'm straight."

"Uh huh, that's what I said too, all those years ago…"

"All what years ago, aren't you barely cracking sixteen or something?"

"I'm eighteen!"

"Oh, right, _such_ a big difference…" She snickered, "I'll let you know when I'll take your advice, little girl."

Cissy pouted and glared at her before she crossed her arms, "Whatever." Catalina rolled her eyes as the duo headed for Catalina's apartment.

* * *

 **A/N:** The Anarchs numbers are dwindling without actions needed from any other forces…what does the future hold for them? Thanks for reading!


	39. Chapter 39

**A/N:** Here's chapter thirty-nine! This chapter's all about the power of the Tremere…or…is it? Enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs. Also, there is some citric acid going on towards the end, if you're not a fan, feel free to skim over it.

* * *

"Are you ready for claiming this city for the Sabbat?" Madame Vaska asked.

"I was about to ask you that." Lafayette said, "Hardly is it in the Jyhad's nature to head straight for the core of the Camarilla."

"Why don't I show you how things were done in my day?" She smiled, entering the red tower without a hint of fear on her face, "We'll strike for the heart and be done with all this war madness."

It wasn't long until the two Tzimisce, one old, and one young, caught the attention of some of the residents of the red tower.

"Hey, there's a Tzimisce in here!" Slade drew his swords.

Madame Vaska scowled at him, "You will bow before my feet." A blue glow came from her black-nailed hand, Slade immediately fell to his feet and started saying, "All hail Madame Vaska," over and over again.

Lafayette rolled his eyes, "Turning him into furniture would have been a more enjoyable activity."

"What's going on…?" Cadmus asked, "Shit…it's you…" He looked at Lafayette, "Wait, how did you guys even get in here…?! I…I thought Strauss had loads of traps set or something…" Then he looked at Slade, "So you have Dominate." He looked at Madame Vaska.

"Yes, so I suggest you step aside unless you want to end up in a worse condition than your little friend here." Madame Vaska said.

"And take us to your Prince." Lafayette clasped his hands together.

Cadmus gave a reluctant nod, "Very well."

As they were 'escorted', Phaedra spotted their presence, "Ah…visitors…" She seemed quite confused.

"Cadmus…" Miranda looked at Cadmus as he was guiding them, "What on earth are you doing?"

"Don't fight them. Don't initiate anything." Cadmus warned.

Lafayette and Madame Vaska continued watching with a combination of cockiness to their Camarilla enemies, as well as glee that they were being escorted through the tower.

"Hey, what's going on?" Prospero asked, having just exited the Prince's office and was in turn the last line of defense, "We can't just _let_ these people in here…"

"Oh, I disagree…" Madame Vaska gave a deep chuckle, as her heels clacked against the floor, a blue glow came from her hand, and Prospero wilted like a puppet, "I am the oldest and most powerful creature on this continent, and I pull all the strings…" She put her hands on Prospero's shoulders, suggestively leaning in and rubbing her hands up and down his figure, "So clear away, little man…"

Lafayette watched on with boredom, while the others watched with creeped out expressions on their faces.

"Look, enough." Cadmus said, "You want to see our Prince, right? Just leave everyone alone. I'm already taking you to Strauss. And you." He looked at those on his side, "Don't provoke these two. At all. I'm guessing since her Dominate works on everyone she can just…kill us with the wave of a hand, and it'll be over…"

"Of course. Let's take them to our high and mighty Prince." Ferrum said, a haughty grin on his face, "They are the guests, after all."

Cadmus nodded, "He's right between those two doors." He pointed.

Lafayette and Madame Vaska nodded the former smiling as he remarked, "Say farewell to your precious age, you Camarilla rats!"

Strauss looked up from his immediate paperwork, "I was not told that I would be receiving visitors on this eve."

"We're unscheduled guests…" Lafayette snickered, "Not everything goes according to plan, now does it?"

"Yes, how unfortunate."

His eye twitched, it was clear that Strauss's unnerving calmness to being invaded was getting to him, "You senile bag of dust, your defeat is at hand and that's all you have to say?"

Straus folded his hands over his desk, "I'm afraid I'm unsure as to what you're referring to. I see a both bountiful and savory rule ahead of myself." He said, "It certainly will not be stopped by the likes of you."

Madame Vaska laughed, "So brash, this boy…perhaps when I crumble your tower to dust, you'll think otherwise."

"Unlikely."

She frowned, "You seem to misunderstand…I have been on this rock since before the New World was discovered. Defeating me—"

"As have I."

A pause.

Lafayette narrowed his eyes in thought, "So this is going to be a little messier than we had anticipated…" He said, "With you and he these many centuries old, a simple wave of Dominate might not solve all of our problems…"

"It's no matter." Madame Vaska said, "I am prepared for a long, arduous fight. We outnumber him anyway. This Camarilla will still meet its end tonight."

Lafayette laughed in agreement, "Yes, having oh…what is that silly Camarilla post called…a _Sheriff_ …would be very helpful right now, you dimwitted old man…"

Strauss chuckled darkly himself, even though he hadn't moved from his sitting position, "Yes. This will certainly leave a message tonight. One that I hope spreads to the outer corners of my domain…"

Lafayette growled, "Attack him!" He said, as he and Madame Vaska lunged at Strauss.

As soon as they got near him, their bodies stopped, and their flesh weakened, it began to both decay and dry out. Lafayette and Madame Vaska screamed in agony as they began to dry out, their skin both deadened further and turned a sickly shade of brown. Their arms got the worst treatment, getting thinner than a withered branch.

"Retreat! Retreat!" Lafayette screamed as he and his associate, with what little vitality they had left, dashed out of the office in a run for their lives. Strauss on the other hand, continued sitting, in the same position he had been sitting in during the entire meeting.

* * *

It wasn't just the requests from the other apprentices, (and ghoul), in the Chantry that drove Iphigenia to search for the missing Victor. It was her own curiosity.

He didn't do very much outside the Chantry. She was tempted to think he did nothing, now that he moved Venus in here. So his regular absence became a bit of an enigma. She didn't doubt the fact that he was in the Chantry, somewhere, hiding. The place was huge, even after years of living there, she still felt there were more hidden rooms and hallways than there were places she actually knew. So she risked a confrontation with Donatello and searched around as much as she could for the Magister.

Most rooms in the Chantry were for reading or studies. This chamber was large, three times the size of one of the normal rooms, and not a single armchair or sofa was to be seen.

Instead, there were quite a few cauldrons dotted at different corners of the room. Each cauldron had so many solutions bubbling in it at once it made her head spin. As well as an absurd number of bodies. Cow bodies.

Victor was standing in the center of the room, adding a mixture to the nearest cauldron. "Oh." He spotted Iphigenia, "I didn't hide this place well enough…"

"No…you did." She walked in, slowly taking everything in.

"Did someone need me?"

"No…" She said slowly, "Or…yes, yes, they both….asked for some help with something, but, it's really…nothing." She turned back to him, "So…uh…what's this about?"

"Well…" Victor said.

"Oh, thank god, someone else is in here…" Two men woke up from the darkened corner of the room, they looked injured beyond recognition, "Please lady, this guy is crazy! You gotta get him locked up!" One of them begged.

Victor picked up a large wooden stick, lighting the tip on fire. He impaled the first man through the heart. He screamed and fell unconscious. Given how much the wood and fire affected him, he must have been Kindred, "Anarch." Victor justified.

"No, wait, please!" The second man begged, "There's…there's war…but he's just taking this too far! What the fuck are all these dead cows doing around here? What is he going to do with them—?"

He screamed as Victor staked him too, "Sabbat." Victor justified.

"Yes…so…answers…?" Iphigenia asked.

"Yes…answers…" Victor tossed the two bodies in torpor on the table, preparing them for some sort of horrid experiment, no doubt. Iphigenia could see a giant pile of dead Kindred bodies in addition to the two Victor had. (Or, in torpor, technically, as, dead Kindred bodies would turn to ash). He had just as many Kindred bodies as he did cattle. He took his knife out, along with a rather large needle, starting to make an incision in the first and second body, it looked as if he were gaging at where to join the two together.

"I'm gonna go out there and…say this is something Neo would do. In the Sabbat. With the Tzimisce." Iphigenia crossed her arms and leaned against the doorway, "Mister Madison."

"How dare you speak that name." He frowned, "You don't even know who he was. You weren't even there." He said, stabbing at his experiment a bit harder, "None of you were…" He put his needle down, heading for the dead cows, "I would very much like it if everyone would stop pretending they know more than they really do."

"And I would very much like it if our Magister acted responsible and stopped…" She threw a hand in the air, "Torturing cows and idiots. Because, I'm not sure if you've noticed, Mister Magister, but you're the _only_ person here anyone will listen to, because nobody here acknowledges Donatello as a Regent." She nearly laughed, "We take _your_ orders, sir."

He narrowed his eyes, "Do you fancy me insane, Iphigenia? Have you gone and thought that I've just…been sitting in this room, for hours…pestering these…animals…with no end goal in mind?"

She raised a brow, the piercings there glittered in the dim lighting, "That's what it seems like."

"Then I pity your short-sightedness…" He took a deep sigh, "Iphigenia, the Anarchs want to kill me."

"They want to kill us all." She said, matter-of-fact-like.

"No, no, I _know_ they want to kill me. Specifically."

"Well, the more power you have, the more they want to kill you. And…you do have a few close connections to…a good portion of them."

"A fair observation." He said, "So what would you do, Iphigenia?" He asked, "If you knew that an entire faction wanted you dead. What would you do? You see, Kindred themselves always have at least one person that wants to kill them, even since the start of Embrace. That's merely the nature of the Jyhad. Having one person wanting to kill you isn't really special in our society. But I'm talking about an entire _army's_ worth. What would you do?"

"I would stay close to my allies and rely on their support to hold us together. That is…saying I was worth enough effort for an army to want dead. I'd be important to my allies as well. They wouldn't want me to hide by myself where the risk of getting murdered is…much higher."

"You think I'm hiding?"

"No, but it certainly appears that way."

"I'm creating my own army." He said, dissecting one of the cows, he eventually pulled out a large organ. It looked like a large wet sac. Either a stomach or a uterus, but, Iphigenia was no biologist. "Mark the date, Iphigenia, May second, the date my revenge finally begins."

"Are we not enough?"

He paused, dropping the wet sac to the ground, of course, it made a wonderful noise once it hit the ground, "Is…that how you all feel about me?"

"Yes." She said firmly, then added, "They wanted your help. We all did. Well, not your ghoul, she just misses you. But, we're trying our best to get to Blood Boil or just, stronger disciplines, so you won't have to…." She looked around, "Resort to dead bovines…."

"I can't honestly expect three Tremere to take out Armando and his henchmen. You're all fairly young. Wouldn't placing those expectations on you be a bit cruel of me?"

"Weren't you the one who told us one Tremere with Blood Boil could take out half an army? Imagine three."

"You're neglecting the blood cost, Iphigenia. Without restocking, you've only got about two or three of those."

"It's still enough to kill a handful of Anarchs. We're willing to take the risk, because we care about you."

"I know you all do." He said, placing the sac on the table, preparing to sew all three entities together, "I understand that this looks confusing to an inexperienced Tremere, and I understand that it's selfish." He said, "If you came in here to inform me that I'm a lousy teacher and a poor excuse for a Magister, then you've done a wondrous job. I want you, and Delilah and Leo to grow, I really do. I think it would be s marvelous idea if the four of us put together could all utilize Blood Boil to instill fear in our enemies. But I need to be a little selfish and think about my immediate safety first. And logically, building this army to fight the Anarchs will take about two months…while waiting for you to learn Blood Boil won't come as naturally…"

"Right…well…I'll tell them you're alive." She said, "Good luck, Mister Madison."

He half-wilted in regret, "This…is certainly a wakeup call…how feared I am…by my students…"

She wasn't sure how to acknowledge him, so she just let the echoing sound of her heels cling against the floors as she left and hoped to find a way out.

* * *

Goosebumps covered her entire body, causing her to shiver like a terrified dog. It wasn't from the cold rain alone, it was also the lightning, and the thunder, and the fact that no one else was out at all.

And the voices, of course, screaming in her ears.

She bit her lip and shuddered as she hugged herself, trying to remember the way home. She had gone from club to club, looking for somewhere to work, but found nowhere that accepted her. There were either, 'no hirings', despite the 'help wanted' signs, she was, 'not the type they were looking for', or, 'too big', or, 'too small'. It was all excuses, and she knew the family was suffering. She let out another yelp as lightning stuck a nearby building and forced herself to stumble onwards, having no memory of where home was, what street she was on or really what was going on at all.

Another flash of lightning lit up the end of the street, revealing the only other person out at this hour. He looked middle-aged, in a top hat, and a suit and Victorian trench coat was well. His eyes were dark, as well as the small moustache he had. "What are you doing out here?" His voice hissed like a snake's, it was refined, deep, classy, "You shouldn't be out on an unforgiving night like this one."

"I…I…" Her skimpy outfit was a dead giveaway to what she was out for, "I know not…my mind it…it's lost…"

"Come with me." He held a hand out, lightly grabbing her arm anyway before she answered. With his other hand, he whistled for a taxi, hopping inside it with her.

She was shivering like mad when they were inside, dripping wet, "A-Apologies…"

"It's alright." He said, "You're going to need quite a few towels once we're finished relocating." He said, "What on earth were you doing?"

She closed her eyes and tried to quell the sound in her head, "Searching…" Her bright green eyes opened as her memories returned, "For a workplace." She held her hands out as she wove the very short story together, "For my sisters. The pay they receive is either none or scant."

"I see." He said, "And where shall we take you to dry off. Your home, perhaps?"

"You know it?" She asked.

"No…you'll have to provide the driver with directions…"

"Straight. Then left. Two lefts!" She leaned in, "And then, a right. And then we walk for a-hundred heartbeats." She said, before she leaned in to the man next to her and smiled a devious smirk, "But I know that is a measurement you will be unable to trace."

The man with the top hat smiled back, "You're not feeling ill from the rain are you? You're feeling alright?"

"I'm ill because of my parasite parent." She said, a touch of pain in her gaze, almost, "Jeanette Voerman."

"Voerman?" He asked.

She nodded, "But, but, not Therese. Jeanette. Therese has a penchant of hatred for my blood-concoction."

"And when you say parasite parent…you mean…"

The car stopped and she got out, spitting out the rain that got in her mouth, "Ugh." She shuddered again, hugging herself, before she looked up at the man like a lost puppy, "A parasite who fosters a mortal like myself."

"A mortal?"

"Yes…" She said slowly, "My heart beats."

"And Voerman's doesn't?" He smiled.

"No. Neither does yours."

He laughed for a long while, "Yes, you're right!" He said, "I'm surprised to find another piece of Jyhad like this out in the middle of nowhere."

"You might know of my sister." She shuddered in the rain, "She is also of parasite blood."

"Is that right?" He asked, "Small world."

"Indeed." She said, tugging him towards her apartment complex, "I take hell's helpers to dinner with my sisters."

"What?" He asked, "I have no intention to have dinner. I merely wished to assist you out of the rain!"

"You're coming with me." She insisted, pulling his arm along, "I insist!"

"Very well. Just relax." He said, "The first thing you ought to do when you go inside is to dry off and get someplace warm."

She smiled at him and continued to pull him up the stairwell until they made it to the door and she knocked. When it opened, Iphigenia stood there, "Halcyon, you shouldn't have been out in this weather, what were you up to?"

"Searching…" Halcyon said quietly before Iphigenia embraced her.

"And you've brought a guest." Iphigenia looked up at the guest, "Unless he's brought you here."

"A mix of both, I assure you." The man in the top hat said, "I didn't want her to catch something."

"Of course." Iphigenia smiled and held a hand out, "Thank you. Iphigenia. I'm sorry for her…she has a bit of…mental illness." She said as Halcyon walked inside and greeted the other sister. "Can I make you some sort of dinner?"

"I'm afraid the sustenance I consume is quite similar to yours, Miss Iphigenia."

She cocked her head to the side a bit as her dark lips curved into a small smile, "I see…Halcyon must have figured it out, then…" She mused, "She's a Malkavian ghoul, occasionally it must come in handy, hmm?" She stepped back and welcomed him in, "I have plenty of wine for us to drink."

"Wine?" He asked, politeness initially caused him to refuse the offer, but, given on how shaky his blood pool was going with Mask of a Thousand Faces up, it would certainly be a big help, "Wine would be a welcome treat."

Harmonia sat at the counter, "I told Halcyon to take a warm bath."

"Good. Lucky her immune system is very strong." Iphigenia said as she opened the refrigerator and took out a bottle of wine, pouring two glasses of deep red liquid and handing one to the guest.

"What was your name?" Harmonia asked, "I'm Harmonia."

"My name is Samuel Salamanca." He said, sitting at the table and immediately draining half the glass provided to him, "You may call me Sam."

"Very nice to meet you." Iphigenia sat across from him, "Again, I'm sorry about Halcyon. She was laid off of her previous job and it seemed to upset her quite a bit…she's determined to find a new one, and has really been lowering her standards, unfortunately." She grumbled.

"Isn't she just a dancer?" Harmonia asked.

"Well, she was." Iphigenia said slowly, "Harmonia, you know, it's very late. I think you would be better off getting some rest."

She gave a little nod, "Okay, that's a good idea…maybe I can wake up early tomorrow and go out to the park." She told herself quietly as she went upstairs.

Iphigenia rubbed one of her temples, her earrings making a charming sound as they jingled together, "Apologies about…both of them."

"You're Iphigenia Crystallia aren't you?" Sam asked, "Yes, I've heard a thing or two about you from Strauss. You're supposedly one of his most dedicated Tremere apprentices. I'm quite surprised you're still in contact with your two sisters."

"As am I…" She said softly, "I can't lose them. They're the most valuable thing I have. I can't risk anything."

"Yes, of course, if I were in a similar position, I would most likely do the same."

"It is nice to welcome another member of the Camarilla to my home…when I learned Halcyon had become a ghoul, and… _Voerman_ was behind it, I was furious…" She crossed her arms, "Jeanette, of course. Who throws around her Anarch name like a feathered boa, and yet does nothing for the cause."

"None of them do anything. They're a dead cause in this state, that's for sure."

"I concur." She sat back, then heard footsteps on the stairs, "Halcyon must be coming. Please, retain the Masquerade, she doesn't know very much…"

"Very well."

Halcyon walked in wearing a loose dress shirt that was half unbuttoned, and that was it, "I'm famished…"

"I thought you might say that." Iphigenia stood up, "Watermelon?"

"Please." Halcyon said, before she looked up at Sam, "What was the name of my hero?"

Sam swallowed hard, for some reason her in nothing but a dress shirt left less to the imagination than the skimpy stripper's outfit she was wearing before, "Salamanca." He eventually said, "Samuel."

"Samuel." She purred, leaning in, "Certainly a pleasure to meet you."

Iphigenia handed Halcyon a few slices of watermelon, then refilled Sam's glass, "There's more in the refrigerator, you're welcome to it." She said, "I need to go to bed." She left, "Night Halcyon."

"Goodnight, parasite twin!" Halcyon called, before she looked back up at Sam and smiled at him.

"You have very benevolent sisters." Sam said, taking another sip of the blood Iphigenia had given him.

"Yes, I rely on them for my life…like water to a plant."

"I trust you're feeling alright after the bath? Feeling all better?"

"Mmm…yes…yet…empty…"

"Empty?"

She opened her legs and leaned in, "Yes…" She hissed with a smirk. He scooted back in his chair, feeling the strangest sense of desire welling up inside him. He declined to make a comment. "Does my humanity insult you…?"

"I…I'm not sure what you mean…" He looked away.

"Well…I'm not sure if a parasite of your standing would revel in the pleasures of a mortal…"

"…you're a rather forward girl, if you don't mind me saying so…"

She chuckled softly, "Well…?" She picked up a slice of watermelon and licked it slowly and rather sensually before she bit into it.

He faced ahead again, "I really shouldn't."

"And why is that?" She asked.

He didn't know. Nor did he know how to answer that. It would be immoral, against anything he's ever done. But, he did take out Lafayette and Madame Vaska with the flick of his wrist, two very powerful high-ranking members of the Sabbat, and he nearly killed them both, (although he was behind the guise of Obfuscate, so, Strauss would take the credit on that one), and he was a high ranking member of the Camarilla. He deserved something like this after all the hard work he's put in.

Screw it. This girl was getting destroyed so hard. After the hundred and fifty years of being the ugly Samedi, he was finally going to change that.

It wasn't like the blood pool for Mask of a Thousand Faces would be a problem. Iphigenia filled his glass two or three times. He picked up his glass and swirled it around, taking down the last gulp, "I suppose you're rather used to catching a lot of men in your web…given your…employment venues…"

"And women."

"Yes, you must keep yourself busy."

"Very."

He rose from his seat, "I see."

Her eyes followed him, "I have a private bedroom."

"Right." He said, "Very well."

She stood up and ate another piece of watermelon before she licked her lips and approached him, gently rubbing her fingertips across his clothed chest, "Well…what is your final decision…?" She moved her head up to make eye contact.

"Let's do it."

She grinned, her teeth shining in the lights, "You will not regret your choice." She started untying his tie. He had a feeling that he might. Nevertheless, he took his hat off, revealing short black hair, and he began to take his blazer and shirt off. Time was of the essence as the 'timer' for his Obfuscate power was ticking. She pressed a hand to his chest before he took much off, "Let's shed our clothes in my chamber where my sisters will not have wandering minds." He nodded, collecting what was shed and following her to her room.

Once they made it to her (very green) room, she took her dress shirt off and let it fall to the floor, looking over him like some sort of predator. He took off everything aside from his underwear. Guilt crawled over him like a plague. It naturally fought against his lust for dominance. Should he really do this? What would he tell Strauss he was doing tonight? Fooling around with Iphigenia's promiscuous sister?

She sauntered forward on her toes, brushing her fingers across his chest before she brought her lips closer to his to kiss him. She was surprisingly gentle as she tested the waters. He seemed to at least appreciate that. Halcyon had no idea how old the man was but she figured given his dress that he was a gentlemen, at least in part. Sam kissed her back, giving her a light hug and running his fingers through her black bob. She closed her eyes and sighed, slowly bringing a leg up around his waist and kissing him just a bit more, attempting to deepen the kiss.

He was surprised. Why was she being so slow with him? Was she actually appreciating the fact that he didn't do this often? (Never, to be truthful). He probably shouldn't give it too much credit. She probably had an angle for all sorts of different men, (and women, as she had informed him). Despite his conflicting feelings, she was driving him mad. A fire in his dead heart burned for this woman like nothing before. He didn't consider himself the romantic sort, that is, until a well-endowed woman waltzed around in nothing but a dress shirt and started flirting with him.

She reached a hand up and held his cheek, "You seem regretful…"

He didn't know what to say. Could she tell if he lied? If she had Malkavian blood in her, then it was possible. He hugged her tightly. He had to admit, it was nice, feeling another body wrapped around his, after what had to easily be a century and a half. A warm body, too. One that was alive, full of life, love, and happiness.

She held him back, massaging his shoulders, "Tell me what's on your mind so I can pick it apart and perhaps take some weight from it."

"You should lie down before we continue our pleasantries. You most likely wore yourself out walking through the heavy rain for as long as you did. Relax a little."

"Very well…" She smiled and pulled herself up onto the bed, still looking over him with curiosity and almost concern, "Well, you are more than welcome to join me, dear."

He gently got on top of her, overly careful, if anything. As if he were intruding her personal space. Their eyes met, and were incredibly close, given that he was on top of her, "You'll have to forgive me…I'm a bit of social recluse…"

She chuckled softly and gently ran her fingers down his back, "Relax, Samuel. Take your innermost desires and portray them through my body." He took a shaky breath. He kissed her lips, giving her a big squeeze. He eventually reached both his hands out and caressed her breasts. He could not only hear her groan of pleasure, but _feel_ it through her skin as he continued to touch her. She slowly entwined her legs around his and kept up with the pace of his kisses.

He squeezed a bit harder, kissing her just as hard. Her body looked amazing, and he was going to take it in as much as possible, starting with taking advantage of her lovely chest. He could see the smile on her face as she kept sighing, then she pulled her lips away from his and started kissing along his jawline and neck, meeting his gaze as if to see his response.

With one hand, he held her head in place, letting her do or kiss whatever she pleased. With his other hand, he rubbed either her breasts or her stomach, secretly astonished at how smooth her skin was.

Her satisfied moans began to sound more and more sinful with the more skin he explored. She squirmed a bit under his touch, and he could practically feel her lust grow and her inhibition decay.

He reached back and felt up her rear, kissing her lips, or her cheeks if she needed to take the time to groan or sigh. In some occasions he sucked her bottom lip, as he clamped his grip on butt even harder. Her hips started twitching, urging for some sort of rhythm to be built up. She spread her legs a bit and sighed his name out, letting it roll of her tongue as seductively as she could.

It was almost a silver lining that she was begging for him, because he knew his time was running out. He took his underwear off, rushing the blood through his system was going to make his blood pool even shallower.

Well this was going to be down to the wire.

His kisses got a bit sloppier as he quivered with desire as much as she was, and he resumed feeling up her chest, gently pressing her nipples too. He was slightly paranoid about his size, but, he never had anyone to compare to or anyone to call him out on it, so he figured he would be fine. She hissed his name and spread her legs, "Please…" She begged.

Casting all his doubt and regret aside, he went in for the penetration, softly sighing as he thrusted into her over and over again. She cried out, shuddering beneath him as her climax rocketed through her mind and blinded her in bliss.

He stayed away from kissing her lips, but only because he figured that she was a noisy one given how loud she was throughout the foreplay. Fascinated by her breasts, he kept feeling them up, and naturally, the more he touched her chest, the more energy he had to keep the love-making up.

She held her hands on his hips to sustain the rhythm, seeking a second release after she crashed from her first. Even then, the burning in her lower abdomen never subsided. She bit her lip whenever he'd give a particularly hard squeeze, or when he'd thrust at just the right angle that would send an involuntary moan from her lips.

Once he was done, he immediately got out of bed and started redressing himself. She panted a good deal, a refreshing sound for him. She sat up a bit on her forearms, "I appreciate your efforts of…cleanliness….but…it isn't required for this fling…you're more than welcome to stay…"

"I'm sorry Halcyon, you must forgive me." He said, speaking a mile a minute, "I hate to leave you. But I am needed elsewhere…" Cinderella's clock was about to strike midnight, and in Sam's case, Halcyon would be lucky to see a simple house maid when the timer ran out.

"Oh…yes, yes…I understand…go…" She flopped in her bed, "I appreciate your efforts in…soiling me…"

He gave a nod, "Goodnight, Halcyon."

"Good evening…Samuel…"

* * *

 **A/N:** One by one, it appears Victor is losing the respect of his apprentices…well, what'd you think? Let us know with a review! Thanks for reading!


	40. Chapter 40

**A/N:** Here's chapter forty! [cheers and whoops] Enjoy some more Anarch perspective, and some more Malkavian madness :)

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs.

* * *

"Relax, dear." Rainy was embraced in Phaedra's arms on her sofa, "Just try to clear your mind. This city is vast, but she knows where you are, yes? She told you to come here?"

She nodded, "I need to find her…"

"Is it possible she could be coming to you?"

"Only if she survives the attack…"

"I'm sure she's still alive. She must be very strong." She gave a slight nod, sniffling occasionally in her arms. There was a gentle knock on the door only seconds later. Phaedra smirked, "I think you should open it."

She stood up and answered the door, suddenly tackled into another hug from her sire, "I'm so sorry…" Raven said quietly.

"Shh, what are you sorry for?" Rainy held her close.

"For leaving you…" She said, closing her eyes, "I must have scared you half to death…"

"You didn't leave me, I left you. You protected me." She squeezed her tighter.

She gently broke the hug and walked over towards Phaedra, "I can't thank you enough for protecting her in my absence."

"Yes, think nothing of it. She's a doll." Phaedra said with a smirk, as if watching two kittens cuddle.

Raven turned back to Rainy, "I think we should try staying in Skyline Apartments for now." She said, "It's much closer to the Prince's domain, it should be safer."

Rainy nodded back, "Okay."

As the pair of Salubri left, they stuck to the shadows again until they made it to Skyline Apartments, where Raven checked them in and brought them to their room, "This place seems a bit nicer than the last one…"

Rainy took her cloak off and hung it up, looking overall a bit more relaxed, "And it's protected."

She slowly sat down on the couch, like it would turn into a monster and eat her, "It's been so long since I've been alone like that…I was so worried…"

"It's okay now." Rainy sat beside her, smiling, "We're safe. I'm here with you. You're not alone anymore."

Raven gently hugged her, "Thank you Rainy…" She hugged her back, rubbing her shoulders in an effort to get her to relax. Raven's shoulders drooped a bit and she cleared her throat, "Thank you Rainy." She said before she stood up, "We should check the room."

"Mmm-hmm." She nodded, standing up alongside Raven and starting to look around their new home.

Raven headed upstairs and peered around for cameras before she went into the bedroom and scoped around there as well. She then snatched the washcloths from the bathroom and covered every camera she could find with them. Satisfied, she sat on the edge of the bed and pulled her hood down, closing her eyes.

Rainy sat beside her, "You need rest after that attack. And blood too…should I go get you some?"

Raven opened her eyes and looked up at her childe, "I'd…just ask that you be quick and very careful."

"Okay." She smiled, leaving the apartment, after about half an hour, she came back with a few blood packs, "Here you go." Raven was lying on the bed, and she didn't respond when Rainy came in or when she spoke. "Raven?" Her eyes widened, "Raven?" She ran over to her side, shaking her gently, "Raven!" There was no response from her.

She swallowed hard, holding a blood bag over her nose. When that didn't work she ripped the top of it off and held it closer. One of Raven's piercing blue eyes peeked open before she feebly reached a hand out to take in the blood.

Rainy prepared all the other blood bags as well while she was drinking the first one, "You shouldn't have gone to sleep…"

She licked her lips as she finished the first one, "I'm sorry…I didn't mean to….I was just so tired…"

"Here, drink up." She said, "You need to regain your strength." She said, "If you fall into torpor, I don't know what I'd do…"

"I'm so sorry…" She drank another one and sat up, "That was selfish of me…"

"It's okay Raven, as long as you feel better."

She nodded before she took another one and drank that, "I think the last time I ever fought so much was when I was alive…"

She sat next to her and put an arm around her, "She was vicious…"

"She really was…" Raven said, "And now she…she knows about us…"

"No she doesn't…she would have said something…"

"She did…she said she was telling her master about us…"

"It could be worse…I don't think she knows what we really are…"

"No…perhaps you're right…"

"Did she leave any lasting injuries, aside from blood loss?"

"I don't think so…" Raven said, checking the camera again before she stood up and took her robe off. Underneath was a black tunic with leggings and dark boots, a few bullet holes could be seen here and there, "Nothing that won't heal on its own."

"Okay." She said, "As long as you're feeling better."

"Are you alright?"

She nodded, "I'm fine."

"These Kindred bodies are very nice…how fast they heal…"

"Ours heal especially fast."

"Yes…I wish it was like that when I was alive…"

"…did you get hurt a lot when you were alive?" She looked rather apathetic as she nodded rigidly. Rainy's eyes widened, "Raven…" She didn't know what to add, so she just leaned in and hugged her again.

Raven hugged her back, "When he started hurting Dove that's when…" She stared at the floor, "When I had to put an end to it."

"Griffin?"

Raven nodded slightly as Rainy continued, "He wasn't very nice, was he?"

"No, he wasn't…"

"Men…weren't very kind to me…either…growing up…"

"I'm sorry…" Raven looked up at her, "I didn't know that."

She reached a hand out and held her face, "Maybe…since…men are no good for us…we can…" She leaned in and kissed her. One hand carefully held her face while the other was wrapped around her back. The kiss was warm and sweet, but not invasive. As was the embrace, it was nice and intimate, but not suggestive in any way, shape or form. It was a declaration of love that Rainy had buried in her heart since she met her sire five years ago.

As the kiss ended, Raven seemed a bit paler than before, somehow. She turned and stared at the floor again, completely speechless. Rainy's throat felt dry, "I…uh…"

"I'm sorry." Raven said softly, "I….I-I wasn't expecting that…"

"N-No…it's my fault…I…I…" She swallowed hard. Why was she left so speechless? She needed to tell Raven how she felt about her. "Raven…I…I…"

Raven looked up at her, "I just…never thought about it…"

"I…I understand…we've just…been so busy…and everything…"

"I just never thought about _love_. I thought as Kindred, it was impossible…even alive, I didn't think it was possible." She said, "I just…don't think I…want to be in any sort of relationship with anyone."

She felt her eyes get wet, "Right…I…" Serves her right for trying to make a move on Raven while she was still with Phaedra, "I'm sorry I made things so complicated…" She buried her face into her hands.

"Rainy, please don't cry…" Raven said softly, gently bringing an arm around her and holding her. She didn't expect Rainy to be so upset, "You…really…like me, that way?"

"For…for a while…" She said through tears.

Raven seemed quite shocked, "I…didn't think it was possible…"

She sobbed for a bit longer in her hands, "It's okay if you don't like girls…I'm sorry to make you feel…uncomfortable…"

Raven held her closer, closing her eyes, "I'm…willing to try." She said after a pause, "But I'm not sure what to do or…how…how this works…"

"I don't want to push you into anything."

"I just want to take things…slow." She said, "I'm still processing everything…"

She brushed as many tears away as she could, "I…I didn't know your last partner…was abusive…I'm sorry…if I brought up all the pain he caused you…I would never do anything like that…"

"I know you won't. I'm not…daunted. I'm just…" She paused before she twiddled her thumbs, "I'm not sure I'm attracted to women the same way you are."

"Raven, we don't have to do anything, I don't want to force you into anything you don't like." She said, "That was how you spent your entire mortal life. I don't want to recreate that. I just want to be with you forever. If it's as your childe or as your partner, well that's a minor detail."

"Just let me try."

She nodded with a smile, tears still dripping from her eyes, "Okay."

Raven reached over and held her again, "Please stop crying…"

"I'm sorry…"

"It's okay." Raven giggled softly, "Did you want to go to sleep while I keep watch?"

"But you got more hurt."

"I'm all better now."

She smiled, "Alright, I'll sleep first."

"Rest well." Raven said as she pat the bed a few times and headed downstairs.

* * *

The man's laugh filled the casino as all the money was reluctantly shoveled over towards him. He shuffled his hands through it before he stuffed it in his back pocket.

This had been going on for days and days. He was a spectacle, a sight, like the lions or strippers, he was sought after by gamblers left and right. Some battled him with their luck, others with their cheats and schemes, and yet he always won.

He hadn't lost a single game, and he was just about to make his millionth dollar.

"Well, well, well, who will give me their cash next…?" Dragomir asked as he adjusted his glasses.

His heart was long dead. A crumpled, gray, dead mass of flesh in the abyss of his rotting chest. Only the pain of others brought it nourishment, only seeing others enraged made him laugh. Some called him a miser for cash, but he liked to think of himself as a joy-miser.

"What are you going to do with all your money…?" One of the strippers asked, pressing herself up against him.

He laughed at her quietly through his grin and pushed her away, "Not you, little girl, or your friends." He turned back to the table and sat back. There was a sudden silence. As if someone in the casino had just died. Only a pair of footsteps were heard next, and everyone, employees and customers alike, backed away from the newcomer.

"Dealer change." Gideon said, running a hand through his flaming red hair briefly.

"Master Gideon…" One of the scantily dressed women gravitated towards his side, though her face was far from relaxed, "You're…you're on the ground floor."

"Clear the casino. This will be a private game."

"Uh…sir?"

He peered at her through his rainbow spiral goggles, "Tell everyone that there's a fire near the entrance. I want to see how many idiots break their necks trying to fit out the window all at once."

"Y-Yes sir…" She ran off. It took a remarkably quick amount of time to clear the casino after that.

Gideon sat across from Dragomir, causing the table to tremble a little at the sudden movement. "You've been taking all of my profits. I'd like them back now."

Dragomir's smirk widened to a shit-eating grin before he laughed and laughed, "It's about time somebody catches on!" He slapped a knee and sat back with laughter, wiping a tear out of his eye, "How about a game for it? All or nothing?" Gideon could see his wide, bloodshot eyes behind his glasses.

"You've got the blood of Troile running through you. And Ennoia. As well as Malkav."

Dragomir leaned in, "A heritage lesson? Oh, good, my father died before I could ask many questions. Same can be said for the others, ha, ha! Ha-ha-ha!"

"Two of which draw you towards your beast, and the last of which renders you insane." He continued, "You're a walking ashtray, boy."

He snickered, "Oh, I wish I _was_ the beast." He decided, "Then maybe the guilt wouldn't burn."

"Perhaps I should get to business. Mother always said I liked to gossip." He slammed a deck of cards on the table, "Shall I deal?"

"Go ahead." Dragomir swatted a hand, "I don't need the insight of my solace to see myself forking over every penny and dime."

Gideon snickered madly, passing out five cards to Dragomir. Dragomir found it odd that he didn't even announce what game they were playing, but he picked up the cards nonetheless.

They were not normal cards.

Each card had a face of one of his dear friends on it. Most were angry, sad, or terrified. Slade and Tess were the second and third card, and they seemed to be begging Dragomir to come back. The fourth card was Cadmus, and he looked livid. While the last card was Victor, and he looked concerned. Dragomir couldn't make out what any of them were saying because they were all talking, or in some cases shouting, at once.

The first card, however, was dead silent. Because the person on it was dead.

Genevieve's bare naked body lay out for all to see on the first card, crucified to a bloodied cross. Her body was marked with all sorts of jinxes, scars, and injuries, and her eyes were closed, her head lay down, limp. She was the outlier in her silence.

Gideon was saying something, but it was hard to hear over all the cards yelling at Dragomir. Dragomir looked up, perhaps to yell or answer to Gideon, but then he saw that they weren't even in a casino anymore. They were in a stormy blue, ethereal void. The only things from the casino which remained were the two chairs they both occupied, the table, and their cards.

Dragomir looked back at the cards, to maybe blink and see if they'd change, but when they didn't, he slowly set his hand down and closed his eyes. He couldn't stand looking at any of it without falling into sensory overload and frenzying. "Waste not a drop more." He reached in his back pocket and handed over three massive stacks of cash, "They didn't fit in my pocket very well anyhow."

"Did you think I simply came here to take back my money, moor of dragons?" Gideon asked.

"Well, while you're here, you might as well make yourself useful, yes?" He peered an eye open, still hallucinating, of course, "Mmm…I'm not sure if you looked like an evil twin of mine before or after these visions…"

Luckily for him, the cards were gone. Perhaps it was because Gideon wanted to speak to Dragomir so that he could clearly hear him, "Evil, what a silly, subjective word. Wouldn't you consider the Camarilla evil after all they've done to you?"

"You're right, I dislike the word. I have friends on all sides, and enemies too…" He paused, staring at the table blankly, "I consider Jyhad evil."

"It's the Camarilla that got you out here. That man controlled you with a Dominate spell to devour the childe of Ennoia. And he was part of the Camarilla."

Dragomir considered his words, "That was not the Camarilla's doings. The Camarilla does not promote diablerie, that was a stray snake, if you will." He scratched his head, "The Camarilla safely houses my closest ally. I have no reason to turn against them. We merely agree to disagree, and keep the peace."

"The cross and the man who replaced him have both tasted the devil's juices many times, the latter especially more so." He narrowed his eyes behind his goggles, "Why is it alright for them to do so, but not you? In the Sword, there would be no transgression."

"I align to no sect. I do not have the devotion or attention span to accurately and loyally serve any party."

"So you have wandered to the Sword's territory by coincidence?"

"Yes, that's right. I was looking for a place as sinned as I was."

Gideon chuckled, getting up and wandering around the table. It looked slightly surreal, as there wasn't really a floor that could be seen to walk on. He was just walking on the _blue_ , all around them. Dragomir found it impossible to tell where the floor ended and the sky began. "Trust me, boy." He snickered, "You are _destined_ to work under me. You and I will rule the Sabbat together."

Dragomir's skin prickled with fear, something he hadn't experienced in ages. "And if I refuse?"

"It doesn't change the fact that you need help." He said, "The blood of Troile and Ennoia run rampant in you, causing the beast to come out more often than normal. Three times so. Add Malkav in…and…" He palmed his hand over Dragomir's head from behind, "I would say about two more sins, and you'll be a rolling fur ball of endless destruction. A fierce ongoing engine, that was once a gentle dragon. You need help to escape that, and I'm the only Cainite who has any interest in doing so."

"I elect to turn the tables." Dragomir said, "Why does the Sabbat call to you?"

He released his grip, crossing his arms, "Because it gets me money and attractive women to work with. Fairly simple reasons, all things considered."

"You can keep your casino and get both without Jyhad affiliation at all."

"Fair point." He said, "Perhaps I didn't lay all my reasons on the table, then."

"I like you." Dragomir said, "But I don't like the Jyhad. I'd gladly serve as your subordinate in any other circumstance."

"It's a real shame, the woman. The one who died. Did you not see her crucifixion?"

He sneered, "It was an illusion."

"The cards don't lie."

"These do." Dragomir said firmly, "I would feel the loss of my solace. It would be like losing half your face. You would notice you can only hear half as well, could only see and taste half as much. She still lives."

"There where is she, boy?" He asked, taking his chair and pulling it closer to Dragomir so he could sit right next to him, "Where is she, hmm? No, no, I'm afraid, in your haste, you've killed her. You ran away from yourself so quickly that you did not even look behind yourself to see if she was safe, or if she was swallowed up by the rapids…"

"She isn't dead!" Dragomir barked out, "You aren't convincing me to join the Sabbat by angering me!"

"I thought this would be simpler than you figuring it out for yourself whenever you make your return." He said, "You did abandon her, after all. You left her to fend for herself. Not all Malkavians are strong-willed like you or I."

"It's not like I had a choice!" He spat out as he bashed a fist into the table, his breathing was rather animalistic, "I was harming her more with my presence than with my absence!"

"She spent her last moments crying for you."

"That's enough!" Dragomir stood up, the back of his chair smacked the 'floor', "Is Vegas your city? Where can I go to leave you and your Sabbat alone?"

"I can save what little you have left, dragon."

"I am _not_ joining the Sabbat." He said firmly, "I am running until my answer comes."

"Your answer sits before you! You already ran to it!" He frowned, "I will save your friends, so they don't fall to a similar fate that she did!"

"I will find an answer of my own." He was a bit shaken, thoroughly disturbed about Genevieve. "And I will return to them, as independent as I was when I left."

"They won't let you back, you fool. Not with your diablerie." Gideon warned, "I can help you. You won't be able to survive on your own. We need to get rid of the Camarilla, specifically the Prince."

"I have allies _in_ the Camarilla."

"Yes. They are tightly knit and loyal, honorable Cainites, all bound to a unique cause. Much like the Sword."

Dragomir's shoulders drooped, "Your words and your meanings don't match."

"Would you not consider the Camarilla and Sabbat similar? They are enemies, but they fight in similar patterns?"

"…I suppose…" Dragomir grumbled, "And I don't operate well under either."

He folded his hands arrogantly, "In less than fourteen fortnights, the leadership in the Sabbat will drastically change." He said, "Actually…one could say that there's always been a rift in the schism. Soon, I will be the supreme leader of the Sabbat."

"Kudos." Dragomir said, finding his seat and sitting again, closing his eyes and trying to relax, "Personally, power has never appealed to me in life or death."

"You wouldn't want to work under me?" He smirked, "We could kill Strauss together. Then I would alter your allies' memories so that they always believed that they were Sabbat. Your diablerie wouldn't have any repercussions, and we could rule together, side-by-side, forever, you would be surrounded by all of those you love, with one slight memory of theirs changed. There wouldn't be a force on this planet that could conquer us."

"No." Dragomir hardly had to think about it, "You will not tamper with their minds. You will not go near my allies. I like you, but that doesn't mean they will. I am obligated to respect the dirt in my shoes for what I've done, but they…they are higher, they are mightier. They do not deserve the Sabbat, and frankly, you don't either."

"You wouldn't have to hide anymore. You wouldn't have to run." He said, "A rather straightforward choice, I believe."

"I politely deny your request." Dragomir said, "Now please let me run."

The illusion faded around, and they returned to the casino. A few chairs and tables were overturned, as people previously fled in a panic because of the 'fire' Gideon made up. "Very well." He sounded defeated, bested. "We will meet again, moor of dragons. I suggest you get out of this state before someone in the Sword other than myself finds you."

Dragomir sighed, not expecting such an easy escape, "I do hope we meet again, in brighter circumstances…" He paused, then held a hand out, "A pleasure to make your acquaintance."

He turned away, starting to walk off, "You need to reclaim the lost pieces of your humanity. My cohorts in the Sabbat are less monstrous than you."

Dragomir watched as Gideon turned away, "I will strive to take any opportunity I can…" He mused, the only thing coming to mind was one thing, "But first…I…I must find my solace."

Gideon's eyes nearly boiled out of his sockets and through his lenses with rage as Dragomir left. He clenched his fists. _How did someone with such cripplingly low humanity refuse my offer at ultimate power and a sanctuary of all of their closest allies?_

* * *

Sirius rocked back in his chair occasionally, "I guess Anastasia's still missing in action, then."

"It's been like, a few days, what, did you think Skelter was just going to magically find her?"

"I mean, Gangrel have good schnozzles."

"That'd be like saying you're a Setite, so you're only goal is to corrupt us and every other organization in the city."

"What was that, diablerizer? Couldn't hear ya."

Catalina rolled her eyes.

"I hate to think about it, but for the time being, we might have to call in some Gangrel connections from outta state." Nines said, "I don't know what happened to that other girl that popped by earlier, either. The one who knew Skelter. She was a Gangrel too."

"I could ask Isaac about it." Killian said, "A conversation with him is…way overdue."

"That might not be a bad idea, especially with the Sabbat crawling around in his city, it's gotta be pissing him off, at least." Sirius said.

"Killian, how's your old man?" Nines asked.

"Dumb as a rock and blind as a bat. He doesn't know what the hell's going on. Just keeps sending me out to do Sabbat chores. I'm like a fucking garbage man at this point, but I'm not gonna complain. Better than attacking you guys." Killian knocked on the table.

"He ain't that dumb, given Hollywood was his doing." Sirius said.

"Hollywood was his doing because of his cheap luck." Killian said, "And cause V's a pushover. He scared her with a few empty threats and she didn't want to die. Isaac didn't give in yet. He tried the same thing with Voerman and got nowhere. He's got nothing." Killian said, "Nothing but cash."

"Still…" Sirius said, "He's more useful to the Sabbat than most ghouls." He said, then he quickly added, "I imagine."

"I mean, yeah, ghouls are weaker than Kindred, but they're not to be underestimated." Catalina said, "Akeem told me lots of stories of how ghouls toppled Elders of Methuselahs just because they were in the right place at the right time."

"And he's been around for a while, hasn't he?" Nines asked.

"Yeah…" Killian sighed, "Since like…" He paused as he did the math in his head, "Nineteen fifteen or some ridiculous shit like that. He was a ghoul when he had me but I found some records somewhere."

"Shit, nineteen fifteen?" Sirius asked, exchanging a glance with Nines, "That's older than either of us…"

"Yeah, cause he's a dolled up wallflower." Killian said, "He pays his regnant tons for safety and forks every penny he can out of his whores." He shrugged, "He's living a good life, and I hate him for it."

"Typical Sabbat asshole, basically." Sirius said, "Huh, makes me happy both my parents are dead…"

"So he's more of a miser than a fighter." Catalina said.

"Hasn't fought a day in his life." Killian said, "Doesn't know how to throw a single punch."

"Well, there's that."

"Why haven't you just taken him out back and…?" Cissy trailed off.

"Why don't you go take your old man out back and kill him?" Killian asked, "I'm sure he's still alive, what are you, sixteen?"

"Eighteen!" She slammed a fist on the table.

"I mean, he is part of the Sabbat." Catalina said, "And you were just telling how much you hate him."

"Yeah, and he's the only thing I have left." He crossed his arms, "Doesn't even know Lark's name."

"Don't mind her, Killian. She's just a stone cold assassin, kills first, and asks questions later." Sirius said.

"I'm just being realistic." Catalina said, "Fatherly bond or not, trying to have a connection with someone in the Sabbat is hardly possible. Given that they're led by Kindred who either sculpt living creatures out of flesh or beat innocent people with shadow magic."

"I know. I tried, alright? I tried years ago." Killian said, "I couldn't bring myself to it. Couldn't do it. I had the gun. That's all it would take, too, cause he's just a ghoul, but…I couldn't do it."

"Then maybe someone else should."

"Hey." Sirius said, "It should be Killian's kill. It's his dad."

"That'd be like saying Cadmus should be Anastasia's kill." She said, "Can you see that happening?"

"God, no." Sirius said, "Honestly it pisses me off that we let that little pussy in here, but, it's not my call…"

Killian shook his head, "I'm not doing it. Whoever wants him, go have him. I don't even want to be there."

Cissy sat back, "Maybe I could kill him. We'd just need to drain him, right?"

"Yeah, but it probably wouldn't be a good idea having a complete noob do it." Sirius said, "He's not an idiot, he's been alive for nearly a-hundred years. He probably knows more than what he lets on."

"He's tall too." Killian muttered, "You wouldn't reach his neck."

"I have pretty tall heels…" Cissy crossed her arms.

"He's like, six-six." Killian said, "Or more. And he's built. So it'd take you like, ten minutes."

"We'll take care of him. He's not our major concern." Nines said, "Our biggest problem now is finding someone else to snipe…and I think you're our guy."

"Huh?" Killian asked.

"Since Skelter left, it put a hole in our plan." Nines said, "An assassination plan to get rid of Madison."

"Oh, you need a sniper?" Killian asked, "Yeah, sure."

"You're going to have to tranq Madison and anyone else nearby." Nines said, before he looked at Sirius, "You got any progress on him?"

"Eh, with all this drama, I nearly forgot about it…but…uh…yeah…guy's a hermit…spends a lot of his time in the damn Chantry, if I had to guess. And there's probably no way in hell that we're going in there…" Sirius said.

Nines gave a single nod of thought, "Well, keep up the searching. Really, it's all we're banking on now."

"Look…uh…I should warn you guys about something…" He said, "See, the Sabbat and the Cam had a hell of a battle the other day. It was decided in about ten minutes."

"What happened?" Catalina asked.

"Well, two of their strongest leaders went up to Strauss's office, and apparently Strauss dried them out to the bone without even _touching_ them. Or moving." He said, "That's the rumor that's going around, apparently. I don't see why they would need to exaggerate about it."

Catalina thought about it, "It makes sense. If you spend hundreds of years doing nothing but practicing magic, you're bound to be pretty deadly at it."

"That's why we haven't gone charging into the tower." Nines said, "Miracle it isn't trapped."

"One of the guys up there was apparently that Tzimisce that gave you all trouble too." Sirius said, "Kinda gives a power scaling, more or less."

"Strauss destroyed that powerful Tzimisce…" Catalina finally showed a bit of fear, "Without _moving?_ Uh…"

"Shit." Killian sat back, "So…then…how are we taking this guy out?"

"We'll start at the bottom and work up, like we always do." Nines said.

"Not Jack."

"Well…" He scratched the back of his head.

"Not exactly sure if Victor is the bottom…" Sirius muttered.

"We'll need to be careful when we go for the assassination." Catalina said, "It'll be noticed. Probably quicker than when we kill the other Primogen."

"Anyone gets caught, a Blood Hunt is the most harmless repercussion." Nines said.

"Wouldn't be that bad for me. With Obfuscate." Sirius said.

"I don't know, Auspex is a pretty common Discipline, especially amongst clans in the Camarilla." Catalina said.

"Eh, I've had to hide from shit before…I wouldn't mind taking a fall for the cause, if it means getting rid of a Primogen."

"I wouldn't care much either." Killian said, "Guess it's a good thing I'm in the hot-seat."

Catalina looked at Nines, "Are we going to wait until Skelter and Anastasia get back before we enact this plan, or are we acting soon?"

"As soon as we secure a time and location." Nines said. "Which will hopefully be in the next week or two."

"Well, he _is_ a Primogen." Catalina said, "So he has to go to the red tower to attend the meetings, doesn't he?" She looked at Sirius, "That means he can't be in the Chantry all the time. So you need to see his route from the Chantry to the tower, a route we're able to track."

"Right." Sirius said, "That ain't a bad idea. For once."

"Then we'll have to use that." Nines said, "And you'll have to figure out when they hold meetings." He told Sirius.

"Yeah, yeah, I got ya loud and clear." Sirius waved a hand, "I'll get started on my homework as soon as possible."

Nines snickered a bit, "Thanks."

Killian sighed as his phone started ringing. He picked it up, "Yeah? Yeah. No, I'm fine." A pause, some people could hear a female voice on the line, "Look, he's not gonna catch on. He's incredibly dense. I'm not playing with fire. Relax." Another pause, "Alright, I'll be back in like…five minutes. Yeah. Yeah. Alright. Bye." He hung up, "Thought I'd get rung up into another chat with pops there for a minute. Just VV."

"She still your dad's hostage?" Sirius asked.

"Yeah. She's getting sick of being locked up in a hotel room."

"I'd hate that. Of course, being me, I'd probably find a way out of there."

"Do you have to go back?" Catalina asked.

"Nah, she's just bored." He muttered, "She'll be fine."

"You really take advantage of her, huh?" Nines asked with a smirk.

"It's not like she's got any other options…" He muttered.

Catalina rolled her eyes, shuddering as well, it was most likely that she pictured Velvet's position for more than a few moments.

"Well, I guess I better head out and start tracking this Tremere Primogen, huh?" Sirius stood up.

"Yeah, we might as well head out." Nines said, "See you guys."

* * *

 **A/N:** Who will win the race, Nines or Victor? Thanks for reading, hope you liked it!


	41. Chapter 41

**A/N:** Here's chapter forty-one! A ton of unexpected events in this chapter, hope you like it!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs.

* * *

When he finally caught her scent, it made him hopeful, but the strange trail of half-conscious kine leading towards her struck him as strange. He was out in the middle of the woods, and there was a bonfire nearby. Most of the kine drained seemed a bit on the free-living side, too. He shook it off once he saw a silhouette of Anastasia in the darkness. "Anastasia!" Skelter called, "Anastasia!"

He saw her head turn to face him, then she booked it. Surprisingly fast, too. "Shit…" He muttered, pushing a guy out of the way to run after her, "Hey, hey! Why the hell are you running?" He wondered if he might even have to use Protean to speed up, "I just wanna talk!" She kept going, eventually getting even speedier. Skelter was starting to lose hope. That is, of course, until she tripped and rolled over herself a few times.

"Shit," He hissed, trying to catch up with her as she rolled before he kneeled at her side, "You alright?" She got up quickly, their eyes met for a moment, she started backing away very slowly. "Look, don't worry about any of the Anarch bullshit, or Camarilla, Sabbat, any of it. I just wanna talk and make sure you're alright." He backed up to give her space.

"Anastasia!" Another voice called, as Cadmus swatted a bush aside and stepped through.

"Cadmus…" Anastasia swallowed hard.

"Hmm?" He looked at Skelter, "Baldy's here too?"

"His name is Skelter, you know."

"No it's not."

"Whatever, what…what do you want?" She shouted.

"What do we want?" Cadmus asked, "You left me a message saying that you were skipping town. What the hell is going on?"

"Look, we just want to talk, alright?" Skelter said, trying to keep his voice as calm as possible while nervously looking at Cadmus, hoping he would do the same.

Anastasia hugged herself, "I…I thought one of those guys…would be high…so…so I drank from them all…I thought one of them would have weed…"

"So you're back to your old tricks again?" Cadmus asked.

She sat down, starting to cry, not caring how loud her crying got, it seemed, "I don't have a safe place to be! I…I can't go anywhere anymore!"

"Relax." Skelter took a step forward, "I haven't talked to any of the Anarchs in a few days…if they're doing this to you, I'm done with them. You can live at my place, if you want, it's safe and no one knows about it."

She punched the ground, "That's not what you said at my place…"

"I changed my mind." He said, "I…I can't stand seeing you like this. We can disappear."

"Disappear?" Cadmus asked.

"I…I can't go back to…to the Last Round…not with Kilian there." Anastasia said, "And not with Nines letting him in…"

"We don't have to go back." Skelter said, "They can find other Gangrel somewhere else."

"Yeah…yeah…we could be independent…" Anastasia said, eventually looking up at Cadmus, "Or Camarilla…then I could be with you…"

"You want to be what?" Cadmus asked.

Skelter shook his head, "You can't, you'd risk an encounter with Madison."

Her eyes widened, as if she forgot about Victor completely. She shuddered and starting sobbing again. Cadmus swallowed hard, looking from Anastasia to Skelter, "Look, I'm completely out of the loop. When I went to the Last Round, the other Anarchs wouldn't tell me anything. They just said you were looking for her. What happened? What drove you two to this?"

Skelter walked forward and gently held Anastasia, "Killian came back."

"I still don't get it."

Skelter shook his head, "He did shit to your sister I'd shoot him for if I were you."

His face hardened, "Anastasia. Hey! What happened? Which one is Killian?"

Anastasia brushed a few tears out of her eyes, "You're terrible with names and faces."

He shrugged, "Guilty."

"He was the tall blond…" She sniffed, "I was with him before I was with Skelter…"

"Oh… _him_." He said, "Yeah, I saw that he came back. What the hell does that noob have to do with this?"

She shook her head as she buried her face into her hands, "You're just…gonna tell me that I deserve it…that…that it's what I get…"

"Come on, I'm not Satan…" He rolled his eyes, "I'm not Dad either. Just tell me so I can help you."

"When…when I started dating Skelter…Killian and Jeanette got jealous…they…they wouldn't leave me alone…Jeanette…wants me back…badly…and…and Killian…"

"Killian wants you back too?"

"…he just…got really creepy…"

"Creepy how?"

She sniffed, shaking her head and cowering.

Cadmus stared out into the distance for a while, a look of stunned shock on his face as he saw the state of affairs his sister. She was out here sitting in the dirt, sobbing hysterically. He only had a basic gist of what was happened, but as a newborn flash of lightning sounded in the background, his scowl was unmistakable. Killian was going to pay for this.

"I tried to kill him before, but…" Skelter gently let go of Anastasia to face Cadmus, "Somehow the cops trailed me and he got away. He's only got a handful of years under his belt, and his only good discipline is Potence."

"So Dominate will end him…" Cadmus clenched his hands into fists.

Anastasia got up, trying to steady herself, "Thanks boys…but…I'm gonna go…"

"Go? Go where? Don't leave." Cadmus said, "Look, I don't care what you do, just, stay in California…at least…"

"Your brother and I will get rid of Killian." Skelter said, "Will you be a little better then?"

"I…I need to go…I need to be by myself…" Anastasia said.

"Anastasia, no…you can't…please…I…" Cadmus looked nervous, "I love you." He said quietly, "I know I've been a bastard, since I'm in the Camarilla and you're not, but…I don't want you to leave…"

"Besides, its way too dangerous to be out there alone. It's a recipe for disaster." Skelter said.

Anastasia gave the duo one last teary look, before she summoned a group of spectral wolves. "Sorry." She ran away.

Cadmus gave a few mutant swears as he drew his axe and began to fight off some of the wolves. Skelter stumbled back, "Dammit, 'Stasia! Let us help you!" He ran forward to look for her.

By the time all the wolves were defeated, Anastasia was long gone. Cadmus put his axe away. The two of them were at a loss for words for a moment or two.

Skelter sighed and wiped his hand over his face before his phone started buzzing. He took it out, flipping it open, "Nines." His voice was dry, "No. No, she wants nothing to do with you so long as Killian's still there." A slight pause as he turned and looked out at the horizon, "Yeah. Yeah." His eyes closed, "And what if I'm not coming back?" For some reason, it sounded like Nines was really chewing his ear out, "Uh…right…yeah…uh…" He kicked some gravel, "I'll be back as soon as I can, alright?" He growled under his breath before he snapped his phone shut and turned to Cadmus, "Vanderbilt, we gotta kill this motherfucker."

Cadmus looked out to the heavily wooded area where Anastasia ran off, "Since when did she know how to do that?"

"Spectral wolves?" He asked, "I'm not sure. I've been helping her with Animalism and Protean. After she mastered her war-form, I did some work with Animalism but…" He sighed, still clearly very divided about everything going on, "Hard to train shit like that without losing an arm."

"So she's gotten a lot stronger." He crossed his arms, "Maybe you are right for her. I mean, you are both the same clan…"

He shook his head, "I'm no good for her. Miracle if we make it through this. I just don't want her to die."

"Shit…I can't deal with this. Not right now. There's like, seven people in the Camarilla missing too. And now she's gone." He said, "Finding her in the woods like this would be like finding a needle in a haystack…a very big haystack…"

"Sun's gonna rise soon." Skelter said, "I'd say we could either split up and hope we find her soon, or head back now."

"I need to go back." He said, "I shouldn't have even been out here this far…"

"Hey, uh…" He paused, "Let's say you gimme your number and we go out looking for her tomorrow. I need to get back to Nines before he replaces me with Killian."

"Fine." He got his phone out, "Aren't you worried that killing Killian would cast you out of Nines's good graces?"

"Not if he doesn't figure it out. Unless you do the killing."

A small smile went on his face, "Suicide doesn't really leave much evidence behind…"

Skelter held a hand out, "Never thought I'd be doin' deals with Ventrue to kill another Anarch, but…" He looked up at Cadmus and smiled, "Anything for 'Stasia."

"Technically, this isn't our first deal." His smile grew as they shook their hands, "You must really want this Killian guy dead."

"Tried to rape my girlfriend, of course I want him dead."

"…well…when you put it that way…I want to freaking kill the bastard…"

"I'll try an' trap him at my place again. So long as I can catch 'em. I'll call you, give you the address, you can come and do the dirty work. We move the body somewhere more realistic. Somewhere that'll fit for him, but not for us."

"Right." He said, his face cold and serious now, "I'll be the last thing he sees."

* * *

Cissy twisted her neck a bit as she pinned her red and black hair up into a pony-tail, "So what ethnicity are you?" She asked, "Irish?"

"Partly." Catalina said, scanning the streets, "And Latina."

"Huh. Cute. What were your parents like?" Cissy looked on as a gang fight went on in a nearby alley.

"They were nice." She said, "By now they're…probably either dead or…too old to really remember me."

"Oh, c'mon, that's not true. Parents never forget their kids."

"I'm just saying they could be old enough to have memory problems." She said, "I was born at the end of the sixties…"

"Really? What was it like?"

She shrugged, "It was alright. Things were a little different but…oh well, nothing major."

"I wonder what it would be like…I dunno, everyone always makes fun of me for my age."

"It's okay Cissy, they're just jokes." She smiled, "So…what nationality are you?"

"I don't really know. Hungarian, I think? At least, that's what my last name is. I never really looked into it."

She laughed, "I love how you asked me without knowing yourself."

"Well, I dunno." She shrugged a shoulder, "I was still curious."

"Hmm?" A voice asked, "I suppose you two will do." Catalina jumped, turning around and holding an arm out protectively in front of Cissy.

Gideon smiled, "Why the long face, Lady Guinevere?" He asked, "I'm sure I won't need your answer. Tonight I will be giving you some answers."

"Who are you?"

He chuckled for a while, "I am Gideon of the Sword. You two are followers of mister A through I, yes?"

"…huh?" Cissy raised a brow.

"He's a Malkavian." Catalina explained, "Antitribu."

"What a foolish notion." Gideon said, " _Anti-_ , as if I am an opposing stain of the Camarilla. You know, little girls shouldn't be playing out in the streets at night. It could lead to a tragic occurrence."

Catalina slowly reached for her Desert Eagle, arming her other hand with a knife.

"This is a fight you will not win Guinevere, and I would be careful. I am in an especially bloodthirsty mood on this eve."

"Yeah, I feel like we should just…run now while we can…" Cissy hissed.

Gideon held his hands out, "A natural reaction, for two young inexperienced women, to run from the future leader of the Sabbat."

"Future leader?" Catalina asked, "Doesn't that Tzimisce lead you?"

"Fourteen fortnights will change that."

She narrowed her eyes, "What do you mean?"

"I would beware the ides of June, ladies." He said, "There will a storm in the Sabbat that will envelope all sides of the Jyhad, and it stems from the aforementioned leadership issue."

"Uh huh….right…" Cissy stepped back, "Thanks for the warning, buddy…"

"The phantom's mask will come off." Gideon said, "She is too old for him, and he is really a monster. There will be a raging torrent of the screams of man and the clashing of blades, as blood of the Kindred and kine are spilt all over the battlefield. The ides of June, the Sabbat's eventual collapse and recreation. It will be its weakest day, but it will end at its strongest!" He laughed, "And then I will take over!"

"Yeah…well…whatever this…phantom's mask…is…we're not going to let you get away with it." Catalina said.

"Me?" He asked, peeking from behind his goggles, "Oh, sorry, I will not be partaking in the slaughter. My neck is too pretty to be risked, unlike yours."

"Pfft, you sound just like a Camarilla elder…your prediction probably isn't even true. You just want to be leader. That doesn't mean it's going to happen. Unless you plan to mutiny."

"It's in the stairs." Gideon said, "Do you doubt my abilities?" She kept glaring at him, backing away slowly with Cissy. "Maybe I should say what I see about you." He said, "My, you're a battered woman. Should I talk about Lancelot and his sword, Lady Guinevere?"

Catalina snarled, throwing her knife at him, but Gideon was able to move his head slightly to avoid it.

He watched the knife pass by, "Bad move. I'm over ten times your age."

"Let's fucking get out of here!" Cissy grabbed her arm and tugged her along to run.

Gideon laughed and laughed, chasing after them, "Don't leave! I have to lobotomize you both!" Catalina grit her teeth, trying to spit acid back at Gideon, but he was too quick.

Cissy continued to curse under her breath as they ran, before her red eyes met with Catalina's, "Where the fuck are we going?"

Catalina's eyes and countenance looked all over the place. "Just…just go…I'll fight him off…"

"Like hell. C'mon." She squeezed her arm to the point of pain and ran a little faster, "We have to get somewhere public….er maybe…" She let go of Catalina and held her hands out, a scowl on her face as flames began to engulf the road between Gideon and the two girls.

Gideon laughed as his eyes glowed red, "Your fire is false, childe of Zapathasura." He said, closing the distance between them, "I'm surprised you survived your clan-wide purge…" Catalina frowned, shooting him at point-blank range. Blue fire slowly lit his body with each gunshot, "And all pain will only make me stronger, childe of Haqim…"

"Shit!" Cissy spat, "Why the hell do they never work!?" She started running again, "Cat, c'mon!"

"Go without me." Catalina said.

"Like hell! C'mon!"

Catalina started running, "Just don't look at him. If you have eye contact with him, he can hit you with Dementation. It's a Discipline that can make you crazier than him."

"Really?" Her eyes went wide before she faced forward, "Christ, sometimes I wonder if you're a bad luck magnet…"

"Me? What the hell are you talking about? If you really meant that, you would let me fight him and you could go free."

"No, I can't do anything without you."

"That isn't true." She said, "How are we going to get him to stop chasing us?"

"He's gotta get tired eventually, right?"

She closed her eyes, "I have an idea…but…you need to grab onto my arm…and you'd better be ready to run for a while…"

"Yeah." She held onto her arm tightly with both hands.

Catalina dashed forward, although Cissy had seen some more impressive uses of Celerity in her day. In fact, it hardly seemed like they were even speeding up, but Catalina seemed to be putting something into effect, given how tired she looked, once she deemed them far enough, she dove into an alleyway with Cissy.

Replacing one Discipline with another, she powered off Celerity and ran Quietus. She put a finger to her lips. Cissy nodded and stayed as still as she could, hoping Gideon would disappear.

Close to an hour passed as they waited. Catalina closed her eyes occasionally, taking a cat nap, but nonetheless she stayed alert. After a large amount of time passed, Catalina stood up and threw her caution to the wind, remerging in the streets. "You're a lifesaver…" Cissy hugged her.

"I'm…honestly surprised he didn't find us. His Auspex must have been amazing…there's no reason why he shouldn't have found us and killed us…" She said, barely hugging her back.

"Let's just get back home before he comes back with reinforcements or something…"

* * *

Phaedra flipped a page to the textbook she was reading, skimming over it before she turned to another textbook and read over a paragraph on that one. She turned as soon a knock on the door, "Come in."

It was strange in that it wasn't a hard blunt knock like Cadmus's, or a soft gentle one like Rainy's, so she supposed it was neither of them. This rang true when Slade took a few steps in, "Uh…you are Phaedra, right?"

"Yes, that's right." She sat up, "I believe I've seen you around. Yes, I'm Phaedra."

"Uh…I just came here to tell you that Strauss wants to talk to you."

"Does he? Another Masquerade Violation, I'm sure." She mused as she stood up, then held a hand out, "Thank you very much, Mister…?"

"Lockwood. Slade Lockwood." He said, "We met in the lobby a good handful of nights ago." He shook her hand.

"Yes, yes, I recall you. Thank you very much." She gently pat his shoulder before she left to go speak with the Prince.

Strauss looked up from the desk as she entered, "Greetings, Miss Kokinos. I appreciate your prompt arrival."

"Of course. What is it you wished to speak to me about?"

"There is an assignment I wish to have performed by you yourself, especially after hearing the tales of how you fought off two Sabbat marauders while keeping Mister Parker's life intact."

She chuckled softly, "Well, I suppose I just have good instincts. Either that or luck."

"Yes." He said briefly, "I have been receiving troubling calls from my Malkavian Primogen. Miss Voerman. I am unsure if you are acquainted with her. She has informed me that a fellow Malkavian from the Sabbat has expressed desires of taking her city in the name of the Sabbat. We have already lost Hollywood, for the time being, and it would be unfortunate if we lost Santa Monica in the same manner."

"Of course, I agree."

"I am…hesitant…on sending more forces…as…between you and I…Miss Voerman does have her paranoid bouts. It is an unfortunate side effect of her clan. I wish for you to stay over in Santa Monica for a few nights to see if there is any…evidence…for her worry."

"Of course. Gladly. Is there a location you recommend for me to stay in Santa Monica?"

"I will make the necessary accommodations for you in a few hours. You will depart tomorrow."

"Very well. I will begin to make preparations."

"And I appreciate your efforts, Miss Kokinos. Good evening."

"Good evening." She gave a slight bow before she turned and left, heading back to her room to gather her things before there was a lighter, familiar knock on the door, "Do come in."

Rainy slipped in quietly, "Uh…Phaedra…"

"Yes, dear?" She stood up tall, "Is something wrong?" She eyed the look on Rainy's face.

"We need to talk."

"Mmm hmm?" She sat on the couch.

She sat next to her, shivering immensely, "I…uh…well, I forced myself on Raven…"

Her eyes widened, "You did? I didn't expect that of you. How did she respond?"

"She…was…more receptive to it than I expected…"

"Oh, that's good then! Are you two together?"

"Phaedra…" She looked at her like she was insane, "What about…us? I just…betrayed what we had…I hurt you…"

"I'm not hurt. I'm happy. You didn't love me, you loved her. What we had was great, but I'm happier for you now."

She swallowed hard, looking at the floor, "When you say it like that…it makes me feel…dirty…"

"It wasn't dirty. We still cared about each other. I still care about you now."

"But…what about you?" She looked worried, "You…you can't be with Pisha…"

"I'll find somebody."

"I'm sorry." She cowered.

"Don't be sorry." She hugged Rainy, "I'm so happy for you."

"You're going to be okay?"

"I'll be fine." She said with a smile, "Go take care of her."

"…you can still call me if you need to be healed…"

"Of course, you're the first contact on my phone."

"Okay. Goodnight Phaedra." She gave her a squeeze, running off.

"Goodnight dear." Phaedra pat her head as she scampered off, then sat back on the couch and pinched the bridge of her nose. Her eyes closed as she took a deep sigh. She would have cried, but she saw it coming, and was happier that it happened before she fell for Rainy too hard.

* * *

 **A/N:** So what's the fate of the Anarchs? And the Camarilla? These next few chapters will only make more questions… ;) Thanks for reading!


	42. Chapter 42

**A/N:** Here's chapter forty-two! This chapter might seem light, but it's got some weight to it, and some impactful themes for the future…Enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs.

* * *

"I…I think I might be getting sick of cereal…" Angelique said, sounding completely shocked with herself.

Cadmus was laying his head on the table, looking half asleep, "How long have you been eating it since you've got here?"

"…yeah…since I've got here…?"

"…yeah that might explain a thing or two…"

She sighed, "I don't know what to eat then, I only buy cereal…"

"If I were you, I'd just be happy that I could eat in the first place…"

"I know." She said, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to brag."

"It's fine…" His eyes listlessly watched the tabletop, "I've always been more connected to my humanity…than most other Kindred, anyway…"

She paused, "Cadmus, what's wrong?"

"Nothing…I'm just tired…"

"Please…"

"I don't want to talk about it…"

She put her spoon down, "I'm sorry." She sat back, kicking her legs up onto the chair and hugging her knees.

"It's okay." He held his forehead.

She twiddled her thumbs before there was a pounding knock on the door, what sounded like quiet scolding before there was a gentler knock. Angelique stood up, "Hey." She looked up back and forth from Ferrum to Miranda.

"Hey." Ferrum said, "Why does it look like someone died?" He asked as he walked in and plopped himself down in the seat across from Cadmus, where Angelique was sitting.

"Cadmus?" Miranda asked, taking a seat as well, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, fine." Cadmus said, "Just tired."

"Tired?" She asked, "What errands have Strauss been sending you on?" He muttered something about warehouses. "How many warehouses did he send you to take care of?"

"Fourteen."

"Fourteen?" Her eyes widened, "That's…more than anyone else has done in a night. I mean, eradicating Sabbat presences is your forte, but surely Strauss knows that there are limits to a Kindred's endurance, even if they are skillful…"

"Yeah, you shoulda' called me." Ferrum said, "I've been bored outta my mind."

"I'm not sure bored is the right word." Miranda said, "Lafayette and that woman in the ancient gown were frightening enough for one evening."

Cadmus sat up, rubbing his eyes and fixing his hair, "I mean, Strauss warded them away…but…we should be careful…in case anyone else shows up…"

"And what the hell are we gonna do?" Ferrum asked, "If they can get past Strauss, they can get past us."

"…I don't know…maybe we're finally outmatched…"

"I wonder what clan that woman was…" Miranda said.

"She had Dominate…so…probably a Ventrue Antitribu. Or a Tremere Antitribu…she sounded older than dirt."

"Coulda' been LaSombra." Ferrum said, "I know back when I was there, there was a whole lotta talk about bringing more of 'em in."

"Damn it all…you're right." Cadmus fumed, "I thought after Caesar I'd be done with them…"

"We're doing fine." Ferrum reassured, "The hell happened to you, you're all…?" He was at a loss for words.

"I just want to keep this place safe." He said, "Having a Tzimisce and his girlfriend waltz all over us doesn't exactly do wonders for the morale."

"Whatever happened, it was decided quickly, though." Miranda said, "Although I can't say the woman's behavior towards Prospero was…appropriate…"

"Look who's talking."

She looked away, "I would never do that _in_ battle."

He shrugged, "Touché."

"I wouldn't worry about them so much." Ferrum sat back, crossing his arms before there was another knock on the door.

Angelique stood up and answered the door, "Oh, hello."

"Hello." Harper gave her a hug before she entered with Mercurio, "Cadmus!" She hugged him, "How are you?"

"Didn't expect to see you two here." Mercurio said as he entered and spotted Ferrum and Miranda.

Cadmus was choking on Harper's hug, but he managed to say, "Yeah…they filter in and invade our room a lot. It's a regular occurrence."

"Ugh. We do not _invade_." Miranda rolled her eyes and crossed her legs.

Harper giggled and sat next to Cadmus as Mercurio pulled over a chair and sat next to her. "I hope we didn't disrupt any conversations."

"No, I don't remember what we were talking about." Cadmus said, "Aside from that Tzimisce guy attacking the tower."

"I heard it wasn't a big deal." Mercurio said, "For us, at least."

"We got lucky." He said, "If they brought a few more Kindred, or were more ill-tempered, we would have been screwed."

"I don't even want to think about you getting flesh crafted again…" Harper hugged herself, looking at her boyfriend, but, was that a ring on her left hand?

"Well, I certainly don't wanna think about it either…" Mercurio muttered.

"Yeah…that wasn't fun, at all." Cadmus said, "It's a tricky Discipline, if it weren't for that girl, Rainy, we'd be screwed."

"Yeah, I'd be long dead." Mercurio said, "What clan was that girl?"

"Don't know."

"She and that Phaedra woman are completely swathed in mystery." Miranda said.

"Are they part of the Camarilla?" Harper asked.

"Phaedra is at least, I always see her mulling about, in the halls."

"It would be nice to have healers like that, we would truly be unstoppable…" She said thoughtfully.

Angelique's stomach growled. Audibly. Her cheeks turned bright red. "You eat anything?" Ferrum asked.

"I had some cereal…"

He shook his head and stood up, "Want me to go and grab you three something?" He asked the ghouls.

"Oh, yes please." Harper said.

"I'll be back real quick then." He said as he headed out.

Harper giggled like a little girl, "It's like a dinner party!" She said, reaching over and hugging Cadmus, "With my best friend!"

"Since…when was I your best friend…?" Cadmus choked.

"Since you-you saved my life, over and over!" She nuzzled her face in his coat, "I want you to be the godfather."

"Jeez, don't be so demanding with 'em…" Mercurio muttered.

"Godfather?" Cadmus asked.

She giggled and gently broke the hug, "Mmm hmm."

"She's got a bat in da cave." Mercurio muttered.

"…what…?" Cadmus asked.

"I'm expecting." Harper gave a warm smile. "And you'll be Uncle Cadmus."

"…I thought you just said he's the godfather." Mercurio raised a brow.

"Wait…" Cadmus's jaw dropped, "You're pregnant…?"

"How does that even work?" Miranda asked, "You're a ghoul…"

"The child will be a revenant." Harper said, "Well…hopefully…"

"It's like, half vamp, half human." Mercurio said, "And they age…a lot slower…"

"You're still hung up on that?" Harper asked.

"By the time the kid's eight, he'll be acting like he's two!"

"Or she." Harper added, before looking at Cadmus, "I wouldn't have been able to have a family without you."

"It's nothing." He said modestly. He nearly forgot that he intervened on LaCroix's forced Embrace of Harper, both technically and literally saving her life. All of that felt like it happened ages ago, when, in realty, it happened one, two months ago, at most.

"So…you two are having a kid…?" Angelique was a little slow on the uptake, "Didn't you start dating like…a month ago?"

The look Mercurio gave Harper was similar to a glare, while she just smiled blissfully and held up her hand, showcasing a wedding ring.

"You guys are married?" Cadmus asked, "Jeez…"

"You and Angelique aren't even married." Miranda said.

"What church would take us?"

"Well, we eloped." Harper said, "We both figured a wedding was too dangerous…an invitation for Jyhad interference."

The door opened and Ferrum entered with bags of food, dropping it on the table for the ghouls to pick at. "I wish I could have some of that…" Cadmus muttered.

"I for one, do not particularly miss the allure of nutrition." Miranda said.

"Yeah, most vampires don't care anymore…I'm an outlier…"

"I miss it all the time." Ferrum said, "I miss jerky the most."

"Blood suits me fine." Miranda said.

Cadmus began to resume his position of sleeping in his folded arms, "It gets boring after a while…"

"This whole immortality thing gets boring. And I've only been around, what, four years?" Ferrum said.

"Yeah, I agree…" Angelique said softly.

"I think it gives us plenty of time to pursue happiness." Harper said.

"I guess you either have to like or be good at what you do, or you die." Cadmus said, "Could be kinda freeing, depending on where you are in the Jyhad. Death could be a freedom from your hundred year job."

There was a slight pause, "Maybe we should change the subject." Angelique said.

"Are you alright, Cadmus?" Harper asked, "Your eyes look heavy."

"I'm fine." Cadmus said, "Just tired. Fourteen Sabbat warehouses."

"I still think I should have a word with Strauss about that." Miranda said.

"No, don't. It's fine. Strauss is busy as it is."

"Alright…but…there are only two Ventrue in all of Los Angeles, three, if you count that new Derek fellow."

"Derek?" Harper asked.

"New guy, think I saw him around. Kinda blends in to the other suits." Ferrum said.

"Oh. Is he nice?"

"Eh, he's alright." Cadmus said, "Haven't seen him much."

"Sometimes it's better that way." Ferrum chuckled.

"I'm just pleased I have another Kindred under my watchful eye." Miranda smiled.

"You can have him." Cadmus said, "I never wanted to be Primogen anyway."

"Being Primogen must be fun." Harper smiled.

"Eh…I'm sure the meetin's with Voerman aren't…" Mercurio said.

"I don't have a problem with her." Miranda said.

"Victor makes it out like she's the devil." Cadmus said, "And I'm pretty inclined to believe him."

"She is." Angelique said, "I was seconds away from being killed by her. And she was the one who hired me."

"Jeanette?" Mercurio asked.

"No, no, Therese." She hastily bit into a french-fry, "That's the sad part."

"They're both nuts." Cadmus said, "I mean, I don't have anything against Malkavians…but…I could go without those two…"

"I think they're quite old, too." Harper said.

"Doesn't help dat they got a hold on Santa Monica." Mercurio added.

"I never met either of them." Ferrum looked back and forth from person to person.

Angelique waved a pickle at him, "Consider yourself lucky." She chomped into it.

"I don't deal with them unless I absolutely have to." Cadmus said as his eyes closed.

"I remember I had to do a task with Tess, the Toreador, dealing with Therese so LaCroix wouldn't have to." Harper said, "It was miserable…that woman, Tess, she's…difficult to stand."

"I hate her."

"She…certainly has grown a lot, since her Embrace." Miranda said.

"I hope so." Harper said, "She showed a lot of potential…just…a good deal of distraction as well."

"I can't believe she and Slade are dating." Cadmus said, "They hated each other, during LaCroix's entire rule here. And now they can't get off one another. That's fucked up."

"Cadmus, you've been very blunt tonight." Miranda rolled her eyes.

"What? I'm the only one who thinks it's weird?"

"Slade's a good kid." Mercurio said, "I'm not so sure about Tess, but I like Slade."

"I'm sure they'll sort each other out." Harper reassured.

"They are both Toreador, right?" Ferrum asked.

Miranda nodded, while Cadmus smiled, his eyes still closed. "Slade hasn't been the same ever since Dragomir disappeared." He said.

"I can't blame him." Miranda said, "They were inseparable…and it's been weeks and we _still_ haven't found him."

"Was there any reason he left?" Ferrum asked.

"Not that we could find." Angelique said.

"He and his lover Genevieve disappeared without a trace, for unknown reasons." Miranda said, "Given their clan, it could mean a whole slew of things."

"I miss him." Cadmus said, "And if _I_ miss him, Slade and Tess have to feel ten times worse. They knew each other since high school or earlier…"

"Man, that sucks." Ferrum grumbled, "Guess…Jyhad does that…"

Cadmus's eyes opened, they were hardened and dark, "Everyone goes missing…everyone…"

Harper gave him a worried look, "Cadmus, I insist, if there's something you need to get off your chest, we're the people to talk to."

He shook his head, "I'm just fine…"

Angelique sighed, "But you're not. It's ticking me off."

"Oh, like you never kept stuff from me?" Cadmus frowned as he sat up, "Look, someone I care about is missing too, alright?"

"Who?" Harper asked, her deep blue eyes wide with care.

"…my…sister…"

"Anastasia?" Angelique's eyes were wide.

"Wasn't she with the Anarchs?" Ferrum asked, "They must be lookin' for her too."

"You have a sister who's with the Anarchs?" Miranda raised a brow.

"Tch." Cadmus made a face, as if to say 'this is why I didn't want to talk about it', "I'm going to bed."

"I'm coming too." Angelique stood up, "You guys are…uh…welcome to the kitchen, I guess." She said to the others before she followed Cadmus.

He sat on the bed, his shoulders drooping, "Damn it…I feel like a spoiled princess…"

"Why?" She asked as she sat next to him, "You're not pathetic for missing your sister."

"But we left all the guests downstairs…"

"They're fine. None of them are offended or anything…maybe Harper, but she likes you too much to be stuffy about it."

He took a shaky breath, "Yeah…Anastasia's gone missing…I…I tried to reason with her…I found her the other day…but…she ran away…"

"There's only so far she can go." Angelique said, "Besides, she's a little different than Dragomir and Genevieve…she…she has her brains, kinda. She has the will to come back somewhere."

"Dragomir and Genevieve have brains…" He said, "But…I don't know, it might be worse for Anastasia. She was…apparently creeped on…by one or multiple members…if she comes back, it may not be as an Anarch…"

She paused, "Will she fit in here?"

"Probably not." He said, "Me and Ferrum are a big enough stretch…"

"Well…she'll find somewhere."

"Even if she comes back, Miranda will just kill her now."

"Just tell her not to." Angelique said, "She's not a demon."

"I guess." He got up and hung his outer trench coat up, "Either way I'm screwed. We're screwed. This war is deadlier than anything I've ever seen and people are dropping like flies left and right, if not, just escaping the state."

"…if it gets bad, you won't leave me behind, right?" She looked up at him with her innocent pink eyes.

"No. I'm not going anywhere. I'm not going to abandon the Camarilla I helped form. It's either continue controlling this state…or die with the Sabbat in charge."

"Okay…" She gave a little nod, seeming relieved.

He took off the rest of his coats as well as his shirt, sitting back on the bed, "Ever since that night, I've just felt like shit…"

"I understand." She said, crawling onto the bed after slipping her shoes off. She wrapped herself around him, "I'm sorry. You can't give up on her, at least. You have to keep looking."

"But the last time I found her, she attacked me…and her boyfriend…I don't know what to do…"

"She'll come around…she has to."

"I'm not so sure…we said the same thing about Dragomir and Genevieve…things are changing…"

"I'll help you look for her tomorrow, okay?"

He nodded, "If we even have time."

"Okay…Just relax…" She tried to rub his shoulders.

He closed his eyes, "I still feel bad for leaving the others down there…"

"They'll be fine." She said with a smile, "They just like how clean our place is."

"I guess that's why they always visit us instead of the other way around…"

"Yeah, I think so…"

"Alright, I guess we could go to bed then."

* * *

"Miss Voerman, it is a pleasure to meet you."

Therese quickly eyed Phaedra's hand before she shook it, "Yes, it is. I don't believe we've met."

"We haven't. Phaedra Kokinos." Phaedra said, "Mister Strauss directed me here to speak about the Sabbat influence on the city?"

"Yes, that's right." Therese crossed her arms, seeming irritated just in reflection, "Does he not believe me? This isn't one of my sister's schemes."

"Oh, no, we believe you. They took over Hollywood, we really don't want to lose Santa Monica."

Therese seemed to relax, "So what reason were you here?"

"Protection." Phaedra said, "In case you needed it, of course." She took a few steps inside the upper-floor of the club, "This club seems quite…" She gently rubbed her fingers against one of the scuffed up walls, "Antique."

" _Antique_." Therese let out a stray snicker, "It needs work. A lot of it. Sooner or later the walls will come…crumbling down." She sighed, "But Jeanette's very sentimental."

"Jeanette, she's your sister?"

"Yes, that's right. We share the club."

"How sweet." Phaedra smiled, "You don't see many siblings in Jyhad who stay so close…especially with as much experience as you."

"Well, we have our moments. Considering her…Anarch tendencies, things can be trying."

"Anarch, hmm?" She smiled, "Have you ever met Mister Vanderbilt?"

"I'm afraid I haven't. I've heard he's quite the…firebrand."

"I'm sure in his previous days." Phaedra said, "But, he also has a sister in the Anarch movement."

"Is that so? Perhaps we'll…run into each other." Therese sighed, "Well, I apologize for keeping you trapped in here. It wasn't what I intended, but…I suppose if we do get attacked, we'll be prepared."

"Mmm…I suppose so…" Phaedra mused, looking at the large painting on the wall. "Interesting painting…" She looked closer, "Was it made in the…early nineteen hundreds?"

Therese raised her chin a bit, "Late eighteen-hundreds. How could you tell?"

"The brush strokes. And colors." She stepped back, "Once the twenties rolled around, things were much brighter…until the Great Depression. But, then art was more focused on propaganda. Paintings such as this were too expensive. It has the style of an eighteen-hundred's classic without the experimental feel. Must have just been a very…very good artist."

"Of course. Father only accepted the best."

Phaedra looked at the looks on the girl's faces, before she looked at the father. She smiled and looked at Therese, "So is Jeanette a twin?"

"Yes, that's right."

"And your mother…?"

Therese instantly looked furious, her brow dropped and she almost appeared to grow a few inches, "I have no obligation to answer your questions. You're here for protection, not small-talk."

"Of course. Forgive me." Phaedra gave a rigid nod and turned back to the scattered art on the walls.

The phone started ringing, so Therese quickly attended to it. It seemed like a lengthy conversation, one in which Phaedra didn't want to eavesdrop, so she stood and observed the streets from the curtained windows, looking for signs of anything.

Screams could be heard from downstairs, but Phaedra really had to strain her hearing through the music in order to notice. The elevator soon rose to their floor, revealing Poe as the doors opened, he was coated in blood, "I must admit, I didn't think the headquarters of Santa Monica would be a dinky little club, but I shouldn't be surprised." His eyes narrowed once he spotted Phaedra, "Tell me where the Primogen is, hag."

Phaedra's eyes widened as Therese dropped the phone and stepped back. Phaedra truly seemed shocked that there were actually Sabbat here, let alone someone she had recognized. "Well…I'm standing in with an associate in her place. She's attending a meeting in the tower."

Gottfried entered the room next, making the entire room look cramped with his sheer size. Ebony came last, giving a phantasmal cackle as she raised a black-nailed hand to her mouth, "We're here for your city." She said.

"If you surrender, we'll take it without any more bloodshed." Poe grinned.

Phaedra couldn't stand idle and puff her chest up anymore. She turned to Therese to see what she would say.

The Primogen looked mortified. She raised a hand to use Visions of Death.

"No, don't." Phaedra's eyes widened, "We can't kill them."

" _What?_ " Therese was shocked, "What do you mean, we _can't_ kill them?"

What _did_ she mean? She froze up, "We…we j-just can't."

"You're being preposterous!" She raised her voice, the sound most unpleasant.

Ebony waved a hand and Phaedra and Therese both vomited up a significant amount of blood. Poe took the initiative to dash forward and slice his sword through Phaedra. It was a sensation she had briefly forgotten, but nonetheless dreaded, as the razor-thin cut left an explosion of blood in its wake. Meanwhile, Gottfried flashed over to Therese and punched her in the face with one of his lightning fists.

Phaedra grunted, then her eyes flickered over to Therese, who lay on the floor, fumbling for her glasses, which were nothing but little shards of glass and plastic on the floor. At least she wasn't ash. Phaedra held her hands out to summon a specter to fight them all, then she summoned some zombies after that.

Therese held her face with both hands, maybe she was crying, maybe she just wanted to hide, it was hard to tell. Well, until she just started screaming. Poe snarled, "What an incessant noise. Gottfried! Kill her at once!" He said, as he and his lover jumped back to start fighting Phaedra's army.

Gottfried's Celerity made it hard for the specter or the zombies to catch him, it also gave Therese little time to react as he reared back to attack her again. She suddenly lurched out of the way, one of her eyes was green while the other was gray as soon as they opened. "Bad boy." She scolded in Jeanette's voice, holding a hand out to give him severe hallucinations. Gottfried screamed, backing away as purple dust clouded his head. He fell to his knees, completely immobilized.

"Gottfried!" Poe dashed over to Gottfried's side, loosely holding him, "Are you…" His voice got quieter, "Are you in the well…?"

Ebony hissed under her breath, holding a hand out and causing the pair of Camarilla agents to throw up again. Poe stood protectively in front of Gottfried, glaring down Therese, "So you are the Malkavian Primogen…"

"Me?" Jeanette cocked her head to the side, pulling her hair out of the bun, "No, doll, that's my sister." She eyed him over, "But I could contact her for you…if you do me a few favors, yellow-jacket."

"Take him out!" Phaedra ordered, feeling exceptionally weak as she skittered over behind Jeanette.

"Okay!" She held a hand out to cause mass hallucinations to everyone before her.

Poe's eyes widened and he held a hand to his forehead. He growled savagely as he tried to see through the illusions. Ebony cried out and fell over, while Gottfried largely stayed in the same position. All three members of the Sabbat were unable to battle at the moment. Phaedra panted, "Whatever, we have to be fast."

Jeanette reached up and tied her hair in pigtails, "Mmm…I dunno. Do I know you?"

"I believe security's dead…" Phaedra ran over to the phone and dialed the Prince, "Hello? Mister Strauss? The Sabbat have launched an attack on the Asylum."

"They have?" Strauss's calm voice came over the receiver, which, didn't help the mood at all, really, "Reinforcements will be sent, though it may take up to an hour to—"

Phaedra felt a hand grab at her hair and pull her away from the telephone. Her eyes were met with Poe's, whose eyes looked red and bloodshot, as if he had been sprayed by seversl different types of pepper spray. Phaedra had no idea what Poe was seeing right now, but unlike his two companions, he looked ecstatic. Gleeful. "I can't wait to kill you all again!" He drove his blade into Phaedra, lashing out an unforgiving roar as he slashed through her.

Phaedra closed her eyes and grunted, "Polonius…" She looked away, up at Jeanette, "Therese…" She whimpered.

"It's Jeanette." Jeanette rolled her eyes before she held a hand out to send Poe into a hysterical fit.

Poe laughed, which also didn't help with the mood at all, really. "When this ends, I'll kill you!" He roared with laughter, "Gottfried! Destroy the Malkavian Primogen! Now!"

No one knew what he was talking about. Weren't Gottfried and Ebony defeated? Maybe the hallucinations had gotten to him.

Gottfried rose from the ground, giving off a deep, terrifying scream as the fight against the beast had finally lost and grew a thick pair of frenzied claws. The lightning from Potence still jumped around his body, starting to short out the sisters' laptop. He zoomed at Jeanette, punching her square in the face. She produced an heart-wrenching girlish scream as her body crashed into the wall. Her face was bruised and broken, she hardly looked conscious as her body thudded to the ground.

Phaedra grimaced before she grabbed Jeanette off the floor and bashed a hole in the window with her elbow. She held Jeanette close to her chest before she jumped out the window, gasping at the pain in her legs from jumping so far.

* * *

It had been a while since Dragomir drove a car. He adjusted the mirror and looked at himself in the reflection before he started driving, "At the very least, I can see my beautiful face in the mirror…" He muttered, "That old man in his mansion couldn't take that from me! Ha, ha!" He mashed his foot on the gas pedal.

The tires screamed as the car started driving, wires still dangling from the dashboard where he had made his 'modifications'. The sirens didn't jive with his aura.

"Now…now, now…" He mused, resting one arm out the window while the other grabbed the wheel, trying his best to stay on the road. "How do I find her?" He rubbed one of his temples, "How do I find her!?" He smashed his fist into the horn, honking at nobody.

The scenery was nice at least. He had no idea how to get back to California, he just kept taking random routes, pushing him further and further into the spruce woods. He closed his eyes, "I need to let my insight—" He peeked an eye open as he heard and felt himself slide into gravel, before he cut the wheel and got back onto the road, "…take control…guide me to her…Damn it all! I'm a sham of a Malkavian! I can't even find my other half!"

His car abruptly shook as he heard a series of thumps. His eyes flickered up to the mirror before he slammed his foot on the break and popped the door open, looking back at whatever he had run over. A big mass of blonde locks over an hourglass figure garbed primarily in black answered his question.

His mouth felt dry before he jumped from the still moving vehicle and landed on both feet, running over to her and lifting her into his arms, "Genevieve…?"

"Dragomir…" She reached out a shaking hand and held his face.

He clutched her close to his chest and bit back tears before he lifted her up, "Genevieve…" He nuzzled his face beside hers, "I'll never leave you again…"

She started sobbing, "I've been…searching for you…for such a long time…"

"Shh…" He combed his fingers through her hair and carried her to the car, "Let's take you to a blood bank."

"Why…why did you leave us…why?"

He gently laid her in the passenger seat, "Because…I didn't want to hurt you…"

"…you…you need to come back…" She cried.

"I am." He said firmly, "Because I will be safe. And so will you, and so will Slade."

"You're going to return?" She peeked between her fingers with teary eyes.

"Yes, that's right. I…need time." He said, "…first…I must catch up."

She gave a slight nod, "Be careful when you converse with the Wizard King."

"Yes, I will…my life will balance on a thin string before I enforce it with chain." He reaffirmed, starting up the car again with the wires hanging out of the dashboard before he turned the radio down. She nodded again, curling up in the car seat in an attempt to take a nap.

He drove much slower, much saner, on the correct lane, before he reached a hand out to her for her to hold. She latched onto it, "What are you going to tell him?"

"Perhaps tell him about the Park Manager. I could tell a half-truth, enough to cover my tracks."

She closed her eyes, "He has a room for you. It's next to Greenhorn's."

"Does he?" Dragomir asked, taking a deep breath, "No apology will suffice…I thank you for…tolerating me…"

"You won't ever leave again?" She sniffed.

"No." His voice was firm, he was angry with himself. "No, I will always be at your side."

She smiled, squeezing his arm as he drove along.

* * *

 **A/N:** Dragomir's back! Or is he? And what about Anastasia? Thanks for reading! :)


	43. Chapter 43

**A/N:** Here's chapter forty-three! Plans of relocation, bloodshed and of course, a good sprinkling of drama ;) Enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs. Also, the last scene borrows heavily from the Clan Quest Mod

* * *

The meeting was exactly what he expected.

Nines told him it was good that he was looking for Anastasia, bad he couldn't find her, but good that he was looking with her brother. He also told him to keep looking for her. Overall, it was a pointless conversation.

The only catch was that Skelter didn't go in the Last Round. He refused, as long as Killian was in there. That worked until Skelter bumped into him on the way out.

"Oh, sorry." Killian held a hand out, thinking Skelter was a nobody before he realized who he really was, "Shit." Skelter stepped back and took out one of his Colt Anacondas, taking a few steps back as Killian stepped back and raised his hands in the air. Killian looked around as people screamed and ran off, "C'mon, man."

"Don't pretend you care about your humanity. Or the Masquerade. Or anyone but yourself."

"Fine, then shoot me, for Christ's sake!" Killian shouted, "All you do is threaten to kill me, but you never did shit—" Skelter fired his gun, aimed right for his knee. Killian buckled down and fell to his knees, hissing through clenched teeth, "There ya go…"

Skelter brought the gun back and cocked it before he held it out again for his head.

Killian looked down to his knee, then back up at Skelter, "Well, now what? You just gonna…blow out my kneecap and then…leave? Shoot me a few more times, maybe? What's the point?" He stopped asking questions when Skelter shot him in the head.

"The point is to drive you away." Skelter said.

"So, what, this is a territory war now? I don't want this!" He yelled, "I don't want to be the reason you can't come back to the Last Round! I don't want to be the big monster under your bed that keeps you from sleeping at night! I just want to be with people who can put up with me. I'm an Anarch, alright, I always have been ever since my Embrace, and you can't change that by bullying me out of here!"

"You shoulda thought about that before—"

"Before what?" Killian spat, "Before I fucked up? Yeah, I should have. But I didn't. I get it, alright? I don't need a-million people telling me in a-million different languages that I'm a screw-up, alright? I get it, I didn't respond _right_ to Lark's death, I didn't go about it 'the right way', whatever the hell that means. Maybe you can take that rage out on my old man for making me this way."

"Shut up." Skelter shot him in the shoulder and cocked the gun again.

Killian winced again, holding his shoulder before he wearily stood to his feet, "I don't know what you want from me, you ass! I'm not after your girlfriend, I'm not after you, I'm not after anything! I'm done with it. Done with it all, and….dammit, I want to apologize."

"It's too late for that."

"No it isn't. Don't pull that shit on me." Killian said, "I'm sorry, Skelter. We never really got along, but I didn't want this." He called, "I didn't want war between us. I just want to be an Anarch. I'm done with the games, please, just give me a chance."

Skelter narrowed his eyes, "That ain't gonna cut if for 'Stasia."

"Look, I know it isn't. I'd kill to apologize to her too, but I already did. And I fucked that up too. The only kind of apology that's gonna work with her is action, but she's not gonna be around to see it, is she? Where is she?"

"Hiding. Cuz'a you."

"Yeah, I get it." He let go of his shoulder as the wound healed up, "Just…please…give me a chance…"

" _Give him a chance, you know? Let him go back to America, maybe they can fix 'em? Don't have to be so hot-headed about everything, James."_

A cold air blew over them before Skelter lowered his arm down, the gun loosely aimed at the pavement, "You got one chance. One fuck up and you're dead. I don't give a shit what Nines says about it."

Killian's shoulders dropped a bit as he opened his mouth, about to speak. "This ain't forgiveness." Skelter clarified. "I will never forgive you for what you did. But you're an Anarch, and so am I. We're gonna work together, and that's that."

"That's all I wanted."

"Good." Skelter put his gun away before he turned and went into the Last Round.

Killian couldn't help but smile as he closed his eyes and looked up at the sky. That only lasted until he heard sirens. "Shit." He scrambled to his feet and got inside the Last Round.

* * *

The silence wasn't necessarily awkward. It was just painful. She wanted to apologize, she wanted to make a light joke, maybe lighten the mood with a compliment, but something about the look in Therese's eye made her feel that any word she spoke might just end up on her epitaph. Phaedra gently knocked on Strauss's door and spoke at last, "He wasn't expecting us, it may take a few moments."

"I understand how this works." Therese snapped quietly.

"Of course." Phaedra brushed off her dress before she entered at the Prince's office, "Mister Strauss. I brought Miss Voerman."

"I'm very sorry, sir…" Therese looked away, maybe she was embarrassed or ashamed of herself, "I was…not myself…"

"The Asylum is hardly habitable." Phaedra said, "And even if it were, it's dangerous. All of Santa Monica is."

"It is exactly as I had feared." Strauss said, "Santa Monica has been lost. Taken by the Sabbat, as Hollywood is. And I'm unsure if either of you had heard of the news of Chinatown."

"Was it taken?" Phaedra asked.

He gave a slow nod, "The Kuei-Jin have returned. I have no doubt they want vengeance on what happened the last time they invaded our lands."

Phaedra nervously threaded her fingers through her scarf, "Appears our domain is shrinking…"

"Yes, indeed." Strauss rose and began to pace, "I'm afraid the blame is to fall on no one but myself. I underestimated the power of our enemies, and because of that, we have lost Santa Monica. Had I known the impending threat, I would have fortified the city with stronger warriors." He said, "However, we will not lose downtown. The final domino to my empire will not fall. They have tried in the past to attack this building, and they have failed. Should they try again and their defeat will only be worse."

Phaedra smiled before Therese stepped forward, "Forgive me for asking, sir, but…" She crossed her arms, "Claiming Santa Monica…as well as the other cities, that's a priority, yes?"

"The city will be reclaimed, although such things may take time, Miss Voerman. As before, I will see what I can do to lessen the Sabbat influence in the city. Perhaps I will task a few Kindred with constructing battle plans, such as Mister Vanderbilt. An…imaginative…volatile mind, could be just what we need to free Santa Monica from its Sabbat chains. Flanked with a few Tremere, and the Ventrue warrior could be unstoppable."

"Yes, of course." Phaedra said with a smile, "We will gladly carry out any plans you desire."

Strauss returned to his chair, folding his hands, "And I appreciate the vigor in your aid, Miss Kokinos."

Phaedra paused, "So…where do you suggest Miss Voerman stays…?"

"Well, I have an apartment." Therese said, "The Asylum wasn't my _home_ …"

"Of course, but you're being hunted. All the Primogen are. It isn't wise to live alone."

"I'm sure I could've handled them." Therese narrowed her eyes, thinking back to the reason she didn't use Visions of Death.

"I'm sure that there is a spare room in the tower for—" Strauss started before there were a few knocks on the door, and then Victor entered. Strauss blinked a few times, clearly not expecting this, "Mister Madison? Forgive me for finding your arrival…surprising…"

"I was told that we have lost Santa Monica." Victor said, "Is this true?"

"Unfortunately, it seems that way."

"A pity." He said, "The Sabbat have us fenced in, with the Kuei-Jin providing the third and final piece of the fence, while there are still Anarchs within this city." He said, "I believe we all know the gravity of this situation."

"Yes, that's right…" Phaedra and Therese stepped back out of his way as Phaedra continued, "Nice to see you again, Mister Madison."

Victor gave a slight nod, his blue eyes zeroing on Therese, "Would you mind stepping out for a few moments?" She looked taken back before she turned and stepped out of the room. Victor faced Strauss, "I hope you're not offering her a room in this tower."

Strauss looked shocked, "Mister Madison…I wasn't aware of your…poor relationship with Miss Voerman, but she is allowed in this tower just as any member of the Camarilla is—"

"This isn't about a few disagreements strung together by a poorly stitched quilt." He said, "It's about something far more dangerous than anyone realizes."

He took a deep breath, "I'm listening."

"Therese and Jeanette are two sisters who run the Asylum in parallel ways, true or false?"

"Yes, I had a few questions about them…" Phaedra mused.

"Jeanette is not a real person."

Strauss paused, it looked like it took a while for that to digest, "Such a thing is not possible…she's as real as any other Kindred…"

"No…" He lowered his voice to a whisper, in case Therese was hanging out by the door, "They are the same person."

His eyes widened, "Are they really?"

"Yes, it's one of her derangements." Victor said, "As I suppose one of the _many_ derangements…"

"That would explain why she asked me to call her Jeanette later that evening…" Phaedra said softly.

"Well, there's a larger issue at scale." He said, "Therese is a member of the Camarilla. Jeanette is an Anarch."

Strauss nodded, "Yes, I see now."

"I'm well aware that there are spies in the Jyhad, however, we shall not give the Anarchs an advantage by housing Jeanette in the stronghold of the Camarilla. They don't need _that much_ help."

"I see. So the tower would not be a wise choice for her."

"I agree with the fact that she should stay with another Kindred, preferably another Primogen, but she shouldn't live in the tower or in the Chantry with me. We need a Primogen who is a bit…detached from the movement, preferably a house of their own separate from the tower."

Without missing a beat, Strauss said, "The Toreador Primogen."

"You should ask them both before forcing them together." Phaedra said.

"I will contact the Toreador Primogen as soon as possible."

"And I will inform Miss Voerman." Victor said, heading out the office to look for Therese.

Therese was standing there, her arms still crossed, "Am I allowed back inside?"

"Yes. We have determined where you will be staying while Santa Monica lies with the Sabbat."

"Oh, I see. There's a room in the tower available, yes?"

"No. You will be staying with the Toreador Primogen at his own abode. Mister…Chamberlain…I believe it was?"

"The Toreador Primogen?" She asked, wishing she had glasses to adjust, "…very well. Where is he?"

"He lives not far from the city. I believe Strauss is calling him at the moment to make necessary arrangements."

"I see…" She mused, "Well…thank you, then." She gave a ridged nod.

Victor smiled, "Yes, of course. We'll keep you safe."

* * *

Paw pads striking the ground were heard behind Ferrum as he was making another fast food run for Angelique. Eventually he heard a mature, sophisticated voice behind him, "I can't imagine what use that will do for you. I can recommend a good group of vagrants an alley or two back, if that is your wish."

Ferrum turned over his shoulder, "Nah, it's for a few ghouls." He suspiciously eyed over Beckett, "Why the hell do you look so familiar?"

"Ah, ghouls…what a depressing phase of life…or un-life, I suppose it depends on how you look at it. I find it sad to see such creatures trapped between both worlds, living a grueling existence to do nothing more than serve their masters, without much a free reign of their own."

"Ah, tell me about it. I've been tellin' them to just suck it up and be Embraced for ages now, but they insist on havin' kids er eating food er…whatever…"

He smiled, "Allow me to introduce myself." He said, "My name is Beckett. I believe you said you've seen me before?"

"Yeah…" Ferrum shook his hand, "Were you hangin' around the red tower?"

"Occasionally, I give my good graces to the Prince." He said.

"Uh huh. Ferrum." He said, briefly noting the state of his hands, "Gangrel?"

"That's correct. I suppose there are quite a few features giving that away."

"Nah, I think it's pretty cool. Maybe if I frenzy I'll get claws like that, people'll think twice about screwin' with me…"

He stifled a chuckle, "I have to admit, your speech patterns and ideals don't typically match those in the Camarilla."

"Yeah…" He scratched the back of his head, "I used to be in the Sabbat before it kinda fell apart. Some 'a the Camarilla vamps adopted me, I guess."

"Hmm, this pack seems stronger than ever." He said, "They've already taken two cities formally owned by the Camarilla."

"Yeah, I've been ichin' to do something about it, but I'm on a fine line as it is, I don't wanna piss off the Prince."

He paused, "Tell me, are you a valued agent of the Camarilla?"

"I like to think I'm pretty good at mashing skulls in when I need to."

"Hmm…perhaps while Maximillian is mulling things over, I can use you to tie one of my loose ends." He said, "Of course, it wouldn't be for free."

"Yeah, sure, sounds fun." He grinned.

"What I'm looking for…The reason I've returned to California…It's for knowledge, of course. I have an endless source of information when it comes to Kindred, but I find myself thwarted when it comes to knowledge on our eastern brethren, the Kuei-Jin. But that may change tonight." He said, "There is a book in Chinatown which details many of the basic facets about the Kuei-Jin, and I would like to get my hands on it. I believe I have it narrowed down to it being located in the Golden Temple."

"Uh huh. Sounds like fun. Just grab a book and bring it back?"

He nodded, "I would prefer a stealthy approach, as failure to do so may result in the wrath of the entire Kuei-Jin, and I wasn't interested in throwing the Camarilla under the bus, so to speak." He said, "If you retrieve this text, you will be rewarded appropriately."

"Alright, sounds like a plan. I never did much dancin' with the Kuei-Jin, but I'll do my best to stay on my toes."

"I will await in the red tower for your return."

"Alright." Ferrum said, then he handed him the fast food, "Do me a favor then. Give this to a guy called Cadmus Vanderbilt. If you can find 'em."

He looked down at the sack of food and then back to Ferrum, "Right…special delivery…haven't done that one before…"

Ferrum snickered before he turned around and flagged down a taxi, "I'll try'n come back in one piece." He said before he hopped in the car, "Chinatown."

Overall, the heist was simple. Long, but simple. Ferrum detested stealth and sneaking in general, he preferred a good, straightforward fight. But since it seemed the Kuei-Jin were using a skeleton crew, Ferrum was able to get the book with ease.

He as confidently making his way back to the red tower, he could see it within his sights. But a hand grabbed his shoulder, and Ferrum turned to see three men of Asian descent.

"We know what you did, Kindred." The one grabbing him said, "We are Oshiro's triad, return the book or die!"

"Uh huh…" Ferrum said slowly, looking around at his surroundings. "How about I give it back in that alleyway, right over there?" He pointed.

"Kill the westerner!" Two of them drew katanas and slashed at Ferrum, while the one holding Ferrum backed away and got a crossbow out, shooting at him.

"Ah, shit…" He stumbled back as a bolt landed in his shoulder.

Now, Ferrum knew how important it was to retain the Masquerade. At least, if he was part of the Camarilla. So he tried, and he tried patiently by putting up Fortitude and trying his hand at landing a few punches, but they were quite quick, and their katanas were sharp enough to leave some marks.

"Screw it." He hissed before he used Protean to gain bestial features. He lumbered towards the man with the crossbow to claw him to shreds.

The Kuei-Jin agent screamed, while the other two kept slashing at him, but with Ferrum's defense hiked up to ridiculous levels, they were almost like fleas.

Ferrum laughed as he grabbed the crossbow and pulled on it like tug of war. Once he got it away from him, he bashed the now unarmed man to death with his own crossbow. The other two men looked on in horror, but they swallowed hard and resolved to continue fighting.

Ferrum threw the broken scraps of wood to the side and spit at the sidewalk before he ran forward to head-butt one of the other agents right in the gut. The man was completely floored, screaming, "Save me!" Over and over again, while the last fighter kept slashing at Ferrum.

Ferrum laughed like a madman as he held the man by the throat and shook his head back and forth, trying to break his neck. Once he was down, Ferrum grabbed the last man and impaled him with his own katana, stepping on his face a few times before he put Protean and Fortitude down and went back to the red tower, covered in quite a bit of blood. At least he had the book.

Beckett smiled when he saw Ferrum enter the tower, "Well…I see you took a different approach…"

"Yeah…" He handed over the book, "There were a few problems on the way back."

"I see. I do hope you didn't attract a large amount of Kuei-Jin attention…" He said, "So tell me." He smiled, "Which Discipline would you like some assistance on?"

"I've been trying to learn war-form for years now, you think you could help me with it?"

"Of course, you'll have it mastered within a few nights."

"Uh…thanks. Nice doin' work with ya." They shook hands.

"I look forward to collaborating with you in the future."

* * *

 **A/N:** Well, now that Chinatown is thoroughly aggravated, I wonder what effect that will have…Thanks for reading!


	44. Chapter 44

**A/N:** Here's chapter forty-four! At last, the first pawn falls…or was it more than a pawn? Hope you like it!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs. Also, the second scene borrows a bit from the Clan Quest Mod

* * *

She wanted to give them hell. She wanted to show them all. But she was too scared to leave.

After spending her entire life being peaceful and having hardly any hate in her heart, she now had a vengeful heart. She just wanted the other Anarchs to feel something about her absence. It was a betrayal on Killian's part to come back and expect no fallout. It was a betrayal on Nines's part to let him back in as if he simply caused a minor argument or two instead of violate her privacy. It was a betrayal on Skelter's part to buy into the fact that Killian's changed at all. Were any of them her friends?

She hugged herself. She had been in the wilderness for quite a few nights now. She didn't know if downtown was a mile or two away or separated by a state border. She was definitely lost at this point. She thought she would be alone out here forever, until she saw another figure in the distance.

It was either a human who felt as lost, hurt and confused as she, or a Kindred going rat hunting. When she got closer, she slightly recognized the figure in the distance.

Rainy recoiled at first, a typical reaction for her. But then she saw how sad and vulnerable Anastasia was, "You look sad." Their amber eyes met. Anastasia looked down, surprised at Rainy's cold, straightforward diagnosis. "Are you hurt? Do you need to be healed?"

Anastasia smiled, "I remember you. You're that girl who healed us from the Tzimisce attack."

She nodded, "I'm Rainy."

Anastasia's smile grew, she held her arms out and ambushed her with a hug. Rainy gasped, shrinking a little bit in her arms. She shuddered, looking up into Anastasia's eyes, "What are you—"

"Will you be my friend?" She sniffed.

Rainy reached up and brushed the tears out of her eyes, "What happened to your other friends?" Anastasia started crying, resting her head on Rainy's shoulder as she sobbed.

Rainy gave her a squeeze, "I'll be your friend, but you need to tell me what happened to your other friends."

She sniffed as a few minutes went by, "I'm not safe there anymore…"

"You're not safe with the Anarchs?"

She shook her head, "I slept with too many of them…and now they're jealous…we can't get anything done because they fight over me…"

Het thin arms wrapped around Anastasia as she finally hugged her back, "Is there one Anarch you like more than the others?"

"Uh-huh. My boyfriend…"

"You shouldn't be out here then. He's probably worried about you. Leaving is only going to make the other Anarchs upset, but not because they're mad, because they're sad. They'll miss you."

"I know…" She cried.

"I think you should go back. Trying to start over from a fresh friendship with them would be better than leaving and trying to start over." She said, "Trust me…as…someone who's on the run all their life. That's…that's not something you want. Ever. You want to keep every friend you can get."

They had switched. Now Anastasia was shivering while Rainy was calm, "There's just…one thing…" Anastasia said.

"Hmm?"

"There's someone I don't trust, at all…my ex…he…didn't take me getting another boyfriend well."

"Did he hurt you?"

She shook her head, "He was just…creepy…for a period of time…"

She nodded, "I'm not going to tell you to reconnect with this…ex…of yours. But it's unfair to the other Anarchs for you to leave them for what one person did."

"But I can't be there with him." She sniffed.

"You have to try. For your alliance and for your boyfriend. If it doesn't work for a week or so, you could always leave. But you need to be fair to those in your group other than just getting back at your ex."

She nodded, "You're right."

Rainy smiled, "Remember, in addition to those friends, you have me too. I'll always be around in the city, if the Anarchs don't turn out to be as supportive…"

She smiled, giving her a big squeeze, "You're the best."

"Now go back to the Anarchs. Set their worries to rest."

She gave an eager nod, breaking the hug, "I will."

* * *

"Well, look who finally decided to show up." Bertram said as he crossed his arms.

Edgar shook himself off from the sewer water as he closed the manhole, "Excuse the hell out of me. Santa Monica is _miles_ away from the warrens. It wouldn't kill you to pick a new home, you know."

"Yeah, yeah, look, let's just get to business. It's time to give Velour a little bit of payback, if you know what I mean."

"Velvet Velour?" Edgar asked, "She's been missing for nearly months now. Probably connected to when we lost Hollywood. What good is it to strike revenge on someone who isn't even here?"

"Well, hopefully you're going to find her. Or at least, find some dirt on her. I want revenge. And I want it now."

Edgar narrowed his eyes in thought, "Aside from her being a Toreador, what bone do you have to pick with her?"

"Her hovel of a club, Vesuvius. She doesn't let any of us in. Doesn't want us scaring the dancers. Even though _we_ helped get that club on the map with our behind the scenes advertising. I'm sick and tired of her blatant racism. Go to Vesuvius. Find some dirt on her, if you find her, great, whatever. But I want something that keeps her quiet for good."

"You can't expect me to go there. It's largely Sabbat and Anarch controlled. Obfuscate may not cut it."

"You'll do fine. I doubt they're expecting a Nosferatu to be poking around at this time anyway."

He nodded, "Fine, fine, very well, but I better get something good for this."

Using the sewer system, Edgar traversed to Hollywood. The inside of Vesuvius was unlit and completely empty. Edgar found it disturbing, but he had work to do. He looked for any sort of computer that was still up and running, and was fortunate enough to find Velvet Velour's personal laptop in her VIP room.

There wasn't much of interest. An absurd amount of poems, contacts. A concerning amount of emails from a David Hatter. Edgar would have to check his laptop next.

He snuck using Obfuscate to the Luckee Star Motel, having to wait for Hatter to move away from the desk to get to his computer. Once he did, he was only annoyed with what he found. Hatter and Velour gave each other back and forth flirting emails for a long while now. He did get a bit of information. Her family life was poor, she had a close friend or two.

He narrowed his eyes, seeing a strange address located somewhere in downtown. There was an apartment number and everything. It was the only lead Edgar could get, so he was going to head there next.

The apartment looked fairly typical, if not, overly pampered, the owner was clearly rich and well-off. The sound of a shotgun getting cocked interrupted his thoughts, as Edgar turned around and was met with Garret.

"You trespassing in my house?" Garret snarled, "Get back to the sewers, rat. It suits you."

Edgar cackled for a while, getting his sledgehammer out, "And what the hell do you have to do with Velour?"

"You mean Suzie?" He smirked, "I gave her a start in Death Mask Productions."

"Death Mask Productions?"

"That's right, I'm her sire, rat. Straight from the Sabbat." He said, "Now get lost. My ghoul and his kid are coming by soon."

Potence flared up over his body, "They're going to be in for quite a rude awakening, I'd say."

Garret fired, immediately dashing away with Celerity to get more shots in. Edgar growled and flinched, trying to hobble after Garret, but it was pointless. So he instead held a hand out, sending out some bats to drain some of his blood.

Garret flinched as he was hit, "You'll never defeat me, rat! The Sabbat already have half your damn city! You're gonna lose!" He kept firing away.

Edgar fell back, he was going to be dead at this rate, "My, my, my, what an eloquent speaker, Velvet's sire is…"

Garret kept shooting away, stopping to reload for a period of time. Edgar meanwhile, kept trying to swing at him with his hammer, but with Celerity up, it was impossible to hit him. Every time Edgar missed, he either broke furniture, crumbled walls, or shattered glass. Garret's apartment was a wreck. But Garret himself was fine, so Edgar resolved to send out more bats.

Edgar getting hit by too many bullets. He eventually decided to crouch into a corner and use a broken piece of furniture as a shield from the shotgun blasts. It helped, but because of Garret's speed, he could find other angles to hit Edgar. He wheezed, blood leaking out from his many wounds as he tried his best to stay standing.

As his vision began to fade, he send out another flurry of bats, and the sounds of Garret's resulting frenzy gave Edgar a second wind. He tossed the debris aside and barreled towards Garret, who lost all his speed and was rampaging with no sense of control. He batted Garret to the ground with his Potence-laced claws, rearing his sledgehammer back.

The door opened, revealing Killian and Archie. Edgar stomped on Garret's back and swung the hammer down to his neck. Garret screamed and instantly turned to ash.

Edgar gave a spooky snicker as he sneered at the two new visitors, "So where is Miss 'anything for twenty dollars?' Because I have to inform that I just took her sire to hell."

Killian's eyes were wide as he stepped back before Archie's face lit up with a terrifying scowl. He pointed at Edgar, "Kill him!"

Killian lit his arms up with Potence and flew in with Celerity to punch Edgar's head in. Edgar crossed his arms in front of himself, coughing up blood as he fell back and smashed into the wall. He grimaced and opened an eye, "I remember you…we took out Ming-Xiao together…so…what…did you finally give in to the Sabbat?"

Killian stepped back, turning over his shoulder to make sure his father was gone. "I'd get the hell out of here, fast." He said as soon as he saw the coast was clear, "Thanks for killing that douchebag. Go before he gets back."

Edgar looked confused, "What?"

"Go before the old man gets back." Killian demanded, reaching in his back pocket and handing him a handful of cash, "Thanks. Now go." Edgar's Potence wore off as he grabbed the cash, he tore open the nearest ventilation shaft and escaped.

Killian reached his hands in Garret's ashes before Archie rushed back in, "I called the attack in to Lafayette. Where's the rat?"

"Dead." Killian stood up.

"Good…" Archie still seemed on edge before he moved in closer and looked at the pile of ash left from Garret, "Damn…"

"Yeah…" Killian said, "I should probably go—"

"He was after Velour. Go take care of her, make sure nobody gets in. He could have backup."

Killian nodded and headed out before Archie stepped closer to the window, "Damn it all…" He seethed.

* * *

"You look so tense." Gary purred before she felt two hands wrap around her shoulders.

"Ow, ow!" Brook squirmed in his grasp, "Get off me! Jeez, your nails are so sharp…"

"Mmm." Gary looked at his nails, then back up at the screen, "Control-alt-delete."

"Huh?" She looked back at the screen, "Shit." She mashed a few buttons, "Dammit…"

"You'll get there. You're catching on to the system quite fast. It's all about the timing." He pat her head.

"It's taking forever…I'll never get there without any help…"

"Perhaps you could ask Edgar for help. I have a lot of work to attend to."

"Pfft. More like half naked girls to Photoshop…."

"Still needs to be done." He shrugged a shoulder as he walked into their main corridor, "Edgar, it's been some time. What've you been up to?"

Edgar tried cracking his neck for the umpteenth time, "Today is a very…very…good victory for the Camarilla, I'll tell you that much…"

"Oh? I heard about our loss of Chinatown, Hollywood and Santa Monica. I was sure things were going down rather than up…"

"Well, I killed a Toreador Antitribu just now, during a wild goose chase for Bertram." He said, "That'll teach them not to mess with us…"

"Oh? I'm proud of you." Gary's grin could break mirrors. He reached out and patted Edgar's back, "Sabbat, huh?"

He nodded, "Apparently he was Velour's sire."

"…Velour's sire is Sabbat…?" He asked, "I can't say I expected that…"

"I doubt any of us would." He said, "So how have things been down here?"

"Smooth as caramel. Cressida's out scoping around, Brook's still figuring things out. She could use some help if you have the time."

"Alright, sure." He said, heading to Brook's room, "I heard you're having trouble."

She looked over her shoulder, brushing her fingers through her dyed hair that was starting to lose some of its luster, "Yeah…I mean, I kinda figured out the mainframe, but…." She sat back, "I've never worked with anything this advanced."

"Hmm, let me see." He got a little closer and squinted, "Yeah, this stuff is really Mitnick's cup of tea. He knows the damn thing inside out. I guess that was because he was a governmental hacker in life…"

"Ugh…" She closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose, "I'm never going to get this." She wilted into her seat, "I never thought I'd actually…want to go to the surface…"

"If it was up to me, you'd be gone." He shrugged, "But…uh…you're kinda…with Gary…so…"

Her cheeks flushed, "Well, I didn't know he was… _that_. When I saw him, I swear, he was…he was…normal. Then he brought me down here, and…showed me what he really was…god, I threw up for like, three hours…"

"Yeah, I'm sure the same thing happened to me…only it was decades ago…"

She looked up at him, "How were you Embraced?"

He sat in a nearby chair, "It's a long…dreadful story…well, I was nearly captured by a demonic snake lady who is thousands of years old. I almost was turned into a mummy, but there was a rebellion and I escaped. After that I researched all things supernatural, and then Gary found me once I was looking up vampire lore." He said, "Alright, shorter than I thought, but I simplified it."

"….at least you didn't fuck him…"

"No, I can't say that was something on his schedule…"

She sighed and powered her computer off, "Thanks."

"Eh, I wish I could be more help. I know a lot about computers…but…I'm more of a…bash things with a sledgehammer Nosferatu…then a hacker…"

"I'd love to take a sledgehammer to my problems…" She sighed, "The first thing to go would be Gary."

"Right, well, if that's all you need kid, then I'll be off. I think Barabus wanted me for something."

"Yeah…thanks…" She stood up with him, then hugged him.

"No problem." He smiled.

* * *

 **A/N:** What will be the next piece? Another shift in domains? A loss of a key figure on either side? Thanks for reading!


	45. Chapter 45

**A/N:** Here's chapter forty-five! Two biggies in this chapter, and of course, leave it to us to make sects within sects…Enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs. There is also some sensory scenery in the end, if you're not a fan, feel free to skim over it.

* * *

"I'm back." Anastasia said, reaching the top of the stairs in the Last Round.

Sirius blinked, "Well, shit…didn't think that would happen so early…"

"Anastasia…" Skelter said from his usual spot, slowly walking towards her, "You alright?"

"Uh-huh, I'm fine." She strolled to her seat, as if nothing happened at all.

Killian peered over at her, then averted his gaze to the table. Damsel came upstairs, then hugged her, "We missed you. A lot."

"For sure." Nines said, "Now that we got everyone back, our Madison should go down a lot smoother."

"Oh yeah, we were gonna kill Victor." Anastasia's face lit up.

"It's still not gonna be easy." Sirius said.

"No, but we have more reinforcements." Nines said, "We have two Gangrel to sniff out anyone else nearby. You two are gonna be on the ground to make sure there's no one else around."

"Uh huh." Skelter said, "What about you?"

"I'm gonna distract him."

"Madison?" Damsel asked.

"Yeah." He looked over at her briefly, then back to Sirius, "Sirius just needs to pinpoint where we can find him. Catalina makes sure the nearby area is clear, Anastasia and Skelter check the surroundings, and once it's clear, I distract him. Killian fires, and shoots anyone else in the vicinity who could cause problems. And then we go from there."

"So, are we killing him?" Cissy asked.

Nines looked out the windows, "I don't think so."

"You don't think so?" Skelter asked, "Why the hell not?"

"Well, the Blood Hunt is gonna be called, and it's probably gonna be called on Killian. No matter what we do, we'll get hunted. I don't see a need killing him right away."

"Right away?" Skelter raised a brow, "Are we doing an interrogation?"

"Might as well try."

"Wait, wait, wait, I thought we were killing the bastard." Sirius said, "That's why I was so on board with this. It's not worth risking Killian's life if all we're gonna do is _talk_ to him. We can do that anytime."

"What I'm saying is we try for answers first." He looked over at Skelter and Anastasia, "He dies after we get everything out of him."

"He won't talk…he'll probably just die bringing his secrets to the grave, that's how all Tremere are."

"I still need to talk to him." Nines said, "About something…unrelated."

"It's about the past you two have…" He said, "What exactly happened, anyway?"

"That's what I want to find out." Nines said, "I was so busy not trying to starve to death, somehow Madison got involved, and I can't remember why."

"He acts like you're the reason everything bad happened in his life." Anastasia said.

"Exactly." Nines said, "I can't even remember meeting him." He said, "And he talks about my 'gang', but…I never had that…I had brothers, maybe they did something to him? I just want answers."

"Whatever happened really pissed him off." Anastasia crossed her arms, "I can tell you from personal experience."

"I know." Nines closed his eyes, "I never wanted him to take it out on other Anarchs."

"Well, he did." Skelter said, "And he still is. Good we're finally getting rid a' the bastard."

"So what do we do after we kill him?" Sirius asked.

"I'm gonna go hide in the mountains." Killian snickered.

Nines got out a cigarette, "Or you can hide in the Sabbat. They'll protect you. You tell them you killed a Primogen."

"And they'll tie me up with the Anarchs." Killian looked back at Nines, turning his chair out a bit, "I'll get caught."

Sirius paused, "I'm sure you'll be fine, kid."

"Right…" He sat back in his chair and gave a brief moan, sliding a hand over his face, "I need a fucking drink…"

"I can get a blood pack…" Damsel offered.

"Nah, it's…its fine." He shook his head, "Thanks, Damsel."

"Um…guys…" Catalina said, "Cissy and I ran into a Malkavian Antitribu…and…he had a lot to say…"

"A what?" Skelter's eyes went wide.

"Where?" Nines asked.

"He told us about this…Phantom's Mask…thing…or…phantom's unmasking…rather. He said during the uh…ides of June…that the Sabbat is going to be at its weakest point yet. And that every other sect is going to take advantage of that and try to destroy it. But…by the end of the night, lives will be lost, and the Sabbat will be its strongest ever…" Catalina said.

There was a pause while everyone mulled over her words.

"So…we have to wait until June for all this shit to go down?" Skelter asked.

"I thought it was the 'Ides of March'." Damsel said, "Aren't they like, the most chaotic days in March? Cause the weather's so shitty?"

Skelter shook his head, "Damn Malkavian…"

"I'm just surprised someone in here read Shakespeare." Sirius muttered.

"At least it gives us time to prepare…" Anastasia said.

"The whole 'Sabbat will be at its weakest' sounds kinda iffy." Sirius said, "I don't buy it. They had Hollywood for a while now, and now they even have Santa Monica. While the Kuei-Jin have Chinatown again. If anything, it's the Camarilla that's on its last legs."

"Wait, the Kuei-Jin are back?"

He nodded, "Yeah, you missed a few things…"

"So…what…?" Damsel started, "What do we do?"

"Swear to god, Nines, if you tell us to wait…" Skelter said.

He scratched the back of his head, "I'm not sure what his omen means, and I don't want to act on any hasty decisions."

"I just thought it was something that I should address…" Catalina said.

"What did the guy look like?" Sirius asked, "The Malkavian?"

"Uh…rainbow goggles…red hair…no shirt…an open white fur jacket…"

"Gideon." Sirius said, though he covered it with a lot of coughs.

"Uh, yeah, that sounds familiar." Killian said, "He's with the Sabbat, for sure. Practically Lafayette's right hand."

"He almost killed us both." Catalina said, "I'm not sure how I feel about the Sabbat just waltzing around like…they own the place…"

"Well they own half of it, technically." Sirius said.

"Well, it's good that the Cam's shrinking." Nines said, "But it's gonna be a lot for us to keep dealing with."

"Won't mean shit, to an extent. Even if the Sabbat do wipe out the Camarilla, it'll mean nothing for us. We'll just have to fight them instead for the city." He said, "We gotta kinda chop both trees down slowly at the same time…"

"Exactly. Thing with the Sabbat is they can…tend to take themselves down if they're strong enough."

"What?"

"I've heard a few accounts of the larger groups fighting each other." Nines said, "Saw it before, too. Different ideas spring up, the beast inside can't be quelled, the thirst for power takes over."

Catalina's eyes lit up, "That's like… _exactly_ what the Malkavian was telling us. He said the leadership is going to get into a huge disagreement and that they're going into battle during the ides of June!"

"It's probably a long time coming…" Sirius muttered so only Killian could hear.

"So when the hell are the ides of June?" Skelter asked.

"Middle of June, right?" Damsel said.

"Something like that, I'm sure." Sirius said, "So in plain English, we have a bit of time left before the Sabbat apparently collapses in on itself."

"So…we don't need to do anything about them, either?" Cissy asked, "Maybe waiting was a good idea."

Sirius rolled his eye, "Did you already forget about the last part of his prophecy, at the end of the night, they'll be _strong_ again."

"…oh…"

"We'll have to stop them before then." Nines said.

"It'll be hard to do with us alone." Sirius said, "But, maybe with all the other sects wrestling around in the mud it might be doable."

Killian looked at his watch before he stood up, "I gotta get going. I'll see you guys." He said before he left.

"That was a good meeting today." Damsel said, "We were never this organized when Jack was here."

"That's cause Jack always talked about bullshit all day…" Skelter muttered.

Sirius had a good laugh at what Skelter said, before excusing himself as well.

Catalina looked at Cissy, "You ready?"

She looked up at Catalina, "For what?"

Her eyes darted around, "To go…"

"Out?"

"…I meant to go home…" She narrowed her eyes.

"Yeah…okay." Cissy stood up and left with Catalina.

* * *

Out of the seven of them, Prospero had the longest and most energetic strides after they had been walking for quite a while (but this was mostly because of his physique). "We should be there soon, I think."

Slade panted, "I sure hope so."

"So tell me." Cadmus said, "What is this mission all about, anyway?"

"Eh, it's…controversial…to say the least…" Prospero said.

"Hmm, I figured as much, or else so many of us wouldn't have been sent." Victor said, his hands in his pockets.

"What do you mean, controversial?" Phaedra asked.

"And why is it so damn far?" Cadmus asked.

"Well…it's a meeting." Prospero said, "With Madame Vaska."

"That's the bitch who stormed the tower." He gasped.

"Yeah, she wants to talk to us."

"More like Mass Suicide us all…" Slade said.

"I don't know, Strauss said it would be diplomatic in nature." Prospero said.

"She could do whatever she likes with us when we're in her jurisdiction." Derek said nervously.

"Well…we have Mister Madison." Delilah said.

Victor's eyes slid over to Delilah in surprise, not knowing what she meant at first, then he faced forward, "Perhaps you all can fall back on me."

"Pfft, diplomacy. That doesn't work with the Sabbat. Twenty years of fighting them taught me that." Cadmus said, "Victor should just kill her on sight."

"Yeah, we're not exactly in a position to just, start murdering Sabbat personnel. They have half our city." Prospero said, "If we want to hold downtown, we should play by their rules, for now."

"Yes, we might as well entertain their ideas." Phaedra said, "Perhaps we can show them the reason we function so well."

"I don't know, it still sounds like a trap…" Slade said.

"We may as well glean all the information we can out of her." Cadmus said, "Like what the hell she is. What clan she is. If she's LaSombra, I say we tell her nothing."

"Why not?" Prospero asked, "Oh yeah…Venture and LaSombra…hate each other…huh…you guys butt heads with a lot of clans…"

"I'm sure if we head in with peace on our minds, the chances of leaving intact will be much higher." Phaedra said.

"Or we'll just die." Slade said, looking at Victor, "You should be prepared."

"Yes, yes, it reminds me of our little get-together with LaCroix." Victor said, then he smiled, "Come to think of it, I haven't seen you two gentlemen in bulk since then."

"Yeah…I can't believe that only happened a few months ago…felt like forever…"

"I'm just glad the bastard's dead." Cadmus said.

"Yes, we surely paved the road for Strauss's rule, didn't we?" Victor asked, as the three of them laughed briefly.

"I wish I met the man. LaCroix." Phaedra said, "I would have loved to watch it all collapse…"

"Yeah, I think Goddard and I were playing around in Chinatown during that." Prospero said, "I didn't care for the old Venture Primogen though, Constantine or whatever the hell his name was…"

"Neither did I." Cadmus said, "That's why I killed him."

"Did you? I just thought he ran off once LaCroix died…"

"Nope. He's dead." He said, "That's what the bastard gets…Embracing me against my will…being a jerk…being stupid…"

Derek tried to make his scowl unnoticeable as they pushed onwards, until they reached a large black castle. "Hmm…this looks familiar to the other castle we've been in. It must be a running theme in this Sabbat." Victor said as he walked next to Delilah.

Delilah nodded, "I hope they're just…a lot more peaceful than the last…castle residents…"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's a diplomatic aim, this time." Prospero said, then he looked Phaedra up and down a few times as they approached the gate, "So I'm guessing you go through more jelly than most sandwiches…"

She raised a brow, taking a moment to process what he said, before she put a hand to her mouth and started cackling like a hyena, "Oh, I wish, darling…"

"I didn't need to hear that…" Slade muttered.

"Let's just…pretend it didn't happen, and talk to Madame Vaska…" Cadmus pushed the gates open and led the way in.

Madame Vaska sat in a throne at the far end of the castle, in front of her was a small table, with enough seats for them all, "Ah, I see the envoys of the Camarilla took up my offer for a visit of pleasantries. A wise decision…"

"Greetings, Madame Vaska." Prospero said, with a face to the others that basically said, 'let me do all the talking', "A nice haven you have here." He said as they all took a seat.

"I still don't like this." Cadmus said quietly as he sat down, he leaned in to Victor, who had Cadmus on one side of him and Delilah on the other, "How old is this broad anyway?"

Victor gave a small shrug, "I haven't the foggiest idea. I assume very old, since Strauss was the only person able to send her packing."

"Well, things seem calm for now…" Delilah said softly.

"You see, in the olden times of Cainites, it was often…customary for we vampires to visit one another domains." Madame Vaska got up and began to pace, "Vampirism was more of an individual approach…rather than symbolized by groups. It was every man or woman for his or herself. But there was a…" She sighed, "Certain charm in having little visits like these with other vampires. I think under the right circumstances, we could be allies…"

"Yeah, forgive me for being the skeptic in the room, but you and your little blue boyfriend nearly killed us all in the tower." Cadmus said, people began to give him looks for his inflammatory remarks, "So why do you want to be friends with us? Because you failed to kill us?"

She chuckled, lightly tapping people's shoulders as she paced around the table, "That was Mister Lafayette's plan, not my own. I merely accompanied him."

"Uh-huh, I bet…"

"What can you tell us about this Lafayette fellow?" Victor smiled, "Is he the leader of the affairs in the Sabbat?"

Madame Vaska gave a slight, bitter nod, "At the moment. He is over a century old, and he is powerful for his age. However, he is an unruly, inexperience Tzimisce." She said, "His sire and he ruled several branches of Europe closely for decades until Andrei had to leave for America. He was…a little off _before_ his Embrace…naturally the perfect candidate for the crazed Tzimisce I suppose."

"I see, are you not a fan of the Tzimisce either? How peculiar…"

She didn't respond to that immediately.

"So, what is it you'd like from us then?" Phaedra asked.

"A simple friendly discussion." Madame Vaska said, "I am rather…detached from the Sabbat movement…Lafayette and I are often at odds about it…so perhaps in the future I may become an ally…"

"What bullshit…" Cadmus muttered.

"So what clan does that make you then, dear?" Victor asked.

"Tzimisce." Madame Vaska said.

"You're a Tzimisce?" Cadmus raised a brow.

"But…you're…you're not blue…" Slade said.

Victor chuckled, "Children, children. Not all Tzimisce look monstrous. Some don't even have Vicissitude."

"So they have Dominate instead?" Cadmus asked.

Victor nodded, "The clan is a bit more varied than one would think at first glance."

"Those with Vicissitude are impure Tzimisce." Madame Vaska scoffed, "A stain on our otherwise pure clan. They are riddled by a flesh-eating disease and must be purged. The True Black hand wouldn't have it any other way…"

Victor perked up, "The True Black Hand?"

If Madame Vaska made a slipup, it was impossible to tell, because her poker face was incredible, "That's correct."

"So you follow the True Black Hand…sooner than the Sabbat?"

"If that's so, then why follow the path of Lafayette at all?" Phaedra asked. "The Sabbat and Tal'Mahe'Ra can be…quite contrasting."

"Not all the time." Victor said, "But if you're working with a Tzimisce you despise, then it would be conflicting."

"I'm completely lost…" Slade muttered.

"You raise a good point." Madame Vaska's heels could be heard against the ground, as she rubbed a hand over Phaedra's shoulders, "Smart girl."

Phaedra smiled in a fashion that revealed her pearly sharp teeth, about to say something before Victor spoke, "Her sire is very familiar with the sect as well." He said, "Perhaps you could seek her out and work with her. If you wish to dispose of this Lafayette business."

"So do you have anything else incriminating about Lafayette?" Prospero asked, "Something that can help us win this conflict?"

"Hmm…" Madame Vaska leaned over Prospero and wrapped her arms around his neck endearingly, "Perhaps…are you aware of the Tzimisce clan weakness?"

Prospero felt a chill, moving away from her Embrace, "Ha, ha…"

"Hardly new information for me." Victor said, "They need to be surrounded by two mounds of soil from their birthplace when they rest. Their haven needs to be very homely to them. It's a hardly practical weakness to use in a tactical advantage. We cannot just… _prevent_ Lafayette from sleeping…"

"I suppose you'll have to take his organization apart one leader at a time, then." Madame Vaska said, marching up towards Prospero, who kept backing away.

"Perhaps." Phaedra said a bit louder, to try and pull Madame Vaska away from Prospero, "We could locate his home, with your help?"

"Perhaps…" She purred.

Prospero cleared his throat, "Alright, I think it's time for us to go…"

"Second that." Cadmus said.

"Very well." Madame Vaska sighed, "Farewell, envoy of the Camarilla."

"Hopefully, we will meet again." Phaedra said before she turned around with the others and headed out, "Not what I expected."

"Me neither…" Slade said.

"Well, what's the verdict on Miss Vaska?" Victor asked with a smile.

"Bitch." Cadmus said, "She's fake. I bet all that stuff she said were just lies, plain and simple. She'll backstab us when it's convenient for her."

"Probably…" Slade said.

"Well, most of the information she said about Lafayette was most likely true." Victor said, "Trust me, I know. As a Tremere, I know the ins and outs of a Tzimisce like the back of my hand. She was forthcoming with us. Still, I would never work with a Tzimisce, no matter what their Jyhad stance is."

"She seemed okay…" Prospero said, "Of course, it was hard to tell with her trying to get in my pants the whole time…" He muttered the last bit.

"I tried my best to help." Phaedra smiled, "I do think we should seek out Lafayette's home and destroy it if we were to weaken them."

"He'll just make another one." Cadmus rolled his eyes, "We just need to kill him, straightforwardly. Then kill all his friends."

"That may prove difficult." Phaedra said, "I don't think he'll be an easy man to kill. She mentioned that he's over a century in age."

"So is Victor, just about. It's doable."

"Ooh, I'd love to murder him." Victor said, "I'd imagine it would be a very close scuffle…"

"Yes…I suppose…" She mused, then looked back at Cadmus, "You seem upset with me."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Cadmus said.

She smiled at him, "Very well."

Derek crossed his arms and continued to brood over everyone in his group as he hung in the back. _Just give yourself time…the more time you take and loyalty you display, the higher you'll climb…_

Victor briefly smiled at Delilah, before facing away again. She looked up at him a few times, "Is…is something wrong?" She asked quietly.

He shook his head with a smile, "You always were a fast learner, when it came to Thaumaturgy. I think you're going to be doing great things in the Chantry."

Her mouth opened a tad, surely surprised with his sudden kindness, "T-Thank you, sir."

"Delilah…I…understand your position. From your point of view, the elder Tremere have always been…distant from you…haven't they?" He asked, "Neo and Ebony were once dear friends of mine, and their defection to the Sabbat is something I not only wished never happened, it's something I try to refuse. Even today, I hope to find the good in Ebony and restore her. Though I know such a thing may not be possible. Too much of their humanity may be gone, as was the case with Neo." He sighed, "You and Leo had to face the brunt of the aftermath of their turn to the beast, and for that, I'm sorry. Iphigenia told me that I was a shell of an instructor that I had once been, and if the three of you still believe that, I shall renounce my title once the war ends and my army leads us to victory."

"N-No, sir…I don't wish for you to…to quit." She twiddled her thumbs, "I just wanted help so…so I could get stronger. That doesn't mean you have to resign…"

"I just want you to know that my doors are always open, and that I apologize for seeming so cold and indifferent before."

She smiled before she hugged him, "Thank you, sir." He smiled and hugged her back, hoping that soon Leo and Iphigenia would feel the same way.

* * *

"Slade, you're home…" Tess came in from the bathroom to greet him, "How did it go? I was expecting to hear a bit of…madness about the whole thing."

"It was a meeting with Madame Vaska…" Slade said as he shut the door behind himself, "Which…was weird…cause she was that chick who invaded the tower and got beat by Strauss."

"Yes, that's why…I suppose I expected the worst." She sat on the couch.

He sat next to her, "It kinda was…I mean, it was just a meeting…but…it was still weird…"

"How so…?"

"She…gave us advice on how to defeat Lafayette…the Tzimisce leader…"

"Advice…?"

He nodded, "Apparently she's really part of the True Black Hand first, and the Sabbat second…so…maybe her being our enemy might not be long term…"

"Hmm…well, I don't think we should turn down another potential ally."

"Well, the others don't really believe…and I can't blame them. I'm the greenest one of the bunch, so they're probably used to long-term Jyhad relationships and being betrayed…"

"Mmm, I suppose that's true…we'll just have to wait and see. Did she say anything helpful?"

"Other than that Lafayette is a psychopath…but…that's basically common knowledge at this point…"

"That's unfortunate." She muttered, sitting back on the couch and crossing her legs, "At least she's not a huge problem right now."

"It could change." He shrugged, "Did you know that she's Tzimisce too?"

"Is she? I didn't picture that."

"I know…I guess they can look…normal…if they want too. Apparently she has Dominate instead of Vicissitude."

"They can…switch out disciplines?"

"No, I don't think it's that…I think it's like…a subsect of clans. Like…almost like she's a different clan with the same name or something…"

"Oh, I see…" She pondered, "It's good no one got hurt tonight…."

"Pfft, yeah, I'm glad the seven of us got along and didn't kill each other…"

She chuckled softly, "Was it tense?"

"A little bit." He smiled, "Reminds me of…when we first started…"

She nodded and closed her eyes, "It's nice that he's dead…"

He reached out and hugged her, kissing her cheek and holding her close. She giggled and laid back on the couch, pulling him up on top of her. He quickly began to make out with her, "You look cute in loungewear."

"Do I?" She smiled and held his face, "You look cute in everything…and I want you to fuck me." She smiled warmly.

He hastily ripped his tie and shirt off, as well as his pants, kissing her roughly and groping both her breasts. She bit her bottom lip and groaned shamelessly, grabbing at the hem of her shirt and trying to pull it up over her head. He helped her take it off, "Jeez…I could use this…we walked for like…miles…"

"You sure you're not sore?" She asked breathlessly.

"My legs have been better but…you really turn me on…god…I swear I wasn't this dirty before we started dating…" She held his face and kissed him again, pulling at the hem of her shorts until they came off with her panties.

He felt up her hips with one hand and her stomach with the other, kissing her harder and harder. She moved her lips down along his jawline, sucking, licking and gently biting as her hands traced patterns along his back. He moved back slightly so he could suck on one of her breasts, meanwhile he let the blood flow through his system as he started humping her leg over and over again. His erection grew a bit larger and his thrusts a bit more violent than what she was used to from him. "S-Slade…" She laughed, digging her nails into his shoulders.

He looked up at her expectantly, pulling her in closer so he could suck on her breasts a bit more, rubbing his thumb over one of her nipples. She let out high-pitched squeal and shuddered in his arms. Her hands slid down to his hips as she tried and bring his length to her womanhood.

"Just beg for it…one more time…as…as sexually as you can…and you'll get it…"

"Maybe I want to hear you beg…" She slid her fingers through his hair.

He crawled up so that they were level, "Fair enough…" He bit his lip and pressed his throbbing length against her lower abdomen, "For the love of god…please Tess…or else it's going all over you…actually…wait…you're you…so…so…I don't think you'd mind…"

Her smile widened, "You know I wouldn't."

"So wait…I'm confused now…where do you want it…?"

"Depends on where you can get it."

He rolled his eyes with a smile, "I can get it in there." He felt up her waistline, massaging it to stimulate her back to where she was, then he moved in for the penetration. He clenched both hands behind her butt cheeks, thrusting into her with increasing vigor as he half-heartedly attempted to kiss her lips, leaving her room for when she needed it to scream or make noise.

Her voice eventually grew hoarse from all the screaming, and the depth of her nails in his shoulders made her wonder if she was actually drawing blood. She kept her legs tangled around his as he continued to push himself into her, her eyes screwing shut as he continued for what felt like hours. It was easily the longest he had ever gone.

As she felt him unwind, her final climax hit her like a brick wall and completely wiped her out. It felt offensive not to pant afterwards, but she did hold him close, despite the fact he was still deep inside her.

He pulled out slowly and gently, giving her a squeeze, "I love you so much…you're so sexy…and cool…and supportive…you're really making the fact that Dragomir isn't here so much better…"

"We will find him…" She said softly, "I don't think he's dead…"

He nodded, kissing her lips, "If you want to go again later, or tomorrow…I'm game…"

"Okay." She smiled, "That sounds perfect…I…I might need a nap, to catch up…"

"Of course…my…my legs feel like they're going to fall off so…we should rest first…"

She combed her fingers through his hair, "Goodnight, Slade…"

"Goodnight Tess…I love you…"

* * *

 **A/N:** I wonder what May will think Madame Vaska's newest obsession…Thanks for reading!


	46. Chapter 46

**A/N:** Here's chapter forty-six! Another homerun for one of the sects, you'll have to read and find out…Enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs. Also, there is some carnal content in the first scene, if you're not a fan.

* * *

When Prospero entered his room, he saw May in the kitchen at the counter, slicing up different types of lettuce and throwing them in a bowl, "Hello darling!" She called, her voice soaring through the air like bird song. It was certainly nice to hear after his previous meeting.

Prospero swallowed hard. No, no, of course. Of course she's going to be in the greatest mood ever conceived by the likes of mankind. That means it'll be all the sharper decline when he tells her about his run-in with an old as dirt Tzimisce lady who doesn't understand what the word 'no' means. "Hey…everything okay here?"

"Hmm? Yes, everything's fine." She smiled warmly. Her outfit was nice too; a white crop-top that loosely clung to her form and white skinny jeans that were practically a second skin, "How was your meeting?" She looked away from the cutting board to meet his gaze, "Another drag?"

"Something like that…" He said, "We were having peaceful negotiations with the enemy. I'm just surprised the seven of us got along…"

"Peaceful negotiations, hmm?" She asked, "Well, that's good, right?" She said before she gasped, "Son of a…" She put the knife down and looked at her thumb, "Ugh…I'm more disappointed in myself than I am in pain…"

"Look…May…" He sat at the table, "I feel as though I should be honest and straightforward to you about something…"

She paused, then glared at him, "Who is it." Her glare could cut through steel. She didn't need Dominate or even Kindred powers to send chills down his spine with just that look.

"Look…I didn't get to the details yet…I feel like you might be getting confused…"

"Then spit it out."

He sighed, "I think one of the Sabbat leaders fancy me…"

"Am I not enough?"

"What? What? No…I said _she_ fancies _me!_ _She_ …fancies… _me!_ I do not like her back."

She paused, then relaxed, "Oh, thank god." She sat at the counter, "I thought it was over for me…"

"What? You thought I'd get bored and cheat on you one day?"

She didn't respond, she just crossed her arms and legs.

"Come here." He held his arms out.

She stood up and closed her eyes in his embrace, "I'm sorry, I just…" She sighed, "I've always been a pessimist, I suppose."

"Well, this is your punishment for thinking that I cheated on you." He squeezed her.

"I deserve it." She muttered bitterly as she rested her face in the crook of his neck, "You should still kill her."

"It's not gonna be easy." He said, "Maybe I'll just settle for a restraining order…"

"Mmm…I'll settle for that…"

"I didn't mean to scare you." He squeezed her, petting her hair, "I wouldn't do anything like that."

She closed her eyes, "That feels nice…" He smiled and held her face, kissing her as he kept petting her hair.

She giggled a bit and snuggled up into his lap, meeting his lips with hers until she let out a gentle sigh and started kissing his neck. A hand came up and held his face, her thumb tracing his jawline. He rubbed her back and squeezed her tighter, holding her head in place so she could kiss his neck all she wanted. He could feel a shudder course through her body as she rubbed her other hand across his chest, "I love it…"

"Love what?"

"I usually hate scruff…because it's just so…coarse and unkempt looking…" She rubbed her cheek against his, "But god, I love it on you…it's so masculine…"

He snickered, "Glad you like it so much." She situated herself so she was straddling him, reaching her hands under his shirt to feel up his muscular chest.

He took his shirt off for her, squeezing her tightly as he kept kissing her lips over and over again. Her eyes fluttered to the scars all over his chest, which her fingers gingerly traced, "Let's go to the bedroom."

He smiled and followed her upstairs to the bedroom, getting his pants off once he shut the door behind him, "So what do you have planned for tonight?"

"I have no clue…" She said, slowly gravitating towards him, "I didn't even eat dinner…"

"Now I feel bad."

"Then fuck me and you'll feel better…" She said softly in his ear.

"You'd better take some of those clothes off first, then. To get more comfortable."

She giggled briefly before she took off her top, then unbuttoned her jeans, slowly peeling them off. He held her close and felt up her rear once her jeans were gone, sighing a little as he kissed her lips.

She kissed him back, laying her hands on his chest before she gave him a mighty shove towards the bed. He laughed as he fell back, holding his arms out, "Get over here."

She crawled up on the bed and straddled him again before she took her bra off and flung it aside. Somehow, even as she was, she looked regal, sitting there on top of him. The look on her face seemed so dominating and empowered. "Did you want to pleasure yourself on top of me?" He asked.

"I want _you_ to pleasure me on top of you."

"Alright, take your panties off then."

She rolled off of him and slid them off, rubbing her hips briefly before she straddled him again, "This is exciting." She brought her head down to his neck and latched on there, licking and biting him. He could feel her warm breath fan out across him, especially as she really started working herself up and started panting.

He palmed both his hands on her butt cheeks, helping her grind up and down on his chest. He sighed as he began to feel a bit of moisture start to accumulate on his abdomen. "Enjoying yourself?"

"Uh huh…" She said weakly, "C-Can you…spank me again…?"

He smiled, spanking her a few times, sighing as he did so. She grunted with each hit, her chest inadvertently pressing up against his with each impact. She moaned his name through clenched teeth, but it was quite quiet and difficult to make out. "Such a sinful little girl…" He smiled, spanking her a bit more.

She gasped out, her nails digging into his shoulders, "Now, now, Prospero…"

"Yes, dear?"

"Now…I need it now…" She begged.

He rolled over so he was on top, fondling both her breasts before he finally went back and sucked on one. Meanwhile he rubbed her lower abdomen with both hands. She let out an airy sigh, melting into his arms. Her hands wrapped around his head, threading through his slicked back hair and ultimately ruining it.

He gave her nipple one last lick, "You ready?"

She panted and weakly nodded, "Oh, whenever you are, love…"

He pulled himself up on top of her, penetrating her with relative ease. She gasped out his name and let out a surprisingly deep moan for what her voice usually conveyed. Her nails clawed the bedsheets as she rolled her hips beneath his, adjusting to his rhythm.

He groaned as he continued to thrust into her, pressing his chest up against her as much as physically possible. The warmth from her body spread to him like flames, making him wonder just how much heat she was feeling. And indeed, deep inside her belly, she felt unending flames that only burned hotter and hotter the deeper he delved.

He would give her sloppy kisses occasionally as well, giving her room to breathe when she needed it. The heat eventually died down as May gasped out and started panting a lot, shuddering in his arms and clinging to him like second skin.

"How was that…good?" He asked as he got off of her.

"Yes…" She held his face and left a gentle kiss on his cheek, "Thank you…"

"No, no, thank you." He chuckled, giving her a squeeze, "Sure you didn't want to grab a bite to eat or something?"

She sat up a bit, brushing her sweaty strands of hair out of her face, "Maybe…ugh…" She flopped back on the mattress, "Sex with you is absolutely exhausting…"

"I'm not really sorry about that."

"I know you're not." She smirked and pulled his head down for another kiss, "Lay here with me…?"

"Sure thing."

"Thank you…" She closed her eyes and cuddled beside him. She was awfully silent for a while before he realized she'd fallen asleep.

* * *

"I apologize again for any inconvenience." Therese set down a small suitcase, "But the Prince insisted I stay here. I'll spend a majority of my time in my apartment for work, so, I'll only be spending the nights here, if that's alright."

Goddard was sitting at his small, simple table, reading his little book, "It's no trouble, for a fellow Primogen. Your stay here has no impact on me whatsoever."

She gave a small smile, "That is…very gracious of you. Is there…somewhere I could stay? A particular room?"

"There shall be a small room down the immediate hallway and to your right. It shall serve as your guest room." He said. He had a small teacup of blood which he took a sip from.

"…thank you." She said, a smile still on her face as she went into the guest room he directed her to. Once she was there, she looked around, observing the place. It wasn't to her taste, but she assumed it wasn't to his either. It seemed as if he had never touched the room.

She set her suitcase down beside the dresser and left it there, not wanting to start opening drawers and sticking her nose where it didn't belong.

The edge of the bed beckoned her to sit, before her phone started buzzing. She flipped her phone open, "Therese Voerman."

" _You know you like him."_

"Not now, Jeanette."

" _Aw, still upset about the club? I am too, but…we'll get it back. And those devils will pay. After all, it's not like they burned the place to ash, right?"_

"I want my city back."

 _"Dear sister, why must you be so power-thirsty…?"_

She clenched a fist, "Because I worked for it. I worked very hard to retain it and they…they took it. Without an ounce of respect."

" _They won't have it for long. You befriended the right people, I'm sure those snakes of yours will go charging in with their big venomous fangs and hurt their feelings until they run away and hide under their bedsheets."_

"The Camarilla _can_ fight, Jeanette."

" _Oh, really? I've never seen it before in my life."_

"I'm hanging up."

 _"You should hook up with that cute Toreador. You two are perfect for each other."_

Therese shut her phone and tucked it back in her top. Her gray eyes flickered to the door to make sure it was shut before she laid back on the bed and held her forehead.

It was about five minutes before Goddard started to wonder where Therese went. He heard what sounded like her talking to herself from the guest room for a moment or two, at most, and then a silence. Finally, the door opened, and he saw a familiar shadow cross into the kitchen. However, the color scheme of said-figure was a bit different than what he saw before.

When he peered up he saw her standing there with quite the outfit change. "Nice to meet you, cutie pie." Her red lips curled into a smile, "Love the hair."

He returned to his book rather quickly, "I appreciate the sentiment."

Jeanette's head cocked to the side a bit before she sat across from him, giving him a generous view of her chest, "My sister tells me you're quite…calm and collected."

"I wasn't aware your sister knew much about me." He said, turning a page, "Though I suppose she pays more attention at those meetings than I."

She smiled, "What book is that?" She strained her head to read the title.

"Kuei-Jin policies." Goddard said, "Hardly any of it is in English."

"Kuei-Jin?" She asked, "I never dealt much with their kind. I've met a few, sure, but…I've never understood them." She sat back and folded her hands on the table, "I've always loved mysterious things like them, but…oh, it's so taboo, you know? Kindred playing with Kuei-Jin…"

"There is hardly any play. They are too dissimilar. Therefore there is only conflict."

"Did you ever…" She rested her head on her hand, "Wonder what would happen if there was no conflict…?"

"Life would be agonizing and dull. There would be no cause or reason to do anything."

"You really think so…?" She asked, tapping her nails on the surface of the table, "Sometimes I think back…I think back to just my life. Not the world, but just my life, and wonder, if all the bad things were good, what would I be like? And, what if the good things were bad?" As he failed to look away from the pages, she smiled, then she laughed, "Do you ever look away from your readings, beetle-juice?"

"When something needs to be slain."

"…would you like to slay me…?"

He turned a page.

Her eyes were wide as she waited for an answer, "…hmm…?"

Another page, "I enjoy how temperate the weather has been lately."

She giggled a bit, "Yes, me too. I've always loved the rain." She said, then she gasped, "You know, I've never once seen snow. Not once. Therese has, lucky girl."

"Perhaps you should persuade her to treat you to the sight."

"Of course _she_ wouldn't take me. I'd have to go by myself. Taking her away from her Camarilla is a moral sin."

"I wish you luck on your endeavor to witness the winter climate, then."

"I've seen hail. I almost love when…when it falls so hard, it puts the little red marks in your skin, you know? Or when it really hails, and it makes you bleed…? I remember that from when I was little." She giggled, "Daddy would get so upset, tell me I would get sick. And you know, I think he was right. I think after that, I did get sick."

"I too, prefer warmer climates."

"I guess that's why you're out here, hmm?" She asked with a smile, "So…is there someone else…?"

"No."

"No? Well, I see no shame in that. You know, Therese is alone too. All alone in a little spiral of Jyhad…" She twirled a finger, "She's been looking for someone like you. Oh, but she won't admit it. Of course not. She pretends love is a myth and sex is a childish sin. But deep in her head somewhere, she's been craving it. Every little bit." She leaned in, "She could use someone like you. Someone calm and…" She giggled a bit, "Proper. I'm sure you know the type."

"Perhaps."

"I think you would like her. She's plain and straightforward like…" She sat back and sighed, "Like book pages."

"Maybe I'll give it some thought."

"You'll have to be careful. Queen Victoria will bite your head off if you try flirting."

"Yes, you won't see very much of that from me."

"Good, good…" She stared at the table with boredom, "It's quiet here. I'm so used to the music from the club…Therese must like it. She always complained."

"Loud music would make it very difficult to read."

"It would. That's why she hated doing work in there. She saved up every penny to get herself her own apartment. And I'll tell you, that apartment is hideous. Ugly doesn't begin to describe it. There's no furniture. Like she doesn't believe in sitting."

"I suppose we're all bound to our different tastes. Even those as close as siblings."

She studied his face for a few moments like a curious child before she stood up, "Can I use your restroom? I'm assuming the answer is yes, unless you'd like for me to bathe in the sink…"

"Yes you may."

"Thank you." She stood up and went into the bathroom, "You know Therese…" She said quietly as the door closed, "He is completely your type." She looked at herself in the mirror, "He drinks blood out of a teacup."

* * *

"Nice night, eh?"

"Yep." Jack puffed a cloud of smoke into the air as a wave crashed into the hull of the ship, "You think a storm's commin'?" He looked up at the clouds.

"Eh, I think it'll blow over." Big John took out a flask and took a sip before he handed it to Jack, who did the same. "Everyone's inside, havin' some sorta' party about ye."

Jack laughed and patted him on the shoulder. This man was even larger than him, even older, but just, a good deal calmer. "Can't thank you enough for that, man."

"Aye, no problem." He chuckled as he leaned over the deck too and watched the sea. "Yer mates at home miss ya?"

"I doubt it, man. Pissed 'em off more than anything. You know, they wanna go around and do things the hard way, I'm not gonna go stoppin' 'em anymore. They're not learning if I'm hoverin' over them and stoppin' them from being idiots."

"Aye, I'll drink ta' that." He gave his big booming laugh.

Jack listened on as the seagull cawed. He let the silence take over before John said, "Bein' at the sea makes ya feel young again, eh?"

"Yeah…" He sighed wistfully, "Sure does. Feels like everything that happened was just a dream…"

"Aye, that's what I love about 'er. Go on land and everythin's jus' heavier. Go out to sea, 's all fun an' games, all whiskey an' women!"

Jack laughed, "Yeah…like I never met her…"

"Ah, Mama Lion?"

"Miss that old hag."

"Think we all. 'S a shame."

"Yup." He took another puff on his cigar. "Least I'm keepin' her bloodline fresh."

"With all them Caitiff, eh?"

He snickered, "Well hey, if I'm not ruinin' people's lives on land, am I really a pirate?"

"Pirate _captain_." John corrected as he pat Jack's shoulder and turned away.

Jack chuckled before he heard a deep thud. He paused, then turned over his shoulder and saw Big John lying on deck, clutching a bleeding wound in his chest before he turned to ash.

Jack slowly turned around and walked closer, looking around, "Well shit…" He quickly got off the deck and went inside where the rest of the crew was having a party.

All that was in the room was piles of ash. Piles of ash, and a few bodies from the blood dolls they brought along. Jack's cigar dropped to the floor.

Sam's Obfuscate dropped as he stood opposite of Jack, "Had to get rid of the distractions." He said, "But I do suppose I can honor your combatant nature by granting you a final battle."

Jack snickered a bit, "What's this, Camarilla's got Samedi workin' for 'em now? Runnin' outta trump cards, huh?"

He chuckled back, "It appears your centuries of ruining the Camarilla's affairs have finally caught up to you, Jack." Sam held a hand up, bits of flesh would fall off it occasionally, "As I am your death, here to take you to the fires of hell with all your fellow Anarchs who will follow suit."

"Now let's get one thing straight. I don't run away. That's for the pansy Cams you work for. They send in Nossies and zombies so they don't have to dirty their pretty little hands." He said, before he laughed, "Besides, my legacy's done, pal. My life's already set in stone here. Kill me or don't, it's not gonna change anything." He laughed more and more, "There are thousands of Kindred out there with my blood in their veins, and even more who wanna be the next Smilin' Jack. Killin' me's only gonna fuel that fire."

"I think if I'm able to defeat you, I'll be able to defeat all the runts that follow you. That would be the reason the Prince send me on this test, anyway. That's what you are. A test."

"A test, huh?" He laughed, "Well then, let's see if you pass er fail." Lightning covered his fists, "All I ask is what city this test is from."

"You want to know who has tasked me to kill you?" He smirked, a purple glow of skulls around his hands, though he didn't attack yet. It was almost like an old western shootout, "I'm not sure whether or not I should divulge that information."

"What the hell am I gonna do with it?" He laughed.

His smirk grew, "I can think of a few Venture who will be positively _delighted_ to hear the news that I murdered Smiling Jack."

"Yeah, I'm sure." He snickered before his body lit up with a green glow, and then an orange one. He then dashed forward with the speed of Celerity to drive a fist into Sam's face.

Sam laughed, raising the dead with his already prepared hand. Tons of zombies sprouted up. But they were almost like speed-bumps to slow Jack down so Sam could avoid his attack. There were also a notable amount of skeletons that rose, most of them armed.

Sure enough, Jack crushed everything in his path. If he took any hits, it was nearly impossible to tell with his Fortitude up. Sam narrowed his eyes in thought, his skeletons rallying around him for defense. He tapped his cane anxiously, planning another move.

Jack mashed their skulls in and laughed, "What, you gonna use your little minions on me, eh? Leave it to the Cam!" He laughed as he pushed through more and more of them, getting quite close to Sam.

Sam smiled. What little remained of his skeletal forces lit up with Potence, fighting back and going for the offense on Jack. "Around the world, Kindred will sing of how the Camarilla finally killed Smiling Jack. The Anarch movement will be crippled, it will never recover. Don't you understand? I am a hunter who specializes in eliminating Anarchs like the plague they are. Once you're dead, I'm going to tear apart the city until all the Anarchs are gone. Followed by the next city, and the city after that, and the one after that."

Jack seemed only mildly hindered with newly powered skeletons, "That's an interesting hunch…" He crushed a few more with his elbow, "I'm sure your little Camarilla will rejoice…and what about my Anarchs? You think they'll be weaker?" He laughed and laughed, "Why the hell do you think I'm out here? I weaned 'em off! They don't need me!"

"We'll see about that, won't we?"

"Uh huh." He snickered as the last pile of bones fell to the ground, "You gonna start fighting me yet?"

"Not many can defeat my skeletons, though I suppose your Potence is the only reason you could." He said, "I suppose you aren't completely useless after all." Jack dashed in to punch his face in.

Sam caught his fist, a green mist came out of his hand. Jack felt himself getting weaker, his body decayed slightly, as if Sam single-handedly gave him a severe fever. Sam meanwhile glowed green as well, taking a deep breath, as his muscle composure slightly increased. He lightly stepped back from Jack's failed attack.

Jack grimaced and looked at his hand, as he tested each finger, they respectively fell off. "Ah…shit…"

"Hmm…I was expecting more a challenge." Sam snickered, "Surely, if the great Smiling Jack is this _easy_ , then all of his friends will go down like flies!" He laughed.

Jack grimaced as he held his other hand out. He really despised coming to this, but he didn't want to risk losing any more limbs. Flames spewed from his palm towards Sam as he laughed.

Sam's eyes widened, he dodged out of the way. "Hmm…I suppose it's karma, then. I work under a Tremere Prince. How many Tremere did you have eat in order to get that?"

Jack coughed into his fist before he ran forward to sweep him. Sure enough, though, stray flames caught on the floorboards. Sam fell back, the only reason he didn't fall on the ground was because he caught himself with his cane. He lashed a hand out, a green glow rotting Jack a bit more, to the point where his arms were like twigs. "Did you know that Thanatosis is actually _easier_ to use on Kindred than kine, contrary to most Disciplines?" He lectured as he laughed, "Did you also know that I _gain_ whatever strength you lose as you wither away pathetically?"

Jack lost his balance and fell to the ground, his arms falling off as well. Then he just started laughing. He laughed and laughed, "Well, it's too late for ya, buddy, and your Cam! My legacy's already complete! Good luck to ya, man, guess I'll see ya in hell! Ah, ha, ha, ha—"

A knife slit Jack's neck and he turned to ash as a second assailant's Obfuscate broke, "That's enough outta you." Sirius said, standing tall, "Jeez…bastard wouldn't shut up."

"The fire is getting worse, let's head out to the deck." Sam said, striding off with the occasional tap of his cane.

Sirius laughed and laughed as he exited the flaming cabin, "Thanks for distracting him."

"Of course." Sam said, "Well, with him gone, the test is complete. Strauss wants me to be a warrior against the Red List, and Jack was the guinea pig. Not to mention crushing Nines Rodriguez and the last of his Anarchs."

Sirius kept howling with laughter, "How do you like that, you little bitch! Your fucking wolf is dead! And I killed him!" He yelled at the sky, "Bet you don't think I'm a little dog now, do ya?"

"…sounds like a…psychological issue…you're working through…"

He snickered for a bit longer, "Now I'll be so much stronger. So much stronger than he _ever_ was…" He looked back at Sam, "So what do I owe ya?"

Sam smiled as he sat on the railing, crossing his legs, "We'll figure something out later."

"Ah…shit…why do I feel like I sold my soul to the devil or something?"

Sam laughed for a while, then he said, "Do you know how to pilot a ship? Or to make an emergency landing?"

"Nope." Sirius said, "I guess this ship has about twenty minutes left…" He said, looking at the fire, "Well, I mean, we're Kindred, we can swim and stuff, we don't need to breathe…"

"Bullocks…and I bet after we swim through the _ocean_ to return to land, I'll still smell horrid…"

Sirius and Sam laughed for a while, as their boat turned wreckage floated aimlessly, hopefully for land.

* * *

 **A/N:** Maybe it's a good thing Jeanette is in the safety of a Camarilla Primogen…or did the Anarchs already crack the code for killing them? Thanks for reading!


	47. Chapter 47

**A/N:** Here's chapter forty-seven! Didn't realize how quickly we were really approaching the fifties here…well, here we go! Enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OC. Also, there is some citrusy themes, (I need Halcyon's help for more synonyms), if you're not a fan, feel free to skim over it.

* * *

Nines stepped back out of the way once the dirt was stomped down. As soon as he moved away from the headstone, Damsel clung to him and started sobbing. He put an arm around her shoulders and closed his eyes, letting the silence of the night cut through.

Most of the Anarchs didn't know of this place, this secret graveyard out in the middle of the woods, near Griffith Park. There were a handful of other graves present, another more recent grave erected for Kent Allen Ryan. But the new tombstone was by far the largest.

Each grave had the name engraved into it, the estimated date of birth, and date of death. It also had a few words, as many that would fit, depending on their character. But for this tomb, there was nothing but, 'Smiling Jack'.

Anastasia sniffed, "I can't believe he's gone…" She started crying into her hands. Catalina stood quietly with Cissy, not really knowing the man personally, aside from his name and reputation.

Sirius gave an indifferent shrug, "Sucks."

Killian stood with his arms crossed, then snickered at Sirius. After another heavy pause, he said, "Should we say a few words?"

"I'm sure as hell not going to." Skelter muttered, "You guys are lucky I drove you here in the first place."

"You don't feel anything?" Damsel sniffed and looked up at Skelter, "He…he was like…he was like our idol…"

"Bullshit, he was our idol." Skelter spat, "That motherfucker—"

"Enough." Nines said, "We only speak respectfully here."

He sighed, "Guess he killed LaCroix."

"The Cam's gonna pay…" Damsel said weakly before clinging to Nines a bit tighter.

"Yeah, Strauss was pretty quick to take credit on that." Sirius crossed his arms, "Claimed that his death was a warning to anyone who would go against his rule. It's interesting to see that he finally means business."

Nines's empty glare looked quite sinister, "When we kill Madison, he'll step down from his high-horse."

"Damn right." Sirius smirked, as did some of the other Anarchs.

"Well…" Killian crossed his arms, "Thanks Jack…I think we can all…thank you for all the crappy stories that occasionally made no sense…all the advice you gave us…hell, for saving my life. I think you saved a lot of us too, whether we know it or not…and…" He shrugged, "It's gonna be different without you."

Damsel sniffed, "Thanks Killian…"

"Your contribution to the movement is one that won't be forgotten." Catalina said.

"We'll miss you…" Anastasia sniffed.

Sirius rolled his eye, his snake's tongue flickering out occasionally. "We should get going." Nines looked up, "Anyone's welcome to stay, but you won't have a ride." He headed for where Skelter parked and the other Anarchs followed.

* * *

The usual orderly and chattering meeting room was empty, save for two occupants. Lafayette gazed at the empty table, countless creations or would-be creations behind him. Madame Vaska strolled down the stairs, "The loss of Garret is that of a tragic one." She said, "Taken down by a member of the Camarilla."

"I must say, I'm quite surprised you even knew his name." Lafayette said.

"Surely, this Camarilla is tougher than you have expected, or else you would have won by now."

"I already knew they were tough long before we reached the country, Vaska." He said, "They killed my beloved sire. I knew that it was very likely that we would loss some of our finest generals." He said, "Though, I have to admit, one death for two cities is a fairly good trade, if I do say so, myself." He chuckled.

"Ugh, what sort of a leader are you? If you view your comrades like that?"

"Are you…lecturing me…on my humanity…Madame Vaska?"

"Have you seen your creations?"

He folded his hands, "Do they not call you 'the puppeteer' for a reason?"

"That's entirely different." She rolled her eyes, "I use Dominate to control hordes of fools, Cainite or human, to do my bidding. Are you saying that's similar to these rabid animals that you make out of flesh?"

"Indeed, two sides of the same coin." He said, "I use my Vicissitude in the same way that you use Dominate. To control lesser beings in submitting to an army. My way is just more creative."

"It gets grueling, and predictable after a while."

"And your way doesn't, miss puppeteer?"

"I'm just saying. There is a Tremere Ancilla who knows your weakness, as well as plans to kill you. You should be careful."

He narrowed his eyes, "That sounds like…awful… _specific_ …information. Where are you getting this from?"

"When they visited me."

"You had…members of the Camarilla… _visit_ you?!" He asked, his eyes nearly bulging out of his head, "And you didn't kill any of them when you were done?!"

"Now, now, my child. Senseless murder is a blunt and pointless plan—"

"Spare me the explanation, Vaska." He held a hand out, "You invited our wartime enemies and exchanged information with them. This is a war, not…teatime, you fool. You're hurting our chances of taking this territory for ourselves!"

"I have been helping you your entire time in Jyhad, I am the reason you are what you are today. Do not belittle me." She growled.

"I hardly think popping in once every two decades counts as 'making me what I am today'."

"You're right. Your perversion with flesh crafting came about all on its own."

He pointed to the exit, "I want you out. Out of this country. You never cared for the Sabbat and what it's _really_ about anyway."

Her jaw dropped, "You cannot abandon me. I made this Sabbat!"

"You're right. You laze around and do the most minimalistic of work. Who could replace you?"

"Take it back and I promise I'll only kill you." A jaded smile crossed her face.

"You've disappointed me for the last time." His voice deepened, "Not to mention the fact that everyone follows me and not you. I doubt anyone will notice that you're gone."

"You'll regret this, Lafayette." She backed away, heading for the exit, "I'll kill you, and wipe out your little Sabbat too!"

"With what? Your puppets?" He smiled, laughing, "I suppose we'll see whose puppets are stronger. Which _clan_ is stronger! The old Tzimisce, or the Tzimisce willing to give into their beast!"

"I have more than puppets." Madame Vaska said, "I have the Tzimisce, the _real_ Tzimisce. I was always about clan before sect, and now the old Tzimisce and I will wipe out your foolish Sabbat once and for all!"

"I look forward to the day where my creations devour you and your foolish brood."

"Good evening, Lafayette."

"Good evening, Madame Vaska. Until next time." He said, as they both faced away from each other.

* * *

"It's been a while." Sirius heard Juliet's voice in a distant room, "What've you been up to?"

"Eh." He shut the front door behind him, "I was out at sea for a few days. Guess I should have mentioned that or something." He walked in the kitchen.

She was cutting something up, "Oh, don't worry, I only worried if you were dead for a few days. Contemplated suicide just a few times."

"I told you I wasn't gonna die." He sat at the table, "You never listen."

"You just…you just can't say things like that. You just don't know!"

"I don't know…I'm pretty invincible now. What, were you actually that worried?"

"Yeah." She looked over at him, "I was."

He shrugged, "I guess I should make you write 'Sirius won't die' on a chalkboard ten-thousand times, that might get the message across." He said, "I wonder if we have a chalkboard…we have to…somewhere…in here…"

"Never mind it…" She muttered, throwing the cut up fruit into a bag and putting it in the fridge before she sat at the table, "So what were you up to?"

"Killing people."

"Did it go well?"

"Yeah, pretty well…killed a vampire three times my age…"

"Oh yeah?" She asked, "Is…that hard?"

"Usually it is." He said, "See, I basically knocked someone off the Kindred ladder, and now I'm a peg higher, quite a few pegs, if I say so, myself." He smiled, "I'm just gonna keep getting more and more powerful, soon this city will just bend to my needs."

"Huh…well, as long as I'm not at risk."

"Nah, you're probably the safest person in the Jyhad."

"Okay…" She seemed to relax quite a bit.

"Jeez…you're always so tense…why don't you come sit next to me…?"

She stood up, "Do you just want to go on the couch? I don't think my ass'll fit next to you on that chair."

He licked his lips, "Hot damn, it won't. Alright, fair enough." He got up.

She headed into one of the many living rooms, sitting on the couch and holding her arms out for a cuddle. As soon as he sat down, she cuddled up next to him and closed her eyes. He held her close, rubbing her shoulders and really making sure to get in there, "I won't die, alright? I promise."

She closed her eyes and sighed, "Mmm….yeah…okay, thank you…"

"So if I take a late night fishing-slash-killing spree, I'll be back, okay?"

"Yeah. You'll be right back…" It was as if she was in some sort of trance.

"Damn, you sound completely wiped out…what have you been doing?"

"I don't know…worrying about you…" She looked up at him, "Family has always been my life…it's always been my priority, ever since I was adopted. I just wanted…I wanted to have a family, and keep them close and…" She sighed, "Care about them. You're my family now."

He hugged her head close to his chest, "Yeah…I understand…"

She closed her eyes, "I wish we could have kids." She said softly.

"…uh…yeah…you know…yeah…"

She looked back up at him, "What, do you not want them?"

"Uh…well…" He moved away from her, sitting on the edge of the couch, "I just…never really thought about it, that's all…"

She sat up, "Sorry…guess I shouldn't have…brought it up so early…"

"I mean…it is kinda early…sort of…what the hell even are we?"

"I don't know…" Her cheeks turned pink, "I thought it was pretty clear that…I really love you…"

"But why?"

"…do you not feel the same?"

"No Juliet. I like you. A lot."

"Do you love me?"

He nodded, "More than you know. Every time I'm away, I always think about you. Hell, I even _dream_ of you."

Her red lips curved into a smile, "Me too."

He looked ahead, Juliet had never seen him look so uncomfortable, "Having kids is a big part of what makes you happy though, isn't it?" He asked, "It's really a big part of your life. You just said it earlier. You're a family person. Even if you're a servant to a vampire, you want a family."

"…uh huh." She still looked over him, a little concerned, "And if you really don't want kids, I get it…you do a lot of dangerous work, and…kids really grow up aspiring to what their parents do…so…I get that."

"First of all, I'd be the dad, so the first thing they'd learn is how to lie and steal…second of all, you're a ghoul, so I have no idea _what_ would come outta you. Third of all, it…it's just dangerous…or…or not I don't know. I'm not being wishy-washy for the sake of it."

"We don't have to. It's fine."

"You probably already knew this, but I can't get you pregnant, either." He said, looking a little ashamed, "I'm uh…you know…obviously infertile…"

"I know, or I'd be really pregnant by now."

He gave a weak smile, "Still, having kids is something you want, isn't it? Ideally?"

"I mean, yeah, but it's too risky."

"I mean." He shrugged, "If I can protect you indefinitely, what's a bunch of rug rats?"

"I just think they'd want to know a lot about their daddy."

"I guess that'd be me?"

"Hopefully."

He snickered, his tongue peeking out briefly, "Look, I've never been a parent. I don't know if I'd be any good. Most of the time I'd be out at sea or out somewhere killing people depending on how long this war is gonna go on…"

"You'd be fine. Better than my ex…" She snorted, then hugged him close, "I'll help. I'll be with them most of the time anyway."

He hugged her back, "Don't worry. This place will always be safe. And I'll keep it that way."

She closed her eyes, "So do you want to just…adopt? Or should I go to a fertility clinic? Not any time soon, just, for future reference…"

"Whatever's easier."

"Well, would you want to sign a few forms and have a kid, or have me go through nine months of being a whale?"

"…I want to hear your choice…because I…I think you know what I'd pick."

She grinned, "Would someone want an extra heavy wife?" She asked, then she blushed, "I mean…if we were married…"

"Oh yeah…marriage…kinda forgot about that too…"

She giggled a bit, then cuddled into his chest, "Maybe I'm just a little loony…we don't need to change anything, I love what we have. I didn't mean to rush you into anything."

"I've just never been a commitment guy." He said, "Of course…you changed that." He bopped her nose.

She giggled, "Well, I don't want to take you out of your comfort zone."

"But I want to make you happy too. It's important to me."

She smiled, then kissed his lips, "Well, if I go to the clinic, I'll probably have a lot…they tend to embed a ton of embryos…and…I usually make a ton of kids anyway…"

"Yeah, this ain't making my horniness any better."

"Then do something about it."

He took his trench coat off, "You want me to do something about it, huh?"

"Yeah, I think you should."

He took his shirt off next, "Sorry…that…your weight and shit like that…is a turn on to me. That ain't weird, is it?"

"It's just really convenient for me."

"Convenient for me too." He took his pants off, "Why aren't you undressing?"

"Thought you'd handle that for me."

His tongue flickered out, "Jeez…the attitude on you…" He forced himself onto her, getting her blouse and shorts off, kissing her roughly. She kissed him back, running her fingers down his back and wrapping her legs around him. He anchored himself onto her, slipping his underwear off and pressing his throbbing erection against her, "Aw…thank god…that feels better…" He rubbed his length against her.

She bit her bottom lip and groaned, "F-Fuck…" She squirmed as she slid her panties off, "M-M-More…"

"Only if I can do this." He tore her bra off, latching his mouth around one of her breasts. As a result his shaft moved down and started rubbing against her leg.

She closed her eyes and gripped onto his head, "You should bite me…I bet you need the blood anyway…but…" She shuddered, "I want you to bite my thigh…"

"Not tonight…the last time that I happened, I creamed all over you…"

"And I loved it…"

He rolled his eye, "Let me touch you first, see where that leads us." She gave a restless nod, rubbing his shoulders. He started rubbing her stomach, followed by her lower abdomen, and depending on the noises she made, he delved closer and closer to her womanhood, until he actually started exploring her inside.

Her moans grew louder and louder until he reached his slender fingers into her opening, which caused her to gasp out his name. She pounded a fist in the cushions, her head rolling over to the side as she tried to stabilize her breathing. He could feel her squeezing around him tighter and tighter as she approached her climax.

"See…the problem with biting your ass is that I don't have anywhere to ejaculate…aside from your feet…maybe…but…even that's a hard angle…I want to drench you." He said nonchalantly as he kept masturbating her.

She gave a ridged nod, squeezing the sheets, "Y-You can bite my neck…and d-do—Ah!" She shuddered and sighed his name as her legs squeezed around him, "…do me…from that angle…" She panted.

"…I really wanted to slide in their tonight…maybe I'll bite you first…then try and do it or something…" He wondered, "Am I hurting something?"

"No…no…not….not at all…" She had pretty much gone limp in his arms.

He did a bit more exploring, then he took his hand out, "So…bite, then fuck?"

"Okay…" She smiled as he crept up so their eyes met, then gently licked her neck, both with his normal tongue and his snake tongue as he bit into her and drank. He only drank a small amount, but it was just enough to set her over the edge. She felt like she wasn't even alive, like she had lapsed into some sort of trance that only consisted of pure bliss.

As he licked the wound clean, he watched for her legs to spread, and he finally soothed his enlarged shaft by soaking it in Juliet's sex. The penetration was simple yet ruthless, for he kept thrusting into her with a vengeance. She bit her lip and groaned as he started a brutal rhythm, but with the size of her hips, she was able to keep up with him with ease. One of her arms wrapped up around his upper body, where her hand landed in his hair. The other arm strayed down and grasped onto his rear, aiding their pace.

With his arms, he squeezed her close so she could feel every second of it, and it took a long while before he finally tired out, as she could feel that the lust in him had been building up since the beginning of the night. Her breathing was raspy as he finally pulled out, and he felt a significant loss in heat from moving away from her.

"Damn…" He gave her a squeeze, "You alright?"

"…yeah…"

"Christ…don't die on me." He felt her face with both hands, "I guess I'll…scale it back a little…next time…"

"I'm not dead…" She smiled and kissed his lips briefly, "I'm just wiped out…"

"Right…" He smiled, kissing her back, "I guess we should get some sleep in that case."

"Yeah, sounds good…" She held him close, "You might have to…to tone down the fucking when I'm pregnant…"

"Aw…fair enough…"

"Thanks for…for doing this for me…"

"Yeah, yeah, no problem." He squeezed her again, "Goodnight Juliet."

"Nighty night…"

* * *

 **A/N:** Picturing what Sirius's kids would grow up into is a good laugh, but unfortunately, they're probably going to be infants by the time the series is over… :'( Thanks for reading!


	48. Chapter 48

**A/N:** Here's chapter forty-eight! Vengeance is scored…or is it? Enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs.

* * *

"Mister Vanderbilt, there you are." Cadmus heard as soon as he entered the red tower again from a mission, "How have you been?" Phaedra stepped over.

He raised a brow, "Fine." He brushed past head her, presumably heading towards his room.

She paused, then followed after him, "I'd like to have a word with you, Vanderbilt."

"Tch." He said, "Is that right?" He reached for the doorknob to his room.

"What did I do to upset you?"

"Nothing." He opened the door, shutting it behind him.

She raised a brow, then opened the door and walked in, "So, if there's nothing on your mind, would you mind helping me with something?"

"God, what the hell do you help with _now?_ "

"Dinner?"

"Fine. Whatever. Let's go…kill someone, so you can eat." He whirled around and headed out of his room.

She followed after him, "So…what have you been up to?"

"Stuff."

"Vanderbilt."

He closed his eyes, "What?"

"What have I done to upset you?"

He didn't respond.

There was a bit of a pause, "I was born in Greece. Raised in Italy." She said, "My parents were Greek, so they brought with them their culture. They raised me under the Greek ideals, that women were to get married and produce children to survive." She said, then she wafted a hand, "I digress. A month before I arrived here, I met with my sire. Pisha. I loved her since my Embrace, she inspired me to pursue my talents and passion in archeology. She rejected me more times than I could count." She said, "But I relinquished the idea of eternal life with her. She expressed no desire to have me in her life. She had disowned me in fear of her own death. So, I came to Los Angeles, where she stated she met people accepting of her clan. I hoped to find friends, perhaps love." She sighed thoughtfully as the doors closed behind them and they headed out for the streets.

"And then I came here." She continued, "And met many friendly faces. I'd…never had friends, before I came here. It was nearly overbearing for me to adapt. And I met a beautiful girl named Rainy who entertained my romantic inclinations…before I learned she was in love with another." She raised a hand in the air, "Just the other night, we ended our relations so she could successfully pursue her new lover. That's…what I've been up to." She looked over at him, "Reflecting on how all the friends I've found have…now, turned their backs. Reflecting on how lonely I will be as I reach my final death. And most importantly, reflecting on every warning my sire ever told me. How true every word she spoke about…finding any form of happiness in this world of darkness is…how simply impossible it is."

"My wife died."

"Did she?" She asked, "I'm very sorry about that, dear."

"You know, sometimes I'm surprised you're not a Toreador. Really, aside from the teeth, it would fit you like a glove."

"Mmm, yes, Pisha's said the same."

"So you and Rainy really broke up?"

"Yes. I knew we were on the way out."

"You know, I guess it is nosy of me to pry into your personal life like that…"

"I don't consider that for friends."

"What other friends have you made?"

"The Prince. A Samedi in the Camarilla who I've only seen once or twice." She looked back over at him, "Rainy."

"So…when I started ignoring you…"

"I'm quite hungry."

He rolled his eyes, "You can't just…rely on others to feed you…I said I'd help…but…I also said I can't always be there for you."

"I understand. But, every time I've gone out alone, I've been hunted."

"Yes, the Setite, I met him the other day."

"Yes, and the Sabbat." She said, "The Prince had me in Santa Monica when the Sabbat took it."

"I heard about that." He said, "The Setite is an Anarch. I saw him at the Last Round, when I was looking for my sister."

"Is that so?" She asked, "Well, he's also a Setite. I hear their loyalties can stray."

"I told him that I was gonna kill him."

She smiled, "Thank you."

"You need to grow a backbone."

She let out a light sigh, "I know. Would you help me?"

He gave a small smile, "I did offer training before." He said, "I'm sorry. I was being a jerk."

"I was also…quite intolerable. I suppose my fear of dying alone turned into something more toxic."

"I mean…there was just this girl…who was pretty flirty, and it backfired…big time. But…I already told you about that…"

"Mmm. I haven't acted in such a manner since that night. Again, I feel sorry as well."

"It's fine…you weren't…really doing anything wrong. I just…you gotta realize that we all get 'hunted' to an extent. And it affects all of our feeding schedules. I'll help you as much as I can. But part of it relies on your strength, and your ability to forge allies in the Jyhad. Those are two vital tools to the Camarilla. But, again, I'll help you."

* * *

 _What's the difference between normal food and Chinese food? I don't fucking get it. I'm going to wring her puny neck._ The door popped open from a cab, the smoggy air billowed into the vehicle as a figure stepped out. He threw a handful of crinkled green papers at the driver before he got out and looked around, his snarl ever-present.

 _I'd Embrace the little brat, but Cadmus'd push me into a meat grinder._ He kept to the shadows, as much as he could, scoping around for a Chinese food place. Problem was, nearly every restaurant was closed. _The hell kind of food place doesn't stay open all night? Talk about losing business…fuck this…_ He was about to turn around and head back for the cab when he heard an incredibly deep voice, "Kindred!" He yelled, "You struck down my triad!"

He turned over his shoulder, just enough to get a look at the man. His eyes widened a bit, "Ah, shit…"

Jun pointed at him, "We shall weigh their lives with a counterbalance of yours."

"Yeah, I don't think so, pal." He turned around and held his fists out, thankful the streets were pretty empty so he wouldn't get another Masquerade Violation. He flared up Fortitude for extra measure, of course.

Jun narrowed his eyes, recognizing that green glow from a previous opponent, he held his hands out, "You may make the first move."

"Oh yeah? Thanks." He grinned before he ran forward to punch him in the chest. Jun crafted a sword of fire and a sword of blood out of thin air. He crossed both in front of himself as a defensive measure.

The sound of Ferrum's fist coming in contact with the blood sword was nearly made a metallic sound. Ferrum met his eye before he shifted his weight to kick him in the stomach. Jun jumped back, running at him again, with his flame sword out further than his blood sword.

Ferrum skittered back until he tripped over an empty paper cup and fell to the ground. It was that fall that ultimately saved him, since Jun nearly stumbled over him as well. Ferrum quickly scrambled to his feet before Jun landed a hit on him from the ground.

"Alright, enough screwin' around." Ferrum said before he activated his war-form. There he stood, smaller than the actual creature by a foot or so, but nonetheless, he still carried the same fear-factor of the grizzly bear he had transformed into. He stood on his hind legs and gave a deep roar.

Jun tried to hide his shock. Though the man was so massive that even in war-form, Ferrum was only a little bit taller than him, "Do your worst, Kindred." He said lowly, "But whatever beast you chose to be, you're still weak to fire."

Ferrum reeled a massive paw back to swat him in the face. Jun ducked and went in to slash his lower body with both his swords. He grunted as he took the hit, a good deal of stinking smoke filled the air where the flame sword gouged in. He stumbled back and stood on all fours before he charged in to headbutt him. Jun growled as he was pushed back before he took a deep breath, spewing flames at Ferrum from his mouth like a dragon. The flames were all multicolored, some orange, some blue, some green.

The bear roared and cowered out of the way, watching the flames fill the sky. _I gotta get the hell outta here._ He turned and started galloping off as fast as he could, which surprised himself. Bears could be pretty fast.

A red tentacle latched itself around Ferrum's back leg, "Not so fast Kindred." Ferrum turned to see that Jun replaced the arm holding a blood sword with a bloody tentacle. His dark eyes were wide as he tried to pull away. _What's the worst that can happen from losing a leg? I got three more…_ Jun swore under his breath, pulling back. His spare arm still held the flaming sword tightly.

A gunshot was heard. Jun winced as his tentacle whipped back towards him and turned back into his arm, "Now, now, what do we have here?"

Jun glared at the new visitor, "Who the hell are you?"

Smoke came from the barrel of Sirius's pistol, "None of your business. Now why don't I test something out on you?"

Jun narrowed his eyes, holding his flame sword firm. Ferrum didn't hesitate, he got a good look at the stranger before he booked it.

Sirius snickered, relying on his powers of Serpentis to transform into a large snake. He hissed menacingly at Jun. "First a bear, and now a snake?" Jun frowned, "Very well, Kindred. I will strike you down."

* * *

When Sam left the red tower that night, he saw a familiar figure standing on the very edge of the road, her hands on her hips as cars drove by and dragged her hair in the wind. One car drove by a little too close, honking their horn and throwing a half-empty fast-food cup at her. She stumbled back as she was hit, stumbling back on her bum and brushing her dark hair out of her face.

His eyes narrowed, immediately activating the Obfuscate power Mask of a Thousand Faces, "Halcyon!" He called.

She looked up, quickly getting to her feet, "Samuel!" As she ran closer, he saw that she was completely covered in sticky soda.

"What in the world happened to you now?"

"I…I…" She looked down at herself, then back up, "I found work. Good work!" She said, "I receive pay now for…dancing with strangers. But, but, the pay is quite good." She said, then grasped Sam's shoulders, "You cannot tell my sisters."

He nodded, "Right. Let's get you a taxi ride home."

"Yes, yes, thank you." She said, "Will you be visiting for dinner?"

"If it isn't much trouble." He said, eventually whistling for a taxi.

"Yes, I would like that." She smiled as they got in the taxi. Once they started driving, she looked down at herself, "Ugh…I reek of wretched human nectar…"

He smiled, "You'll just have to shower off again."

"Mmm…yes." She mused, "Would you like to help me cleanse it away?"

His eyes widened, "No, no, I wouldn't want to intrude."

She giggled, "How sensitive." She purred as they exited the vehicle and headed to her apartment, "You'll have to play with my story, the way my yellow sister plays with hers. We cannot let her know of my true profession. I will give her over five hundred dollars, she will want answers. I haven't woven a story yet…"

"That's a rather tall order." Sam said, "You're awful lucky I lie and deceive for a living. Hiding in the shadows and blinding others with falsehoods is what I do."

She grinned, "Who else would I ask?"

"I'm not entirely sure."

They entered the apartment, Iphigenia about to hug Halcyon before Halcyon backed away, "What, what's wrong?" Iphigenia asked.

"The people's nectar was thrown at me in the huff of an angered prepubescent." She said, "I need bathing." She took a large wad of cash from her top and handed it to Iphigenia before she went into another room.

Iphigenia seemed quite floored as she flipped through the money, "Did you…know where she got this…?"

"Strauss had me empty a pirate ship of its occupants." Sam said, "Needless to say, there were a lot of riches that they were…not using…as they were ash."

"I…I can't take your money…We hardly know each other." Iphigenia's golden eyes met his gaze, but her face didn't leave the direction of the cash.

"Halcyon doesn't say much, but I realize she needs help from time to time." He said, "Just take it. You're a Camarilla ally anyway."

"Of course…I can't thank you enough." She said, then went to the fridge and poured him a drink, "Please." The money found a home in a drawer in the counter. Part of him wondered just how safe that was.

He sat at the table, taking a sip of the blood, "I appreciate this. It isn't often I can dine with my allies."

"Really?" She asked, pouring herself a glass and sitting across from him, "Such a generous man, I don't see why not."

"It's the tasks I'm assigned. They're not very social, in nature."

"Ah, I see…I suppose that really can make or break one's social structure." She mused as she took a sip, "What clan do you reside to?"

"Ventrue." He fibbed, "One of the few and the proud, if I'm not mistaken."

"Ah, of course. Are you relatively new in this city?"

"I arrived shortly after Strauss took power. I'm no stranger to the Camarilla, though I worked primarily in Chicago, and New York for a short while, before coming here."

"Yes, of course. Well, there are still plenty of Ventrue working in the tower, I'm sure you'll meet some of them."

Halcyon came in, now wearing just a large white tee shirt, "Sister, I'm quite thirsty…"

"Right." Iphigenia stood up and got a glass out, pouring her some water before handing it to her sister. Halcyon took it and drank it quite quickly, "I suppose I'll leave you two for the evening." Iphigenia said, "Wine is in the refrigerator." She said as she clicked off into her bedroom.

Sam drank from his glass, a lot was on his mind. It was clear that another session with Halcyon would start soon. But he wasn't sure how he felt about the fact that she slept with countless other people in addition to him. This wasn't the sort of person he was. In his mortal life, he was always the gentlemen, he wouldn't consort with tramps or any of the like. But for a tramp, Halcyon was sweet, and well-spoken. Quite proper, despite her occupation. She was growing on him, whether he liked it or not.

Of course, not he couldn't be really picky, being a Samedi.

Halcyon smiled and crossed her legs where she sat, "So what were your plans on this fine eve?"

"Oh, I'm not sure." He said. She didn't look bad either, and of course since she was a ghoul, she would stay that way. But considering her regnant was Jeanette, it meant all bets were off in terms of promiscuity.

"Well, you have all night. That is, until the sun rolls into the sky and burns you away. But, you are welcome to stay the night, to hide from your kryptonite. My bed offers a lovely shaded recluse."

"I'm afraid I'll have to leave at some point. That's just the sort of job I have."

"Yes. I understand." She said curtly.

"Well, aside from your run-in with the bloke with the soda, how have you been?"

"How have I been?" She asked herself, "I'm not sure…" She said softly, "I must be honest, Samuel, I dislike the lengths I must travel to earn money. The men on the streets who seek my company…treat me like…" She shook her head, "Simply a toy." She stared at the floor, "For me, enjoyment stems from the reverence men give to me. The awe in their eye, like I am Cleopatra. But…when I'm viewed as a plaything and dirt…" She looked back up, "The fun is lost."

"And how often are you revered?"

"When I was a dancer. It was my golden age. And then the Velvet was torn away from the Volcano."

"The city was taken by the Sabbat."

"Yes…the red devils took Hollywood. And Santa Monica. Jeanette is lost to me, and I seek her blood…" She drooped a bit, "It has driven me quite weary."

"We will reclaim those cities, I'm sure." He said, "This Sabbat is nothing special."

"Good…your confidence builds my own."

"Strauss is a wise, practical leader. He will do great things with his Princedom."

She gave a little nod, then sat back, "Would you like me to take you home or…?"

"You look exhausted." He drained the rest of his glass. "You shouldn't go out again tonight. You need rest."

"No, I do not plan to leave..."

He stood up, "Did you want me to go to your bedroom with you?"

"Yes, I would like that very much." She stood up and took his hand as they entered her bedroom, "Would you like to share corporeal pleasure betwixt the sheets?"

"If you're up for it."

She smiled and laid herself out on the bed, peeling her shirt off. He started taking his suit off, as well as his hat, "Focus on resting, you can let me take the lead if you need to."

"I would enjoy that…" She confessed, closing her eyes and laying back entirely.

Once he was stripped down to his underwear, he gently laid over her. Was he really going to do this again? Surely she would find out one day. What he really was. But he was going to enjoy it while he could now. Enjoy it while it lasted, at least. He started kissing her repeatedly, giving her body a gentle squeeze. She wrapped her arms around him, kissing him back languidly as she slowly wrapped her legs around him.

He rubbed a hand up her stomach, squeezing her a bit tighter, "You're sure you want to do this? I could just as easily wait until some other time."

Her eyes flittered closed, "You would be neglected…"

"Seeing you is all I need."

She smiled, "You're a flatterer, Samuel…you break my heart."

"It isn't often I communicate with others. I'm a natural loner. I enjoy your company, with or without the intimacy behind it."

She looped her arms around his neck and laid in bed with him, "It isn't every night I lie with another man in a simply…wholesome embrace…"

He kissed her, "I suppose not."

She closed her eyes, "Thank you, Samuel…" She slowly let him go, "You may go…"

"I can stay a few minutes, if you'd like. Until you go to sleep."

She smiled with her teeth, then kissed him again, "Thank you very much…pirate hunter…" Her eyes closed slowly.

He rolled his eyes, "Goodnight Halcyon."

"Goodnight…."

* * *

 **A/N:** Ha, you thought that would be a bang…Well, what'd you think? Feel free to let us know with a review! Thanks for reading!


	49. Chapter 49

**A/N:** Here's chapter forty-nine! With this chapter and the next, we usher in an era of peace, with more lax scenes. Well, that doesn't mean we'll hold back on the drama. Enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs. Also, there is some potent portions of sexual content, if you're not a fan. Also, the bar name Elbow Room is from the Clan Quest Mod and the Gargoyle in Confessions idea is a part of the Antitribu Mod

* * *

Killian imagined it would have been impossible to cross the streets without being Sabbat. He wondered if Isaac was even alive.

As the little bell in the store chimed, he knew Isaac was still alright, "Hey." He avoided his gaze, he couldn't even face him.

"Killian." Isaac's face lit up, "I'm glad to see you back. I never thought I'd see you again."

Killian slowly looked up at him, waiting a minute before he said, "I can't tell if you're pissed at me or not…"

"No…I…heard some of your circumstances through the grapevine." He said, "You really think I wouldn't notice that this whole scheme reeks of your father?"

"I'm not surprised." He muttered and leaned against the table, as he always did, "Thought you'd tear my head off for…taking him up on his offer. I would've left already but…VV's still under his fist."

"Look, I am a little disappointed that you fell from grace and took Archie's bait. But you came back around. For now, that's all that matters. Now you have information on the Sabbat, and more importantly, where VV is. People have been asking that for months."

"I know." Killian seethed, "I'm going to kill him. My dad. I'll kill him and bring V back to Vesuvius."

He nodded, "I'm sure he and Garret have been haunting her for decades now. It would be nice to…free her from those influences."

He sighed, "I don't know if I can do it. If I can kill him."

"That's completely understandable. As wicked as he is, he's still your father."

"You think I should do it?"

"I think you're in a position that's close to him, and he wouldn't see it coming, so objectively, it would make sense. Unless it wouldn't bother you if one of our men or if someone in the Camarilla killed him."

He paused, then looked back at Isaac, a serious look in his eye. It was something Isaac really hadn't ever seen, nonetheless, something he had been waiting to see for years, "You're safe here?"

"Yes. I have more reinforcements than the Camarilla would believe. I am safe from the Sabbat who have infested the city."

He nodded and stood up, crossing his arms, "I'm just thankful the Anarchs let me back in." He muttered, "I still think Anastasia and Skelter are gonna kill me in my sleep. But, I'm gonna be out of the country soon anyway." He looked back at Isaac, "The Anarchs are planning an assassination on Madison. I pulled the short straw, I guess, I'm getting the Blood Hunt called on me."

"You're going to kill the Tremere Primogen?"

"I'm going to hit him with the tranquilizer."

"I see." He said, "Surely, Nines has some sort of smokescreen plan so no one figures out it's you, right?"

Killian waited a beat, "Well, I volunteered to take the hit." He muttered, "I've caused enough shit for the Anarchs, the least I can do is take the hit for a Blood Hunt. I'll just go to Canada." He paused, "Maybe I'll find Ash Rivers." He snorted.

"…his club has been completely taken over…"

"Has it? Sabbat?"

"I'm not sure. The Asp Hole was sold around the first week of April. Now a new club took it's place. It's called the Elbow Room." He shrugged, "It _could_ be Sabbat. I hope it's just some human gathering or some nonsense."

"Need me to look into it?"

He thought about it, "If you have time. Be careful though, it could be Kindred related. I don't know who's behind any of it."

"Yeah, I'll give it some attention if I got time." He said, "I should go."

"Right." He nodded, "It's good that you're back, Killian."

* * *

The wind seemed to swipe at his trench coat a bit more recklessly. As if the night air itself could read Sam's mood. The graveyard itself wasn't any less chilling than it ought to be, but to Sam, it was like a second home. One where he could visit to catalogue his many thoughts about the night, or about Jyhad, or about his life and un-life.

And the thing on his mind was of course, Halcyon. It was funny, her name was exactly the opposite of how he felt right now. Previously he was a stoic warrior who fought under Strauss's orders. Now he couldn't tell whether his connection with Halcyon was enhancing his work or ruining it.

Maybe if they were in a different time it would have worked. In his time, in the eighteen hundreds, or perhaps some distant time in the future. She was everything he could have wanted in a girl. She reached out to him even though he reeked and was the foulest being on the planet (of course, this was with his masterful Obfuscate up).

But he had to share her. On a good day she was a dancer for Vesuvius, when it was back in business. Even that bothered him. Every time he was on the streets and he heard either Halcyon's name drop or someone describing her looks or mannerisms, it gave him chills and made his dead heart sink.

Beggars couldn't be choosers, he reminded himself. As a Samedi, he should be lucky he's getting any contact from a warm, affectionate human. He had studied death for centuries, and worked as an assassin for longer still. And now this mess with Halcyon had complicated all of his work, all of his thoughts, and all of his emotions.

He restlessly continued to angrily stab his walking stick into the ground, until he stopped and stood still in the cemetery, staring at the starry sky and the full moon.

But it wasn't the eighteen hundreds anymore. What did he think, that she was going to be his happy wife in a cottage or log cabin and that would be that? He looked at his hand, flesh fell off it every minute. The fact that he forgot that he was a rotting corpse whenever he was with Halcyon was beyond foolish. He couldn't just, pretend to be a human, to love her and hold her in a cathedral. He was old-fashioned, put lightly. The times have now, finally gotten away from him. He wasn't her first choice. He probably wasn't even her hundredth choice. She probably sees him as an old, slightly creepy grandfather figure. Eventually she'll put two and two together and figure out what he really is.

If not her, then her sister, Iphigenia could use Auspex _once_ and it would be over. She would see the rotting corpse behind the illusion. He duped himself into thinking that this was romance, that this was a real relationship, when in reality it was just a tale of beauty and the beast gone horribly, horribly wrong. He thought murdering Jack would satiate some of his anger, but it did nothing.

"I'm afraid I haven't found that piece for you yet, Samuel!" Sam heard a familiar voice over the hill before he turned and saw Phaedra heading down.

"Hmm?" He turned around, "Hello Phaedra."

"Hello Samuel." She smiled, "How have you been?"

"Fine." He said, "I've been busy with the work Strauss has been assigning me, of course."

"Mmm, I'm sure." She leaned against one of the headstones, "Any interesting tasks?"

"Oh, he just had me kill an entire pirate crew at sea…"

"Really? Pirates were an issue for the Prince?"

"These were."

"Hmm. I never would have guessed." She said, "I suppose they went down without a hitch."

"Oh, it was quite splendid fun."

She laughed, "You know, they say you never work a day in your life if you have fun."

"Well, I enjoy murdering fools in cold blood. Or rotting them to the core. There are a lot of options for me."

She chuckled softly, "You sound as if you are reaping the benefits of life."

"I'm not sure such a saying applies to someone like me."

"Oh?"

"No vampire is closer to death than me." He said, "I am a being straddling the line between life and death, all I can do in this state is study and hide in the shadows."

"…I don't think anyone has summed up my current feelings on the un-life better than you have."

"Is that right?"

"Mmm hmm…"

He tapped his cane on the ground, "Those with Necromancy usually are the furthest removed from both living and dead society, with the exclusion of the Giovanni."

"Hmm…" She mused, "Yes, that makes sense. My only other ally called me spineless. I wasn't sure how to feel about that."

"You only other ally?"

"Yes, a Mister Vanderbilt in the Camarilla. He helps me hunt."

"You've met Cadmus?" He smiled, "Strauss told me quite a bit of him. A valuable ally of the Camarilla, no doubt because of the part he took in riding the state of the corrupt Prince LaCroix. He's quite a charismatic figure for one so young." He chuckled, "I suppose his wording is a little bit on the awkward side, then."

"He means well, of course. But, he's young."

"What caused the comment in the first place?"

"He was irritated by my flirtatious nature." She said, "My defense was loneliness."

He looked bitter, "I'm not sure how I could relate to that…"

She chuckled softly, "Well, I certainly don't want to die alone."

"You're complaining to the wrong person about this."

"You don't ever feel fear remaining unloved?"

"Since I was born I was unloved, and naturally, when I was Embraced, I knew such a phenomenon would never happen again. That's the sort of existence I lead. Take one look at me." He held his arms out.

She smiled warmly, "Love comes in all shapes and forms."

"I'm sure it does, for Kindred like you, possibly."

"Now, what makes us any different? Your clan does not define who you must be."

"I'm sure you can smell me from over there. I'm no mere Nosferatu, this goes beyond appearance. I'm nothing. I am a decaying corpse."

"Hmm…if you insist." She looked over at him, then up at the stars. "I learned it's the Anarchs. One Anarch in particular, that Setite."

"The one who's been hunting you for quite some time now?"

"Yes, Vanderbilt informed me that he is an Anarch."

"Is that right?" He asked, smiling, then he broke out into a loud laugh.

"Hmm? What's so funny?" She smiled.

"It's nothing." He said, "I should be off…Strauss might have more orders for me…"

"Mmm…yes, of course. Good evening, dear. I will look for the piece on my next expedition…when I deem it safe enough to leave the tower for a reasonable amount of time."

"Yes, of course. Goodnight Phaedra."

* * *

The inside of Confessions was still the same. Like nothing had changed. Not even Venus looked different. Like she had never met him, just mixing and pouring a drink with one hand and cleaning the counters with another.

"Hello, darling." She saw Victor enter the club, with his hands in his pockets, "Will you need a few minutes to close up?"

She passed a few drinks out, "Mmm, I think so. Something the matter?"

"Take your time." He smiled, "I'll be wandering."

It took about fifteen minutes of people-watching before Venus started cleaning things up and asking people to leave. Luckily, there were no rowdy teenagers to cause issues. She locked the doors before she turned to Victor, "I don't know why I haven't thought of this before." She said, sauntering over to him, "I want you to fuck me in a church, Victor."

"Oh…dear…rather forward…aren't we…tonight?" He smiled, "Although, I suppose it isn't anything new with you…can we…can we go to the basement first? While you were closing up…I…I discovered something…down there…"

"The basement here?" She asked.

"That's right." He held her shoulders, "I was snooping around."

"Oh, alright." She took his hand, "Can't say I've been down there in quite a while."

They headed down to the basement, a handful of dusty crates here and there, but what most likely caught Victor's attention was the large stone stature of a horrid monster. Most likely a forgotten gothic decoration, "Where did you get this?"

"Hmm? Oh, that? I think one of my parents sent it from England. They thought I would like it. I knew if I put it in the courtyard, some goths would come and take it in the dark of the night."

He chuckled for a while, "How interesting." He said, "It's not a stature. It's a Gargoyle in torpor."

"…like, the monster?"

He nodded, "I'd like to have it, if it's possible."

"It's all yours."

He smile grew, "Excellent. Now all I have to do is slaughter a werewolf and feed its blood to the creature. It will wake up, and I shall control it…"

"…are werewolves that easy to…find and…bleed?"

"On, no, not at all." He said, "But, a lot of weaker vampires can be killed by werewolves. I'm different."

She chuckled softly, "Yes, of course."

"Well, shall we commence with this sacred church soiling? I don't want to keep you waiting any longer."

"You didn't have anything to talk about?" She asked as she slowly stepped closer.

"Well…I didn't mean to be dreary…my…horrid reputation in the Chantry still stands, but this is hardly news…"

"Horrid reputation?" She asked, "What are you talking about?" She gently embraced him, tracing her fingers over his collar and tie.

"Iphigenia…had…had many problems with me…" He said, "And…Delilah wasn't very fond of me either…until the other night…"

"Oh, well, you know how those two can be. Quite sassy when the time comes to it. And I'm sure they're stressed."

"I'm hardly one to just…dismiss all their feelings towards me as 'stress'." He said, "I've been thinking about relinquishing my title…"

"What? No, you couldn't."

"But what does a Magister do?" He asked, "They teach the apprentices. And I'm not even doing that well, therefore, I technically do not deserve the title."

"I'm sure considering the circumstances, it must be different."

"I suppose." He squeezed her tight, "You…you don't hate me…do you?"

"Of course not. What is there to hate about you?" She looked up at him, "I think you're stressing _yourself_ out, love."

He nodded, "Perhaps pleasuring you will help ease my headache…"

"Mmm, let's try and find out."

"Did you want to partake down here, or did you have somewhere else in mind?"

"The counter. Upstairs."

"You want to be soiled on the counter?"

"Yes." She smirked in his arms.

He laughed for a bit, "Go, go on then. Lead the way, and be as arousing as you can as you do so."

"Oh, I will." She let go of her grasp around him and went up the stairs with a particular sway to her hips, strutting across the floors until she slowly leaned against the counter, flourishing her hands and opening her hips for him.

He licked his lips, taking his trench coat off, with his suit quickly afterwards, "I want you so badly…" He whispered. She chuckled softly and pulled her shorts down just past one hip, pulling her shirt up a bit as well.

He unbuttoned his shirt and tossed it aside, taking his gloves, boots and pants off as well. He then pressed himself up against her, kissing her madly and rubbing a hand over her stomach. She sighed and closed her eyes, kissing him back and hooking a leg up around his waist.

He wrapped an arm around her to keep her secure, sucking on her purple lips madly and sighing loudly as he tasted them, causing him to suck even more. His other hand grabbed at her breasts, as he was too impatient to wait until her top came off. She giggled and squirmed her hips beneath him before they slid off and hit the ground. She suddenly wrapped her legs around him and let him carry all her weight.

He pushed himself onto her so that they were both on the countertop, ripping her top off and squeezing both her breasts as he kept kissing her. He gradually slid his underwear down, teasing her with his length occasionally.

She bit her lip and frantically yanked her panties past one hip, allowing just enough space for his passage. She kissed along his neck and jawline, tracing her fingers down the center of his chest. He sighed her name deeply, massaging her breasts and occasionally teasing her nipples. He had absolutely no regrets feeling up her chest and groaning as he did so.

She let out a nearly pathetic sounding moan as she shook in his grasp, her nails in his shoulders as she tugged him in closer with her legs. He licked his lips and went down slightly to give her nipple a wet kiss, then he anchored both hands on her rear and gently humped his length on her lower abdomen. She gasped and grasped onto the counter to steady herself, "Victor!"

He smirked and sunk his length into her, letting out a long, loud, relieved groan as he felt his load lessen as he plunged inside her. She gasped a few more times before she finally let out a high pitched moan, hoping the people on the streets outside could hear. It was as if she was submerged underwater and finally resurfaced.

He gripped onto her butt as he kept penetrating her, eventually a hand went up and cupped around her breast, squeezing it mercilessly. Her arms locked around his neck, keeping them close in proximity, and giving her a stable balance as the counter creaked over and over against their weight.

He kissed either her cheek or her lips depending on how much noise she was making, and the duration was quite impactful, given the amount of stress he was going through. Of course, this is when she wasn't throwing her face to the sky and screaming his name in ecstasy, shuddering and clawing at him.

It was quite a while before she finally seemed to calm down and exhaust herself. He could tell when she completely flopped in his arms. "Sorry…" He said.

"Stop…"

He kissed her lips, "We may have to relocate…so the sun doesn't hit me…"

"Did you want to sleep in the basement?" She snickered.

"Hmm…I suppose it will have to be that…" She laughed, then grabbed his hand and pulled him downstairs with her, most likely for another round.

* * *

 **A/N:** Two characters feeling the heat of judgement from others in that one...hope you liked it! Thanks for reading!


	50. Chapter 50

**A/N:** Here's chapter fifty! Remember how I said there was no plot in these two chapters? Surprise. It's chapter fifty, what do you want from us?

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs. Also there is a romp towards the end, if you're not a fan.

* * *

"Breaker-breaker, I got a tengo-cache on the twenty-up-down walk, you copy?"

"Killian, quit fucking around." Nines's voice cut over the walkie-talkie, "You see someone?"

"Nah." He stood up and adjusted his ski mask, "Where the fuck did you get these masks, feels like they're made of steel wool…"

"Save the communications for something serious." Nines said.

Killian sighed and continued to peer around, strapping the walkie-talkie back to his belt, "Well, I don't see jack shit."

The view from the top of a skyscraper was nice at least. He had a clear view of most of the streets and the cars on them, most of the pedestrians and homeless people. He also had a clear view of Skelter and Anastasia on opposite sides of the city, scoping around for anyone. He couldn't see Nines or Catalina, since they were hiding, and doing pretty well, too.

He could see the red tower, since he was positioned right next to it. By extension, he could see the Chantry too. He didn't need good scope on his sniper, he was close enough.

Meanwhile, on the ground, Skelter tried to look as civilian as possible. He had handfuls of lead in his pockets, and two pistols in his belt, but he seemed innocent enough. He kept his hands in his pockets and a steady stream of air into his nose, trying to see if there were any threats nearby. He was honestly surprised there weren't. For now, at least.

And then the door to the Chantry opened.

Killian grabbed the gun and aimed it for his chest. "I got him."

"Where?" Nines's voice was as cold as steel.

"Outside the Chantry. Want me to fire?"

"No."

"No?" Killian seemed shocked, "Nines? Nines?"

He got no response.

As Victor headed to the red tower, he saw a familiar figure leaning against the wall of a building, lighting a cigarette. He looked up at the Primogen but said nothing.

Killian could see the exchange from where he was. He could also see Catalina hidden in a nearby alleyway in case things went awry.

Victor raised a brow, "Is that you Armando?" He asked, "What are you doing there, planning your next thievery?"

He snickered, "Yeah, how'd you guess?"

"You look in such a foul mood." He grinned, "I can't imagine why."

"Oh, really? Killing him was one of your biggest mistakes." He puffed some smoke in the air, "And not because I'm pissed. Because _we_ are."

He rolled his eyes, "Shouldn't you cretins be packing your bags and leaving the state before you all follow him to hell?"

"If we gave up that easy, it'd be no fun for your Prince."

"I'm sure we'll hardly remember you, what with the Sabbat presence here."

"Yeah, and that'll be your biggest mistake." Nines subtly hit his hand against the walkie-talkie, tapping it a few times to send the sound Killian's way.

Killian heard the tapping, "What the fuck does that mean?" He asked himself, not daring to interfere in their conversation, "Does he want me to shoot…?" He aimed the gun, "Fuck it." He fired at the Primogen, surprising himself when the dart struck right in the chest. He only let the joy last a few seconds before he quickly reloaded and looked around for either more Tremere, or just Camarilla members in general.

Victor gasped, reaching down and tearing the projectile out of him, "What sorcery is this?" He asked, "What…what am I…to you…a boar?" He asked, as his posture faded, his eyelids had trouble staying open.

Nines tried to hide the smirk on his face, but he couldn't. He was doubtful the tranquilizers would even work, and was shocked that they did. But, he might need another. "Wasn't me."

He fell to a knee, growling at his own stupidity for falling for such a ruse. "I should have known…you…stupid…bleeding Anarchs…you hunted me like I was some sort of prized elephant. I should have guessed…"

"This isn't for Jack." Nines said, "This was unrelated." He stepped away from the shadows, "This was for hunting us. This was for striking fear in our people, enough to ward us away. Jack's vengeance will come in a different way, a different time. A bloodier time."

Victor fell back, holding a hand in front of his face, fighting to stay _awake_ even, "Tranquilizers…you couldn't have expected for this to work…our blood flows differently than the mortals…though, I suppose that's how you Anarchs win, isn't it? By dumb luck."

"Not luck. Try karma." He tapped the walkie-talkie again.

Killian did a double take, "Again? But…he's passed out…" He muttered before he fired again. Victor let out a spare cough before he finally fainted.

Nines scooped him up before he grabbed the walkie-talkie and started running, "I got him. Passed out. Killian, keep an eye on the tower and Chantry, Catalina, retreat to the Last Round. Skelter, 'Stasia, how are the streets?"

"Fine." Anastasia said, "Aw…shit…scratch that…" She said, as she and Skelter heard the deafening hum of a helicopter fly over their heads. It sped over to Victor's fallen body.

The occupants got out one by one. First it was Cadmus, and he was flanked by Miranda and Prospero, more occupants were getting out as the helicopter itself flew up to the tower where Killian was.

Killian saw the pilot, (who was obviously Dominated by Cadmus). There were a quarter dozen machine guns mounted to the helicopter, and they all began to open fire on him. "Fucking hell!" He screamed before he jumped off the edge of the building, hoping he would land in something soft. The open dumpster beneath him welcomed him, at least, but he still shut his eyes and prayed that his Kindred body would be able to take the hit.

Nines stepped back, Madison still draped over his shoulder. He was shocked they were able to respond so quickly, and a helicopter was the last thing he expected. He activated Celerity and tried to run around them.

Two blurs circled around Nines, revealing to be Slade and Goddard, two more passengers from the helicopter. Prospero eventually added himself into the chase, and the three of them prepared their weapons. Nines checked Victor again. Despite the fact that he was knocked out, he was smiling.

"You son of a bitch…" Nines snarled, stopping dead in his tracks. He dropped the Primogen and took out his desert eagle, firing for their heads. His other hand grabbed the walkie-talkie, opening it up to everyone again, "I could use some backup here."

"Right…I'll come back as quick as I can!" Catalina said.

"Tranquilizers, huh?" Cadmus asked, as he and Miranda finally caught up to Prospero, Slade, Goddard, and Nines.

Nines fired at one of the Toreadors before he looked over at Cadmus, "You realize your sister's part of this plan, right?"

"You trying to guilt-trap me with her?"

"I'm telling you the truth." He said, cursing as he had to reload his gun.

"Retrieve the Primogen." Cadmus ordered. Miranda gave a quick nod and scooped up Victor's body, "Look." He looked at Nines, "Why don't we just go our separate ways and forget this ever happened? Sound good?"

Nines narrowed his eyes. It sounded tempting, but he knew it wouldn't work. No matter what happened, this was going to be a mess. He started shooting at Miranda, before they realized he was shooting for Victor's body. Miranda whirled around so Nines shot at her back, utilizing Fortitude to soften the damage.

Cadmus growled, "Kill him!" He pointed. Slade, Goddard, and Prospero all sped at Nines with Celerity. The first two used their twin swords, while the Brujah Primogen used lightning covered fists. Nines hardly swerved out of the way before he saw a wolf and a giant bird-like creature flying to his defense.

"We gotta go." He stumbled back as he was slashed right in the face and torso by the Toreador Primogen, a deep bloody mark. Skelter snarled at Nines's command, diving at Miranda to grab Madison, activating Fortitude. Miranda gasped, jumping back and doing what she could to keep Victor safe in her arms.

Cadmus held a hand out, a blue glow coming from it, which immediately sent Anastasia to sleep, "Keep attacking Nines!" He ordered.

Nines flew back as he was punched by Prospero, "Skelter, either kill 'em or get the hell out of there!" Skelter snarled and held a paw out, sending ravens out to distract Miranda while he went in to attack Victor.

Cadmus frowned, he needed three people on Nines or else Nines would be free to attack. But, Miranda was a sitting duck with the ravens around her. So he dove in to her aide, utilizing both Fortitude and Presence to lessen the blow from Skelter's claw. He pulled his axe out and began fighting with Skelter.

"Skelter, we don't have enough backup for this!" Nines yelled, "We have to go!" He shouted each word loud and clear, "Retreat!"

The prospect of killing Madison was too bright for Skelter, who tried to just push Cadmus aside, or get him out of the way without hurting him.

"If you kill him, a Blood Hunt's the best that'll happen. We have to go!"

That did it. Skelter pulled away and started running away with Nines, after grabbing Anastasia. Nines grabbed the walkie-talkie, "Retreat to the Last Round, I repeat, retreat to the Last Round."

* * *

"Jeez, you look like you're having some sort of panic attack…" Cissy sat back and drank from a blood bag, kicking her feet up on the counter.

"Because I am." Damsel huffed, her arms crossed as she paced back and forth, "I hate this. I hate how he sends a whole horde of men out there and leaves _me_ behind."

"I agree. One person watching would have been enough." Sirius said, lounging in a booth, "What is Victor, like the second strongest Tremere, behind Strauss? Probably not a good idea to underestimate him…"

"Well, he didn't want clutter." Damsel said, "I get that. And he wanted to keep as many of us safe here as possible. In case…" She trailed off.

Cissy peered up, "In case what?"

"In case they all fucking die out there." She said bluntly, "We'd be the people here to restart it. He needed something old, something new…" She looked over at Sirius, "And something blue."

Sirius's eye darted over to Cissy, "You remember anything about your sire?"

"My sire?" She asked, "I was higher than Mount Everest. No fucking clue."

"Huh…I wonder who it is. There used to be tons of Ravnos…before…the…you know…before your Antediluvian ate all of you…"

"Yeah, I guess he or she survived the Week of Nightmares." Cissy shrugged, "Maybe I have some strong blood after all."

He thought for a moment, "I wonder what's gonna happen if Set wakes up…" He said, "Probably nuke the planet until it all looks like Egypt or something…"

"Maybe we should talk about something else." Damsel said, "Something less stressful."

"Gehenna? Stressful? Aw…come on…"

She sighed, "Gehenna just reminds me of Jack." She nearly teared up, "Because he wanted it so damn bad. Maybe he's right. Maybe that's the only possible end. There's no such thing as a happy ending, is there? We might as well take the world down with us in flames…"

"Jeez, you got dark fast." Cissy said as she finished her blood bag.

"I'll fucking say." Sirius looked unnerved, "Look, it's war, people die. Especially against a Tremere-controlled Camarilla. This ain't gonna be easy. Never was."

She gave a shaky breath as she sat down in one of the booths, "If one of them comes back dead, I'm gonna be so pissed…"

"They'll be fine."

Gunshots were heard. Damsel sat up, "Shit. Shit! Those are Nines's!" She got up and ran to one of the windows, trying to peer down the streets, "Something's going wrong."

Sirius looked surprised, though he didn't budge from his spot, "Well I'll be damned…"

"Should…should we go help?" Damsel looked back.

Cissy shrugged, "You said it yourself, sister, if they wanted us, they would have us. Just chill, they'll sort it out." She said over the sounds of more gunshots, and was that a helicopter?

Damsel flopped back in a booth, looking miserable, "They're screwing with Tremere and Ventrue. They can die in an instant, there's no fucking point putting up a fight…"

"I thought there weren't that many Ventrue anymore, aside from Anastasia's runt of a brother…" Sirius said.

"I'm sure the Cammies have more hidden up in their asshole…"

"Relax. Whatever happens—" Cissy belched, "Happens."

Damsel plopped in her seat and held her forehead, trying not to hyperventilate. Not that that was a problem, of course. It felt like hours before the doors opened.

Damsel gasped and stood up, hugging Nines before she stepped back, "Oh my god, are you okay? Where is everyone?"

"Shh, shh." He gently pushed her back out of the way, stepping in and letting the others in. Skelter and Anastasia poured in, followed by Catalina. Nines looked over everyone, his eyes worried.

Skelter sat at the bar, then punched it, "Motherfucker!"

"Relax." Nines said, combing his fingers through his short yet soaked hair, "Where the hell's Killian?"

"He's prolly dead." Skelter said, looking up at Nines, "Helicopter went right after him. An entire helicopter."

"Shit…" He hissed, "Goddamn." He sighed, "At least we didn't lose anyone else. But we're probably all going to be hunted."

"Just tell us what happened." Damsel said, "Please."

"We were ambushed." Catalina said, "The second we knocked Victor out, we were attacked by like, five or six Kindred. They arrived in a helicopter…"

"Holy shit…" Sirius said.

"What I want to know is how they knew where we were." Nines looked around at everyone, "I don't think it was any of you. I don't want to think it was any of you."

"What, you think one of us told the Cammies about the plan?" Damsel asked, "Who the hell would do that?" Anastasia rubbed at her eyes, still feeling leftover effects from Cadmus's Dominate command.

Sirius's tongue flickered out defensively as Catalina eyed him up and down, "Oh, piss off."

Catalina rolled her eyes and looked away, "It's possible."

"Possible my ass. Why the hell would I screw up my own plan? Do you _really_ not trust me that much?"

"You are a Setite."

"I made it clear I don't act like the rest of them, filthy diablerizer."

"Enough. I don't think it was any of you." Nines said, "I think they might have beat us at our own game."

"What do you mean?" Damsel asked.

"Spies."

"You think someone's spying on us?" Cissy asked, "Isn't this place like, hidden?"

"Oh please, everyone in the Jyhad knows the Last Round is ours." Skelter said.

"Exactly." Sirius said, "I think you guys are missing something pretty obvious."

"What would that be?" Catalina asked, though she looked just about finished in listening to Sirius any further.

"Oh, I don't know. A clan that's pretty damn important to the Camarilla. Ugly, likes computers. _Loves_ Obfuscate."

"You think it was the Nosferatu?" Anastasia asked.

"I'm saying it's possible." Sirius said, "They did counter your plan, hook, line, and sinker, right?"

"Exactly." Nines said, wincing as he leaned against the counter.

"Here, let me take care of you." Damsel said, "I'll get the med-kit." She took his arm gently and tugged him into the stock-room.

"Wasn't any of you?" Skelter looked around, helping Anastasia sit up when she started to droop.

"It wasn't me." Catalina said, sitting down in a booth, "No one wanted that Tremere dead more than me, except possibly Nines."

"Dammit…" He growled, "I had him in my hands…" He muttered, "We're fucked. All of us."

The door busted open and Killian stood there, a black eye, a few bullet holes, and of course, his forearm, broken and just _hanging_ off by a thread of muscle. "Hey." He said, a bit quieter than usual, "Everyone alright?"

Skelter glared at him, "Yeah."

"Jeez, how are you alive with that…?" Cissy looked at his arm.

He looked down at his arm, "I…I can't feel it…"

"Christ." Sirius said, "Well, it's a good thing you're still with us." He said, "We got anymore blood for him?"

"I dunno." Cissy said, "Maybe in the back?"

"Should I…" Killian looked back down at it, "Take it off?"

"No, no, no, wait kid. Come with me. I'll go freeze some loser in an alleyway and we'll get you patched back up." Sirius stood up.

"Yeah…thanks…" Killian said, still a little loopy as he leaned on Sirius and followed him out.

"Damn fool left his blood all over the floors…" Skelter scowled. Anastasia gave a sleepy nod, leaning on him and closing her eyes.

"So what now?" Catalina asked, "Are _all_ of us really going to be hunted for that?"

There was a pause before Skelter sat back, "If I were a betting guy, I'd put all my money on it."

"Screw you guys…" Cissy muttered.

Catalina wilted with guilt. Cissy was only _here_ because of her interference. "Next time…we'll just…have to be more careful…then…"

"Our next plan should be finding this spy." Skelter said, "And killing them." He sat up, "We killed the waiting game. We may as well fuck up whoever we can while we're still here."

"I'm trying to think of someone who doesn't stop by much." Cissy said, referring to the spy, "Jeanette?"

Skelter thought for a moment, "She does have Therese." He said, "She could be siphoning information over, but we didn't tell Jeanette shit."

"There's a lot of sibling drama with the Camarilla and the Anarchs." Catalina said.

"Yeah, tell me about it." Skelter muttered, "Vanderbilt looked like he was ready to take our heads off."

Anastasia perked up slightly at the sound of her brother's name, "I…I don't know what that was about…" She said.

"Look, I don't want to be the bearer of bad news, but…I'm not sure all this family involvement in the sect is a good idea." Catalina said, "Killian's father, your brother, Jeanette and Therese…any one of these could have been how our plans got leaked out."

Anastasia frowned, "I don't tell Cadmus our battle plans…I mean, I might tell him who pisses me off…but they knew way too much information. What they knew was too specific. They knew every in and out of the plan."

"They did…maybe it was the Nosferatu…but I can't help but think that it's too simple an answer…"

"I think we can rule out any of the family relationships." Skelter said, "It's gotta be someone else."

Nines and Damsel came back, Nines looking much better, "Where'd Sirius go?"

"Out with Killian." Skelter muttered, "He came in and bled all over the place so he kicked him out."

"…right." Nines said, "Well, I got another job for him when he comes back."

"So soon?" Skelter asked.

"He wasn't out with us. If we face any heat, he'll still be fine." He said, "We have to find out where this information is getting leaked, I thought he might be good at finding the source." He looked at Cissy and Catalina, "If you two wanna help, you can."

"Where would we even start?" Catalina asked.

"Maybe Sirius would have a clue."

"Hmm, why doesn't that surprise me?"

"Wanna go see?" Cissy stood up.

She raised a brow, "Go see what?"

"Go see what Sirius has to say. And I want to watch Killian's arm grow back."

Nines raised a brow, "Hmm?"

"C'mon, Cat." Cissy headed for the door.

"Yeah, I think I'd rather watch the worst movie in existence ten times than watching you drool over Killian, thank you." Catalina said.

"I'm not drooling over him, okay? He's a pig, I get it. I'm done with him. But can you blame me for wanting to watch someone's arm reattach itself? How cool is that?"

She rolled her eyes, "Be right there." She got up and followed Cissy outside.

As they got outside, Cissy stretched her arms in the air, "Huh, it's cool out. Refreshing. Good day for an assassination." She smiled and elbowed Catalina.

She looked down and insecurely crossed her arms, "I did nothing Cissy…that whole time out there. I watched as our plan nearly succeeded, then fell apart. I was useless. I didn't help anyone at all. And I've put your life in danger…just because I thought it would be a cool idea if you joined us…"

"Weren't you backup? You were like an understudy, you don't have a job unless someone else fucked up. You did everything right." She pat her back, "Besides, I don't care that you got me into this. You saved me. God, think about how fucked over and dead I'd be if I didn't have you here, helping me with all this vampire shit and keeping me with a good batch of people."

"I don't know…for an Assamite…my…assassinating was fairly lacking…"

"Well, maybe you can assassinate this spy as soon as we find him."

"Maybe." She said, "It'd be nice if the spy was Tremere."

She snickered, then they stopped following the trail of blood on the pavement and looked up, "There they are."

Killian's arm was just about healed, "Hey, what do you two need? You shouldn't be out here." They'd stopped near a parking garage, a dead end of the street.

"Nines wants us to figure out who this spy is." Catalina said, reluctantly looking at Sirius, "He said that you would have a lead or something."

"Oh, really?" Sirius crossed his arms, "I thought it was so clearly and obviously me."

"Please don't make this any more difficult than it has to be."

"Pfft, and now you're barking orders at me? Jeez, you're a real piece of work."

"Would you just try to be helpful for once?!"

He rolled his eye, "You wanna find the spy? It's simple. Just have your Auspex up in the last round at all times. That'll catch the Nosferatu, or anyone else with Obfuscate up."

She nodded slowly, "That's…actually sound advice…"

"Yeah, we should have enough blood for that." Cissy said.

"Yeah, you too." Sirius looked at Killian, "Uh…wait…you're Brujah…not…not Toreador…"

"Yeah." He snickered, "Sorry, wish I was that helpful." He looked back at his hand, "Glad I didn't get killed jumping from that building." He sighed, "Well, I guess I'll leave you three to plan."

"You think I'm gonna do any planning?" Cissy asked, "Why don't you and me go back to my place?"

He scowled, "Was this what I was like? Jesus, I was an asshole…" He pushed her aside and walked back to the Last Round.

Cissy sighed, then turned over her shoulder, "What?" She asked, "Don't look at me like that."

"I thought you said you were over him." Catalina said.

"Yeah, that's what I thought…and then I look at all those muscles and…" She scratched the back of her head, "I'm just really thirsty, Cat, I don't know what you want me to do."

"Keeping it to yourself, like everyone else. Is that really too much to ask?"

"Yeah. I'm a thriving and sexually active creature of the night, I need it as much as we need blood and sleep."

"Maybe it's something you'll just grow out of. Vampires aren't really sexually active anymore…you know. It's not like…a necessity…"

"I think everyone is different. If I can't get drunk or high, might as well fuck someone's brains out. Right?" She looked at Sirius for support.

"Ugh, look, I'm going home. Just…roll around in sperm…or whatever you do, and then come home…or don't. I don't really care."

"Yeah, okay." Cissy said, "Guess I should go back to your place and cry."

"Well that sounds dramatic."

"C'mon…"

"Look…I uh…didn't mean to hurt your feelings…"

"That's probably the closest thing you're getting to a 'sorry' from her." Sirius muttered.

"You stay out of this."

"I get it." Cissy smiled and held her hand out.

Catalina looked from Cissy to Cissy's hand, "Uh…"

"We've held hands before."

"But that was different, we were running away from danger."

"C'mon."

Catalina brushed a hand through her hair and marched off by herself, "Okay, let's go."

"Well, that was interesting to watch." Sirius noted.

"Fuck off." Cissy flipped the bird at him before she followed after Catalina.

* * *

Tess's shoulders dropped as she saw Slade open the door and walk in, "Oh, thank god…I heard so much going on…"

Slade shut the door behind himself, "I should have fed on someone…the Anarchs tried to assassinate Victor, but, we ruined their plans."

"Good. Everyone's alright?"

He nodded, "Yeah, but I'm beat."

She took his hand and walked him to the couch, "Relax. Want me to get you a drink?"

"Do we have anything?"

"Yes, I made sure to get some." She said as she went into the kitchen, striding back in and handing him a wine glass of blood. "I'm honestly a little peeved Strauss won't let me help."

"Want me to talk to him?"

"No…he does everything for a reason."

He took a sip of his drink, "You feel ignored."

She sighed, "I do." She shrugged, "Maybe I do. I've just been…sitting in here like some sort of housewife. That's not who I am."

He wilted, "…maybe having you join the Camarilla wasn't the right idea…"

"Well, what do you suggest?" She asked with a smirk, "The Anarchs?"

"Would they even take you in?"

"I think they'd slice me thin with their hunting knives and eat me."

He hugged her, "Sorry."

She gently rubbed his back before she sat down next to him, "It'll work out. He's building trust, I suppose."

"I just…hate that you feel like this…"

"I've never been very patient, but…I suppose that must change for me to make it far in this life."

"Next time I'm assigned something, I'll have you come along."

She smiled, "I look forward to it." She held his face and kissed his lips gently, "Mind if I have a sip of your drink?"

"Nope." She leaned in and took a sip from his glass, then sighed and laid back on the couch, smirking as she kicked her feet up in his lap. "…this…shouldn't turn me on so much…"

"Mmm, it shouldn't…" She sighed, stretching her arms out above her head.

"Can you…can you make more…noises…like…can you just…lay there, and sound turned-on?"

"Mmm…" She hummed, "I'd need something to…" She sighed, "Inspire me."

"Pfft, like this?" He loosened his tie, rubbing her feet and easily cracking the ankles as he rolled them.

"Oh, yes…" She closed her eyes, letting lose groans and sighs which was music to Slade's ears.

He took his tie off and unbuttoned his shirt, taking that off as well, then he took his pants off, "God…you make me so horny…"

She grinned and wiggled her feet, "I didn't tell you to stop…"

"Jeez…these must really get sore, huh?" He tried to roll them around gently again.

"Mmm…yes, yes…" She squeezed the armrest, "You're quite good…"

"I am…? I feel like I barely know what I'm doing." He said, "Anything else sore? Or…anything specific…you want done to you tonight?"

"I think my hero here should choose."

"…hero…?"

"Mmm hmm."

"…can you grope yourself?"

"Grope myself?" She asked, her eyes lighting up, "Let me undress." She stood up and took her light tee-shirt dress off, nothing underneath. She then started grasping her breasts and running her fingers over her nipples, "This just makes me want your hands there…"

"Oh, alright, I thought cause you were bi that you'd enjoy that more." He stood up and started kissing her, feeling up her rear.

"Of course I liked it. It's just, so much more fun watching the look on your face." She smoothed her hands over his chest. He leaned forward slightly, giving one of her nipples a kiss. Clearly not stopping there, he entered more of her breast into his mouth so he could start sucking on it.

She closed her eyes and pressed his head closer to her, slowly walking him to the couch so she could straddle his lap as he sucked. He held her firm with one hand, and with his other hand, he ran his fingers through her hair, stuffing more of her boob into his mouth. Without the need to breathe, he could stick a bit more in without worrying about blocking an airway. She closed her eyes, rubbing his shoulders, "Careful not to bite…" She said softly.

He moved away, "I won't." He gently leaned back so she was on top of him, "Sorry if I startled you."

She smiled, "You didn't startle me." She combed her fingers through his hair, "You just made the other more jealous."

"So sucking the other would turn you on?"

"Yes." He snickered and adjusted himself so he could start sticking her boob in his mouth, as usual, he licked her nipple over and over again as he sucked on it. She moaned, shuddering in his grasp before she started rolling her hips over his lap, occasionally her nails would dig into his back. He held her butt down in place to help her, sucking more passionately on her boob. She gasped out, "Slade, please…"

He pulled his mouth away, taking his underwear off and rushing the blood through his system, "What's up? You're ready?"

"Yes, yes, please…"

"Okay…just…wait a second…gotta…gotta…" He bit his lip as he held her close, clearly trying to create friction with his shaft against her skin to get himself in the mood.

"Slade…" She begged, trying to steady him, "I don't know if I can…I can wait…"

"Alright, hold on, I'll be right there." He pat her butt a few times, then inserted himself in, his eyes widening at how soaked she was. She seemed extremely relieved, quickly unravelling and losing all sense of pace.

He sighed and eased her back into rhythm by clamping a grip on her butt, penetrating her and squeezing her tightly around his arms, kissing her cheek occasionally as he kept thrusting. The continuous movement kept her active, and served as a catalyst for her next climax, which she hit right with him.

She nearly collapsed onto the floor afterwards, draping herself limp on the couch, "I loved that…"

"You did…?" He looked pleased, as well as tired, "Did…I do something special this time…am I getting better?"

"Yes, you're getting better…" She rubbed his shoulders, "You're learning well…how to pleasure a woman…"

"Pfft…thanks…" He chuckled, "Glad you can stand me…"

She chuckled softly, kissing his forehead, "I love you, Slade." She said softly.

"I love you too…" He kissed her lips for a while, "So much…" He closed his eyes, "You don't…you don't mind if…if we just, sleep here, do you?"

"Not at all." She smiled.

He gave her a squeeze, "Night Tess."

"Night Slade…"

* * *

 **A/N:** What will be the fate of the Anarchs? Are the toast, or is there hope? Thanks for reading!


	51. Chapter 51

**A/N:** Here's chapter fifty-one! Time for the other half of the fic to begin…Enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs. There's a bit of rowdiness too, if you're not a fan, feel free to skim over it. Also, Akeem, and the quest he gives Edgar is part of the Final Nights Mod

* * *

The door to their room in the red tower closed after Ferrum walked in and kicked it shut, "Hey, Miranda?" He called out, having no clue where she actually was.

"Hmm?" She asked, "I'm in the kitchen, would you like something to drink?"

He walked into the kitchen, "Nah, I just wanted to tell you the Kuei-Jin are after me." He said, "Actually, a drink sounds good."

She stopped mid-pour, "The…the Kuei-Jin?"

"Yeah." He leaned against one of the counters, "It's my fault for going back to Chinatown after killing a bunch of 'em. I was asking for it." He said, then he added with a tone of frustrated shock, "Did you know they can use fire?"

She tried to hide her nervousness, setting a glass of blood on the table, and then sitting at the table with a glass of her own, "You need to be careful. Strauss warned me that you have a Masquerade Violation on your head…you're only allowed four more of those."

"Yeah, I got that when I was dealing with them. Damn, so I'm already in the dog house, huh?"

"It could be especially dangerous with the new league of hunters about." She said, taking a sip of her drink, "With the Kuei-Jin and hunters back…the Jyhad climate here is just as bad as it was when LaCroix was in power…"

He grabbed his drink and drank half of it, "They don't know I'm Camarilla. Hell, they don't know my disciplines. I used my war-form and I don't think he knew what the hell was happening."

"Some Kuei-Jin are more knowledgeable about us than others." She said, "It's fair to assume that they know as much about us as we know of them."

"…do…do we know much about them?" He asked, "I didn't know they could use fire…"

"I'm afraid the most knowledgeable Kindred on the subject is the Toreador Primogen."

"The Toreador Primogen?" He asked, "Huh…maybe I should give 'em a visit." He pulled over a seat and sat himself next to her, "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, right?"

"I suppose so." She smiled, then it faded, "He's a rather…distant Kindred…if I were assess. He rarely speaks during any of the meetings."

"Well, that's alright. I don't mind quiet people. Or else I wouldn't end up with you, would I?"

She smiled again, "I suppose not."

He finished his drink, still not over just how rich it tasted, "I just wanted ta' apologize in case the Kuei-Jin launch some sorta' attack on us."

"It's an inevitability at this point." She said, taking a sip of hers, "The Kuei-Jin will soon try to take this city, as will the Sabbat. I've got a horrid feeling that something dreadful is about to come to a head."

"What kind of something?" He took his glass and brought it to the sink, rinsing it out.

"Well, Cadmus told me something. His sister returned to the Anarchs, so he was pleased about that. But apparently he heard from the Anarchs that the Sabbat are going to go through some sort of…rebuilding…a drastic reconstruction…it supposedly has a name and everything. The Phantom's Mask, they call it. It's apparently going to transcend to and affect all sects, in some sort of grueling bloody battle."

"The Sabbat has this planned?" He asked, sitting down next to her again, "Doesn't sound right."

"It came from one of their Malkavian Antitribu, so it's possible that it's not a planned event at all. It's most likely something horrendous."

He sighed, "That's what I'd bet on. The Prince knows about this?"

"I'm sure Cadmus is informing him as we speak." She said, "Gideon. That's the Malkavian who predicted all of this. The same Malkavian who defeated you and Cadmus with one attack…"

"Ugh…I feel the headache again…"

She finished the last of her drink, "This Sabbat is dangerously bloodthirsty to avenge Andrei."

"Yeah, really." He said bitterly, "Guess that's cause it's his childe in charge."

She nodded, "I have faith that we'll pull through this."

"We gotta come up with a plan." He said, waiting a beat, "I mean, not now."

"It's the first of June." She said, "And the Antitribu warned us that the Phantom's Mask will occur during the ides of June. So that would be in about thirteen days, give or take."

"Oh yeah?" He asked, having no clue where she found that deduction, "So we gotta act fast then."

"Yes. But I have faith in the Prince. He'll have something planned, I'm sure."

"Who knows, maybe he already does."

She chuckled, "That's fair, he always seems to be ahead of everyone else."

He sighed, then stood up and cracked his neck, "Guess I'm gonna go take a shower."

She nodded, "I'll be in the bedroom." His shower was brief, save for the good deal of time he spent washing all his hair, before he went in the bedroom. She was lying in bed with her legs crossed, reading a book. She smiled when he entered, moving aside slightly to give him more room.

He pulled the towel from his waist and draped it over the door, sauntering over in his birthday suit before he got in the bed next to her. She could feel the warmth from the hot shower water radiating off his body as he leaned over and kissed her cheek. Her smile grew, "You've become so strong lately…"

"Thank Beckett. Helped me with Protean."

"Is that right?" She asked, "From what I recall you telling me, you nearly reached war form."

"Yeah, turns out I'm a bear."

She hugged him, "I find that quite an appropriate animal for you."

"You think so?" He slung an arm around her and held her close.

"Mmm-hmm." She kissed him a few times in a row, "A very strong, proud animal."

"Don't inflate my ego too much er it'll burst." He grinned.

"I'll take that risk." She giggled.

"Well, did you want to keep readin' er…?"

She pulled her kimono undone, brushing it aside, "Perhaps not."

"How do you wanna do it?" He asked, sitting up a bit.

"However you'd like." She reached down and pulled her socks off, laying back on the bed.

"Anything you want?" He asked.

She uncrossed her legs, "No preference…" She sighed.

"Uh huh." His eyes narrowed, like he was picking around inside her soul before he moved down and started rubbing one of her feet. Her eyes widened before they closed, he heard a pleasant sigh from her as she relaxed where she lay. "Ah hah. I knew there was something." He held her leg with one hand and foot with the other, rolling around the ankle. "Shoulda' told me earlier, princess."

"I…I didn't want to impose…" She said meekly, most likely too soaked in ecstasy to completely think straight.

"Uh huh. Well, let me know if I'm doin' something wrong." He said before he moved to the other one.

"No…n-no…you're fine…" She said, eventually stuffing her pillow in her mouth and biting down.

"Fuck, that's hot…" He rubbed a bit harder, especially in the arch of her foot. She gave a muffled groan as she bit the pillow harder, melting into the sheets further. "Alright, I'll give you a break." He crawled up a bit and laid over her, pulling her legs around his waist as he kissed her lips. She tiredly hugged him back, pressing her sex against his lower abdomen so she could show him how soaked she was.

He snickered against her lips before he moved in and sucked at her neck, holding her hips to grind her up against his abs. She latched onto him tighter, sighing as she felt his muscular core up and down, "Steadman…" She moaned.

"Shit…" He felt blood buff rush through his system before he seized her hips and plunged into her. She gave a piercing scream, but it was a satisfying sound, mixed with a relieving one as well. She started a rapid rhythm, groaning and screaming Ferrum's real name as she felt his length burn inside her.

"Yeah, that's right." He grunted as he rolled her over so she was on top. While he did like practically digging into her, he loved having her set the pace and thrash on top of him. He kept his lips up against her throat meanwhile so he could feel her cries, before he rode out her final peak with his own.

She collapsed on top of him, her eyes closed, her body motionless for the most part. She gave him a faint squeeze, as before, she was ready for sleep now.

He rubbed a hand down her back, kissing her cheek, close to her ear so he could say softly, "Love ya to bits, Miranda." She gave the slightest of nods, before she presumably fell asleep on top of him.

* * *

This stranger in the Empire Arms Hotel was bothering Edgar for a while now. Even with his Obfuscate up, the man could see him clearly. So he decided to give up the ghost and confront him, risking a fight.

"You're Kindred, aren't you?" Edgar asked.

"A wise observation, Cainite." Akeem said, although it was hard to tell if he was being genuine or not.

"How come I haven't seen you around here? What's your story, stranger?"

"I have actually been in contact with quite a few Nosferatu in the city. Bertram Tung and I have made quite a few deals for each other."

"Bertram Tung?" Edgar asked, "Get outta town. I didn't know you knew him…" He said, "So…how come you're so gray…what clan are you…uh…"

"Assamite."

"Right, right, Assamite." He said, "Damn, my knowledge on the Independent clans are shoddy."

"That's the same for most Kindred in this city." He sighed, "But…most Kindred aren't interested in knowledge, they're interested in what they can bite…"

"Yeah, you're telling me…"

He narrowed his eyes, "If you're not busy, I could use a young aspiring Nosferatu like yourself to retrieve something for me."

"Alright, I got some spare time."

"There is an ancient text I've been looking for. I've spend the last century trying to get ahold of it."

"Last century? How old are you?"

He thought about it, "Four hundred years old…about…but, I honestly lost count." He shook his head, "It was written by an Inquisitor, and it has a disturbing amount of insight into how Kindred work and function. Luckily, there's only one copy of the book, it hasn't been published."

"So where is this book?"

"It's in the hand of the Inquisitors, or…today known as hunters I suppose. If my source is indeed correct, it is being held at an apartment by an Edgar Hirst."

"…wait…this hunter's name is Edgar…" Akeem nodded. "Alright, tell me where he lives, I'll kill him."

"I will show you the location, return the book and I will reward you handsomely for it."

He nodded, "Sounds like a deal."

Using Obfuscate, Edgar snuck into the Society of Leopold's hidden apartment base. Akeem warned him that they would be armed to the teeth, but he also said that killing hunters would look, 'good on his Camarilla resume', so he supposed there might have been a bright side to this after all.

A flaming bolt struck him right in the chest. Edgar coughed up blood and fell back. _What the hell? How could he see through my Obfuscate!_

Hirst was armed with a crossbow, as well as a holy cross, a few hunters flanking him, "Show yourself, spawn of Satan! I know you're out here."

 _Oh…that's right…True Faith…god damn it…_ He dropped his Obfuscate, sending out a few colonies of bats to easily kill the hunters surrounding him.

Hirst gulped, "T-This…this is your last warning! Devil! Surrender now, or else I'll—"

Edgar gave a savage roar, putting what blood he had left into powering up Potence, and swinging his sledgehammer at him. Hirst gasped and blocked with a katana. His grip was nervous and shaky, Edgar would soon easily find an opening and defeat this man.

 _What, is it this guy's first day on the job or something?_ Edgar wondered, he then swallowed hard as Hirst tried to fumble an aim with his crossbow while he was parrying Edgar's sledgehammer. Another hit of those flames would not bode well for Edgar.

He dove in and swatted both of Hirst's weapons aside, clobbering him to death with his sledgehammer. He waited a beat for Hirst's body to turn to ash, but then remembered that he was a human. He snickered madly as he took the book behind him on the counter, "I'll be taking that now, thank you for your business, Mister Edgar Hirst."

* * *

"Need someone to spot you, old man?"

Archie grit his teeth before he set the massive barbell back on the rack and sat up, seeing his son standing next to him, "What is it?"

"Why the hell are you at a gym?" He asked, sitting on the bench nearby.

Archie grabbed a water bottle and drank about half of it before he stood up, "What, are you mentally challenged, boy?" He asked in that wiry and all too unpleasant voice, "I need to stay on top of my game with these threats out in the air. This is war. What, have you been running from conflict your entire life?"

"But you can't fight." Killian said, "I don't get what the point is."

He wiped a towel over his face, then slung it over his shoulders as he started walking back to the locker room, "Whoever told you I can't fight is in for quite the surprise."

Killian watched as Archie walked back, then decided to wait outside the gym instead. It was only a few minutes before he came out, dressed in his red suit again. "What did you want? Why aren't you with Velour?"

"I wanted to talk about the assassination. Or, the attempt." Killian said as they began walking along the worn down sidewalks.

"What about it?" Archie snapped.

"Well…yeah. I didn't know what we were doing with it…"

"We haven't had a meeting since then. I believe Lafayette's been busy with a few side projects. I can't tell you something I haven't been told."

"You can tell me what you _think's_ gonna happen. You've been involved in this for years."

"I think this Anarch and Camarilla nonsense is the perfect guise for an attack. It just depends who we feel we should tackle first. The cocky Camarilla, or the weak and terrified Anarchs."

Killian had to put his best actor's mask on, "Well, the Anarchs would go down the quickest, wouldn't they?"

"Interesting you suggest that." Archie said, "I think we should play the Camarilla route."

Killian thought for a moment, "Because they'd be more focused on the Anarchs?"

"No. That Prince they have now is quite sharp. He knows we're out to get him. It's his less controlled members of the group we need to take care of. Like that flamboyant Ventrue who's made his name known quite well." He snorted, "He should know about now that if he goes around and parades himself as a renegade, he'll only be killed."

"Vanderbilt?"

"I believe that's the name. When he falls, the Camarilla will take a hit. A considerable hit, considering the amount of people who follow his every whim."

"You didn't hear anything else about the assassination?"

Killian didn't like how long his father took to respond, the tone of his answer was unsavory as well, "No."

"Oh yeah?"

"Nothing that would be wise to take any action towards. All hearsay."

"Right." Killian stuck his hands in his pockets, "So, you got a regnant in mind?" When his father didn't respond, Killian added, "Time's tickin'."

"I get that." Archie snarled lowly, "I don't have many options. I've never made many close allies with those at the table." He said, "You're close to the Setite, yes?"

"Sirius?" Killian asked, "He tolerates me. Guess we have…similar tastes in humor." He lied.

"Tell him I'll make him an offer. He's not involved in DMP, is he?"

"No." Killian said, "He's got too much going on for that."

"Well, tell him it would make him a lot of money. Regardless, I'd like you to tell him I need a regnant. I'll pay him, of course, it's not a problem. He'll get regular monthly cuts that will more than suffice for the blood. If he joins DMP and helps me there, he'll get even more."

"You want me to tell him this shit? Why can't you?"

"You see him more than I do. Besides, it's much easier for Kindred to speak to Kindred, rather than human and Kindred, unless deals are arranged."

Killian contemplated the truth of that statement. He remembered all the ghouls that stumbled into the Last Round, lost out of their minds. Then he remembered Damsel fixing them up with something warm to eat and introducing them to Nines. Some of them would make loyal Anarchs, even getting Embraced for the cause. Others would cling to their old lives and never return. His gray eyes flickered over to his father. He certainly carried the pomp of Sabbat about him, the way he held his shoulders, his head. He wasn't a lost little ghoul that came into this world, relying on the help of others. He wasn't returning to humanity. He was a coyote blending into a pack of rabid dogs that was in it for the free scraps of meat left on the ribs. He was a deal maker, he kept peace and order, even, better than some of the actual Sabbat.

It occurred to Killian that his father was playing Jyhad better than any Kindred he knew. He still had his humanity, and he was still doing what he loved.

"You'll speak with him?" Archie asked, jolting him from his thoughts.

"Yeah. I'll talk to 'em."

"Good." Archie stopped at an intersection, a car passing by splashed water on Killian, "Go back to Velour and get yourself cleaned up."

"Yeah." Killian said, spitting muddy water from his mouth, "Call if you need me."

Archie waited there for his son to disappear into a taxi before he turned around and called for his own.

As soon as he got to his apartment, he grabbed for the landline. Of course, his phone would be considered, 'antique' by the kids. The spin dial, the tacky color. He picked it up and opened a cabinet nearby, getting out a cigar and searching for a lighter. It wasn't where it usually was, so it caused quite the scramble.

The line went dead. Nobody picked up. Once he found the pesky lighter, he lit his cigar and tried two more times to call, but nobody picked up again and again. Finally, he decided to leave a message. "It's Archie." He said, "Sorry the call's inconvenient. In the heat of the assassination, I'm sure you heard of my son's involvement. He must be playing a double-agent on us. I've spoken to him and asked him favors, he still seems loyal. If he's trying to dupe us, he's doing a terrible job of it." He took a puff of smoke, "But I say we wring the little bastard by the neck and let him play his games. He's working for the Anarchs, no doubt. I'm planning a…LaSombra-esque punishment, if you will. For now, I'd say our best bet is holding onto him. I won't invite him to the meetings, I won't give him any information. He'll do work for me at the snap of my fingers, and I'm sure the same would go for any of you. We might as well use him while we can." He said, then he added, "Call back when you get this. We need to have this discussion face to face." He said, before hanging up.

The silence of his apartment ate away at him for only a moment before he strode across the room and walked into the kitchen, opening one of the cabinets. It wasn't full of silverware, or oven mitts, or knick-knacks. It was full of strips of paper with phone numbers on them, and stacks and stacks of cash. He grabbed a handful of papers with numbers, sitting at the table and eyeing through them.

They were his girls' numbers. He had needed to sort through them for ages. Throw away the dead ones. Throw away the ones who didn't make enough. The man's memory worked like a machine when it came to matching numbers to faces, flipping through the little strips like nothing.

He was quite shocked with the fact that he held onto five numbers by the time he was done. He had to have discarded thirty of them. And yet he had five left, five that were giving him any sort of money. It was no wonder he was losing massive amounts of cash. Without Garret's support, he had five girls to his name.

The good numbers fell back into his drawer, and he took his cell phone out. His cell phone was for his more _personal_ tasks, and for Killian. He had no messages from anyone, which meant his girls were doing just fine. He headed out the door and out to the streets.

He needed talent. He needed a girl like Velour to draw people to her like a magnet. But, prostitutes could only attract so much. Dancers, whatever Velour called herself. He knew if someone tucked enough money into that lingerie of hers, she'd spread her legs and then some. He tested the waters himself, but she didn't snap. But, the fact that she spent every waking moment with his son was enough of a sign.

He needed someone with a touch of class. Someone who didn't collapse at the sight of fear, or the prospect of failure. He needed someone hardened. Was it too much to ask?

He took a taxi, telling them to drive him wherever, just so he could _think_. It was dangerous for him to be out on the streets alone without Garret. If his regnant was hunted, he was likely being preyed on as well. Especially with his son in the Anarchs. If he was in a taxi, constantly moving wherever, he was safer. He was harder to pinpoint.

"Mind snuffing that out?" The taxi driver asked as Archie puffed his second cloud of smoke in the air. He waited a beat before he mashed the butt into the center console. "Thanks. Hard to see with the smoke."

"I'm not paying you to talk." Archie said, "Drive."

The girl he was looking for was likely a figment of his imagination. The perfect girl didn't exist. Every girl out there had either been touched by her father or neglected by her stepmother, leaving enough damage on her to make her undesirable to _someone_. It was infuriating. Nobody had the will to hold out and work with him.

He was stingy. He knew he was stingy. The five girls he had working for him were tough as nails, and they all complained. But he considered his occasional 'gifts' of a drug or drink of their choosing usually made up for it.

Besides, some girls would kill for fame. Even if their faces were on screen behind a DMP production, they were happy. Those were the kinds of girls he needed. His biggest fear was that girl number five would bale. And inspire four, and three, and two, and one.

"Casino work?"

"Works fine." Archie grumbled as the taxi came to a stop. He popped the door open and handed the man some cash.

"You're short…" The man thumbed through the bills and looked up at him expectantly.

"Short the cost of the cigar." He said before he slammed the door shut and walked off. The taxi slammed the horn on him, but he ignored it as he walked into the casino.

"Hi sir, can I help you?" She was new. She stood behind a little podium and everything. But her hair was too neat to be involved with anything he wanted. He ignored her and walked into the game room.

As usual, nothing appealed to him. A waitress walked over with a tray of drinks, "Hi."

He took one of the drinks, "How much?" He met her gaze. Warm hazel eyes, too innocent for his work. She wouldn't do either.

"Depends if you can hold it down." She smirked, "No one has yet tonight."

"Hold it down?" He asked, eyeing it over.

"It's hot. Really hot." She warned, "We call it the Fires from Hell."

He downed it and put the empty glass back on her tray, "So it's free now."

"That's right." She smiled warmly, "Only if you drink another."

"Sounds like a scam." He muttered, pushing past her and heading into the dining lounge.

What he would give to own a casino. Or, even just a club. A small, exclusive club, perhaps. He'd make a fortune, and he could get his girls involved, too. But the problem was real estate. It was tough to score a good location in places like these. Looking around this place, he could tell there were really no customers. A few stray idiots would mosey by. He was sure the place was losing money.

The idea of gaining money would overpower the chance of succeeding, he was sure. If he bought into a place like this and splurged to make it appropriately appealing, he would fork out a considerable amount of his fortune. And if the people grew bored, there was no saying if he would make it back.

Well, if his plan went accordingly, he would have the real estate. And he would have it very soon. His problem was the customers. He would likely never see the amount of customers Vesuvius saw on its worst day.

A figure stepped up on the stage, tapped the mic a few times, then started singing. Archie's thoughts were roused as he looked up and watched the figure.

She was slim. Slim, like, not eating enough, slim. Maybe it was the black cat-suit. Her hair nearly touched the floor, it was straight and smooth like a curtain, dark as night. Her skin was pale as snow, her eyes were like shining blue stars.

And her voice was something that struck Archie for some reason. It wasn't as if he was upset by it, or that it emotionally stirred him. It was the potential that she had, but what would he do with it?

He'd talk to her as soon as she got off. And judging from the cheering from the crowd, he wasn't the only one mildly impressed with her soaring vocals. She thanked everyone with a thick mysterious accent before she disappeared off the stage.

Archie struck, standing to his feet and pushing his way back stage. He bustled past a few wimpy security guards before he entered the dressing room.

She was sitting at a vanity, her face even sweeter looking and innocent when she looked over at him, "Hey." Her speaking voice settled at a nice range, smooth and deep, "I 'ave a feeling you're not supposed to be 'ere."

"Mmm, perhaps you're right." He said, "The name's Archie." He held a hand out.

"Aschat." She said slowly, shaking his hand.

"Your voice is something I've never heard before. Certainly special."

"Oh, tank you!" She exclaimed, "Are you a…ah…ah…wha' do dey call you? An agent?"

His grin widened, "That's certainly one way to put it." He eyed her figure over briefly.

"So, so how does dis work?" She asked, taking a make-up wipe and wiping her face and neck clean. He was taken back to see tattoos there, hidden beneath a copious amount of make-up. They looked like something tribal, like something he had seen on people's faces when Native Americans marked them as property. And the hickies on her neck were another telling sign.

He adjusted his tie, "Depends. The job I'm asking of you requires more than just singing."

She cocked her head to the side, "More dan singing? I can't do much more." He saw cigarette butts in her garbage, other joints crinkled up as well.

He looked at the marks on her neck, "Doesn't appear that way?"

She held the bruises briefly, then smiled, something sinful and nearly sinister on her sweet looking face, "That's something anyone can do."

"Oh, sweetheart, you'd be surprised." He snickered, leaning in, "How's this. I'm getting ahold of a club soon, within the next month. I want you to stay in the area. Hell, I'll buy you a hotel room. You work for me, ten dollars an hour."

Her eyes widened, "For what? What will I do for you?"

"I think we can make arrangements for that." He smirked, "Miss Aschat." He stood up and headed for the door, "Because once Vesuvius is mine, the possibilities will be endless…

* * *

 **A/N:** So in case you were wondering, this is basically all the sides at this point XD:

Camarilla

Anarchs

Sabbat

Madame Vaska

Donatello and the Baali

Giuseppe and the Giovanni

Archie(?) (Kinda.)

Sirius(?) (I don't even think he knows what he's doing)

Independent

Kuei-Jin

Society of Leopold

There will be a quiz on this tomorrow. Thanks for reading!


	52. Chapter 52

**A/N:** Here's chapter fifty-two! [double update?] Does Phaedra grow her backbone? Let's find out! Enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs. Also, there is yet another lemony scene, if you're not a fan, feel free to skim over it.

* * *

"So…" Anastasia crossed her arms behind her back on their stroll leaving the Last Round, "How have you been feeling?"

"How have I been feeling?" Skelter asked slowly, "You're the one who I had to carry home and prop up like a mannequin last time I saw you, I should be asking you."

"I don't know…I just…was wondering if you were as mad as Nines about this whole thing…"

"Yeah, I'm pissed about it. I had him in my hands, but too many of 'em were after Nines. I figured Nines's life was more important than killing the Primogen."

"I wish we killed him…" She sighed.

"I do too. Now he knows we're after him. And we got a spy problem."

She nodded, then her face lit up as she looked ahead, "Rainy!" She started running, hugging the girl Skelter recognized as the one who healed them all from the Tzimisce attack.

"Hello." Rainy said, trying to match the enthusiasm of Anastasia's hug, "I see you returned to your friends." She smiled.

"Uh-huh, with your help." She ruffled her hair.

"I don't…I don't think I ever caught your name…"

"Anastasia."

She squeezed her, "I should be going. But…remember…if you or any of the Anarchs gets attacked by that Tzimisce again, you can call me. I'll give you my number."

"Sweet." She said, getting her phone out, "Have a good night!" She waved once Rainy ran off.

"She looks familiar." Skelter said, "You must have run into her before, huh?"

She nodded, "We kinda look like sisters." She said, "Except we dress a lot differently…and I think my chest is in better shape…" She squeezed her breasts.

He raised a brow and averted his gaze, "You figure out what clan she is yet?"

"I bet my ass in better shape too." She bashed her hips into Skelter's, "What do you think? Whose is bigger?"

He nearly stumbled over in the street, "I don't know, it wasn't like I was checking her out. I don't remember."

"Whatever you say, James."

He crossed his arms like a frustrated child, "Let's just get to the truck."

"Yes, James."

He glared at her before they turned down an alleyway and went into the parking lot behind the Last Round. They got into Skelter's truck, and he almost seemed to freeze as he sat there. He just stared off into nothing, not moving an inch. He was really thinking about something. "What's wrong?" She asked.

"Get in my seat."

"…beg your pardon?" She lightened her voice with a smile.

"I think you heard me." He looked over at her, "Get in my seat."

She snickered, getting out of her seat and getting into his lap, bending slightly so he had an excellent view of her cleavage. He helped situate her, then he peeked in his mirrors to make sure no one else was around. Only then did he reach back and unzip her dress.

She smiled and kissed her lips, fumbling with her feet to get her moccasins off. As her dress fell around her hips, he gently held her breasts, "I think you're right."

"Oh yeah? Right about what?"

"Your…you know." He moved his hands down to her rear and squeezed there too, "Goods."

She laughed and laughed, "Oh, why thank you James." She kissed him, "I love you."

He smiled and rubbed her back, "I love you too." He held her tight, "I'm sorry if I piss you off sometimes."

"It's okay." She squeezed him back, giving an impatient groan, "I need you…"

"Oh yeah?" He asked with a smile, unbuttoning his pants and sliding them down with his underwear just enough. He let blood buff run through his system, "I wanna see how bad."

She unhooked her bra and took it off, crawling down a bit rub her boobs against his length, sandwiching it in between her breasts. He looked like he wanted to stop her, but at the same time, he never wanted it to end. He grabbed the seat to hold himself as still as possible and try to retain some sort of grip on himself.

After a brief while of that, she went a bit lower and started licking his shaft, slowly putting it in her mouth. He grunted out her name and grabbed the back of her head with one of his hands, holding her in place. "Goddammit, 'Stasia…" He spat out through clenched teeth, "You're gonna be the death 'a me…"

"Oh yeah?" She asked, moving herself away. She went back up on his lap and got level with him, "I wanna see how bad."

He rubbed his hands along her hips, "I dunno if I'm in the position to get you back in this damn car-seat…"

"That's alright." She slipped her panties off, reaching her hands down to grab his length. She leaned in and kissed him meanwhile.

"You better be ready down there…"

"I've been ready ever since we left the Last Round…"

He snickered and gently moved her hands out of the way before he rocked into her. "Sometimes I wonder what would happen if I didn't give into you so easy." He squeezed her hips tighter and kept a slower rhythm. She let a shaky moan pass through her lips as she felt herself get penetrated.

For some reason, he felt inclined to really cherish her, to be gentler and less rampant. He pressed his lips to her collarbone and left a warm kiss there, smoothing his hands over her thighs. She seemed to react pleasantly to this, being the relaxed and laidback girl she was. Her hips could easily keep up with the basic rhythm he set, and she grabbed onto him for support, leaving an extra loud sigh when he kissed her collarbone.

He smoothed a hand over her belly and gently tugged her chin down to kiss her lips, "Is this the first time we've…you know, actually made love?"

"What do you mean?" She asked tiredly.

He slowly pulled out and hugged her close, "Any other night, I'd be fucking your brains out…tonight wasn't like that."

"It was nice…I liked it. But…I like any sort of flow…as long as it gets me to come…"

He smiled and pet her hair, "Wanna go back to your place?"

"Uh-huh…" She flopped back in her seat, slipping her bra and panties back on in a half-hearted attempt to look decent, "Sounds good…"

* * *

It wasn't a good hunting night for Phaedra. She didn't find a corpse unattended until she reached the shore. Most of it was soggy and littered with sand, but she didn't really have much of a choice, of course, the heavy sounding footsteps and the deep voice behind her soiled the rest of her evening. But at least she was able to finish her meal.

"I see you're tending to your clan weakness." Cedric's voice came, taking out his two scythes, "I suppose now would be an ideal time to continue what we started, since we were last time rudely interrupted by Polonius."

"I wouldn't be surprised if he returned." She mused, "He seems to have the nose of a bloodhound." She grasped for her axe.

"I heard you lost Santa Monica to him."

"Yes, my fault entirely."

"Certainly a glorious victory for the Sabbat." He said, "He is quite the capable warrior, making an extremely good name for himself for our cause." He put a scythe back, a purple mist of skulls came from his hand as he called upon Necromancy. Zombies rose from the ground, as well as quite a few specters, (which again, Phaedra swore specters and their respective shadowlands was a Necromancy path unique to the Nagaraja). It was disorienting having an attack Phaedra used so often to be used against her, as the seemingly invulnerable specters went in for the attack, along with the pack of zombies.

She bashed at them with her axe, but they were still able to make some deep wounds in her. She needed space to create her own army of the dead, but could hardly get any with the zombies behind her and the specter in front of her.

Cedric took a deep breath, the green glow of Fortitude pulsating from his body. The mere _activation_ of Fortitude caused a huge gust of wind to blow, flaring his cape in the air, before he added himself to the chase with both his scythes out.

Phaedra grit her teeth and tried to combat them both before she pushed away from all of them. But she wasn't running. She looked as if she was retreating, but she was giving herself ground. The sand kicked up around her heels as she held her hands up and summoned some of her zombies, enough to distract Cedric's personal army.

Cedric paused, looking around at the zombie warfare, before he continued fighting Phaedra. At least it would be one on one again for a few minutes. She was thankful her clan allowed her to have a bit more muscle mass than clans such as Tremere, especially when Cedric was able to use both scythes at once. Her arms strained under the pressure, but she used her legs to push back against him and shift the direction of his scythes and hopefully deter him. "A shame…I should have fought you before you filled your stomach."

She chuckled, "Yes, you've allowed me to restore my energy."

"It changes nothing." He said as they kept parrying each other's blows, "As you've learned previously, striking me is impossible."

"Mmm, yes, I see that." She mused, jumping back out of the way to summon a specter.

The specter howled as it made its way to Cedric, but Cedric defended himself from its attacks, "I commend you for being able to fight off my two blades with your singular axe for as long as you did…"

"It isn't as if I've been practicing or anything." She stepped back for a moment, gauging his movements for the next attack.

"I'm surprised that you're the same woman who gave up Santa Monica…perhaps it was a closer fight than I heard…"

"Well, I had to protect an innocent."

"Yes…I heard we nearly had the Malkavian Primogen's head."

"Well, she's safe now. You're lucky we can't put you on a Blood Hunt for that."

"It would change nothing. The Camarilla wishes to kill all members of the Sword in the first place. Wouldn't it be a bit redundant?"

"It'd certainly shift our priorities." She said quietly, stepping forward to swing her axe down on his head.

The axe blade shattered against his head. "It's unfortunate that our little rendezvous must cease." He held both his hands out, giving a deep grunt as a purple glow of skulls came from both his hands as he roared. Zombies sprouted from the ground around both of them. It had to be hundreds of them, going beyond a mere 'new wave of zombies.' In addition to that, specters and wraiths that Phaedra was both familiar and unfamiliar with came from the shadowlands and from the underworld. In addition to _that_ , skeletons rose from the ground, some of them utilizing Potence.

The spirits, wraiths, skeletons, and zombies were all gathered around the area, like the rules of death were ceased with the motions of Cedric's hand, and he was using every dead body on the other side. Pisha didn't even know this many Necromantic paths, and she was nearly three centuries old. Cedric pointed at Phaedra, and every creature he had summoned gave a bloodthirsty cry as they rushed towards her.

She looked at her broken axe handle, then back up at the undead. Now was time to run. She booked it, running for the city, towards the streets, where she could get away.

* * *

"I wish I could eat…" Cissy was flopped out on the couch, just in her underwear. She claimed she didn't have the energy to get dressed when they woke up. "I'd so order Chinese. It just feels like that sort of day."

"Uh-huh…whatever you say…" Catalina muttered from the kitchen. She absolutely refused to go in the same room as Cissy until she was decent.

There was a pause, then Cissy asked, "So what did that Malkavian say exactly?"

"What…the Phantom's Mask…I don't know…whatever it is…it's coming up relatively soon, like in a week or two."

"No, like, why did he call you Guinevere?"

"I don't know. He was probably just having another crazy episode or something."

"You sure? I'm good for talking, Cat."

"What? You should know that not every Malkavian is right about everything every time. Most of them hear voices in their heads or have a disorder. It's common for them sputter out the first thing on their minds."

"Yeah, but…then he started talking about Lancelot and the sword…I dunno. I was confused."

Catalina closed her eyes, cleaning her weapons was proving to be impossible with Cissy going off about this and that in the other room, "Yeah, it sure was weird." She said, opening her eyes and getting back to work.

"I know you're lying."

"Why would I lie?"

"Because it's a sensitive topic."

She cleaned her sword a bit more furiously, "Whatever…it doesn't matter anyway…I'm not going to be here soon…"

"You're leaving me?" Cissy sat up.

"Akeem found his book."

"Oh…" Cissy looked down, "Yeah…I didn't know that's the only reason you're here…"

"I mean…he said for me to stay Independent, to stay away from other sects. He doesn't know I joined the Anarchs…"

"So you are leaving me."

"Stop saying it like that."

"But…you're my sire…er…like my sire…"

She dropped her sword, it made a loud clatter as it hit the table. She didn't count on Cissy to use any Kindred terminology correctly. It stung in her heart quite a bit. She gave a shaky sigh, "I don't know what to do…"

"…can I come with you?"

She thought about it, "The Anarchs are already going to lose one member…they shouldn't lose two…"

"I just want to be at your side. I can't be alone."

"The Anarchs are nice, don't you get along with them?"

"I do. But I feel like it wouldn't be the same without you."

She sighed, "Well, I can't stay. I can't tell Akeem I joined the Anarchs or he'd probably kill me. I need to leave with him. We're probably leaving in the next few days."

"Can I please come?"

"I think it'd be better if you stayed with the Anarchs. They need help." There was no response. "Cissy?" She asked, "Cissy!"

"What?" Her voice faltered.

She peeked into the room, "Oh…I thought you left…"

She just saw Cissy's face, dark tears stained down her cheeks. "Sorry…"

"…you're crying…?"

"I don't want you to leave…"

She sat on the couch, next to Cissy, yet, leaving a big space between them, "We…haven't known each other that long though…if you stay with the Anarchs, you'll be able to get to know them way better than you ever knew me."

"Cat…I get it. We don't know much about each other." She sniffed, "But I feel like I've known you all my life. I haven't been sober, or clean or not high since I was…sixteen." She shook her head, "That was after I ran away from my family." She sniffed again, "You were the first person who I can remember ever being nice to me and…taking care of me since then. And…I…I don't want to lose that."

"I…didn't know I meant that much to you."

"I'm sorry…" She muttered, "I guess I'm clingy."

"No, no, sometimes…I forget…how hard you've had it…maybe leaving the state is a little rash…"

"Cat…" She swiped some tears out of her eyes and shook her head, "I want you to go with Akeem. That's who you are, that's what you do, that's where you belong. I'll find my own place. I just…" She took a deep sigh, "Need to jump from the nest and try as hard as I fucking can to fly."

"I know I need to be with my clan…but the Anarchs need help. You need help." She said, "This is my fault. I just need to be brave enough to tell Akeem that I joined the Anarchs and that he's going to be leaving by himself."

"Give yourself some time to think about it, and be selfish. Do what you know you have to do."

"Right…" She faced ahead, "I'll think it over."

She stood up. "Well…I'm gonna go get dressed and…do my makeup…"

* * *

 **A/N:** I wonder what will come out of Rainy and Anastasia's friendship…Thanks for reading, we hope you liked it! Feel free to leave a review of your thoughts!


	53. Chapter 53

**A/N:** Here's chapter fifty-three! Let's see what the Camarilla thinks of all the recent events…Enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs.

* * *

"The Camarilla at the moment has run into very difficult times, it seems." Strauss said, folding his hands at his desk.

"Hardly." Victor said, "Considering one of Mister Golden's Nosferatu have taken out a Toreador Antitribu as well as a hunter from the Society of Leopold in the span of a week."

"And the office seems quite secure. The tower too." Prospero said, "Even if they mounted another assault, it would land them in defeat."

"But we've lost a considerable amount of territory." Miranda said, "Santa Monica and Hollywood have been taken by the Sabbat, and the Kuei-Jin have returned for Chinatown. We're in quite the compromising position…"

Therese clenched her fists around the arms of her chair, but her face remained entirely emotionless. Goddard absently turned a page, as usual very quiet during the discussion.

"Well, I'll keep the boys active." Gary said, "They seem to be doing wonders. And I'm sure some more spies wouldn't hurt either."

"I would like to hear about the security breech from this certain Malkavian Antitribu." Strauss said.

"Unfortunately, I wasn't there. I was dealing with a new recruit. But, according to Mitnick, he got in and did some poking around. A little too much poking around. I'm not sure what he tampered with. He tried to put some viruses in our system, but he must've left before he did any real damage." He crossed his legs, "I'm just concerned about what sort of information he got ahold of. Every one of our computers holds different information. We're not sure which he got onto."

"He is quite the dangerous individual." Miranda said, "He refers to himself as Gideon of the Sword, and he's at least hundreds of years old, with a low generation. He has Dementation levels equal to that of which I have never seen before not. Not only that but he spun the Phantom's Mask rumor into motion."

There was quite a bit of chatter at the mere mention of the Phantom's Mask. "Yes, the Phantom's Mask is quite a curious conundrum." Victor said, "The ides of June, I believe it is?"

"That's what I heard." Gary said.

"That doesn't leave us much time." Therese said, then she looked over at the Prince, "We have a plan, right?"

Strauss nodded, "A rather straightforward one. I will send a small party of our members to wherever this…Sabbat collapse will occur, and I will leave some members here in the tower in the event that this Phantom's Mask is a ruse for us to be ambushed."

"Very well…" She seemed to relax, "That sounds safe…"

"It's possible we'll get a visit from all sides during that battle." Victor said, "The Anarchs, Kuei-Jin, hunters. The Sabbat could be the least of our worries."

"I hope you'll be sending some of us out there, sir." Prospero said, "Even though we're Primogen, we can fight for ourselves. I think that little operation the other night proves that."

"Well, some of us. I should probably stay in the warrens." Gary said, "Madison and Voerman, too. I'd say they got enough pressure on 'em as it is."

"No, no, I insist that I fight on the front lines." Victor smiled, "I have quite a few experiments to work through."

"Aren't the Anarchs nearly killing you enough?" Miranda asked.

"Trust me, dear. Something like that is never going to happen again."

"It was good we were able to stop them so promptly." Therese said.

"Yes, indeed." Strauss said, "The Anarchs and Sabbat believe that we are too distracted to fight them both off. They will soon learn otherwise."

"The Anarchs may try to kill me again, that much I accept." Victor said, "But soon I will be too powerful for _any_ of them to defeat me. Very soon, in fact."

"As if Blood Boil wasn't enough." Gary snorted, "Count on the Tremere to find a way to make your death _more_ painful."

"I'm playing a game with the Anarchs myself." Prospero said, "In my opinion, they won't be much a problem much longer. We need to focus on the Sabbat. We need to capitalize on the Phantom's Mask and take as many names as we can, and then continue pounding the hammer in. We need to take by example like that Kindred from Gary's brood."

"Funny part is, I didn't even tell him to do it. I'm worried he's going to get himself in trouble, that boy."

He thought for a moment or two, "How did we lose our two cities, anyway?"

"Hollywood was never truly ours, to be honest." Strauss said, "But it was lost to the Sabbat…via…some sort of territory exchange. We honestly do not have many details over the affair."

"I was warned from the Sabbat that they were coming." Therese said, "A man came to our venue and spoke to Jeanette, he attempted to buy the place from her. Our decline must have brought violence into the matter." She sighed, "And then Gideon came as well, with threats."

"And who actually claimed the city?" Prospero asked.

She rubbed one of her temples, "There were three of them. I'm not familiar with their names, Miss Kokinos might know. She was there."

"I see, well, we'll most likely have to defeat them if we're to get the city back."

"Of course. If I run into them again, the next thing they'll see is their headstone. Kokinos prevented me from killing them for…whatever reason."

"I knew there was something off about her." Miranda said.

"That sounds…peculiar…" Victor said.

"I will have a word with Miss Kokinos at once." Strauss said.

"Well, I suppose this nearly draws the meeting to a close." Victor said, "I shall warn you about the Anarchs, however. They have recently accumulated a massive amount of tranquilizers. That's how they dealt with me. Two or three shots of those and you're in torpor."

"Tranquilizers?" Therese snorted, "Sounds like an idea Jeanette would come up with…"

"It very well could have been…" He muttered.

Strauss rose from his desk, "If there are no other matters to be discussed, than this meeting shall be adjourned."

"Very well. Contact me if you need a spy or…anything of the likes." Gary stood up.

"Good evening, all." Victor rose.

"Have a good night." Miranda said.

"Good luck, everyone." Prospero said.

* * *

When Rainy came downstairs, she saw her sire standing in front of the aquarium, watching the fish. She was in her robes and everything, almost looking like a shadow. She was then hugged from behind, "Hello."

She smiled warmly, "Hello Rainy. How are you?" She gently laid her arms over Rainy's.

"I'm good. What are you thinking about?"

"Fish…"

She smiled, moving away from the hug so she could stand by her side, "Do you like fish?"

"Well, not particularly. I just…was wondering what it would be like to be a fish." She said, then she added, "I don't think their memories last three seconds. I think they're quite smart."

"Maybe it depends on the species."

"Maybe." She looked over at Rainy, "Everything okay with you?"

She nodded, "I've made a few friends in this city."

"That's good." Raven smiled, "Good friends?"

"Yes, I think so." She said, "I'm…I'm glad we're staying here…for the time being, at least…"

"Me too. This place seems so much safer." She moved away and sat at the couch, "Any other adventures?"

She sat next to her, "I…told someone that she shouldn't abandon her friends…she seemed in a lot of trouble…a lot of men…and some women…were fighting over her…"

"Oh dear…"

"She seemed trapped…so…I tried to calm her down and help her…but I also told her running away wasn't the answer…I think she's doing okay now…"

Raven gently hugged her, "You have the mind and spirit of a healer."

"I got it from you."

Raven giggled, "I'm not so sure about that. I do most of the running, you do most of the healing."

"I still think I got it from you." She said, getting cozy in her arms.

Raven gently held her back, closing her eyes, "You must have been a cat in a previous life. You're so quiet and gentle."

"I'm not sure that applies to all cats."

"Well, as long as you treat the cat right."

She smiled, then it faded, "Do you…mind if I tell you something…?"

"Of course not."

"Do you…do you remember Phaedra?"

"Phaedra? Yes, the Nagaraja."

"We were…sort of friends with benefits for a while…we had flings…b-because I thought you were straight…" She started shaking, "She encouraged me to confess to you…even though right now I feel really bad for her. I have feelings for you, but I feel like she's being neglected…I just…I hope she finds someone…suited to her…but…b-b-but I just…wanted to…tell you that…in case…you heard it from someone else…"

"That's okay. It doesn't bother me, if that's what you're worried about."

"I…feel mad at myself…for being so…frisky…"

"Don't feel bad." Raven gently rubbed her shoulders, "It wasn't something wrong, you didn't hurt anybody."

"Her…her husband was terrible to her too…"

"Was he?" She asked, "I had no clue…I suppose that's…why you were able to take such good care of her." She smiled.

"That's why I…" She hesitated, "I know what happened to you…or…I don't…but…I have a basic idea…so…I don't want to force you into anything…or hurt you…or make you uncomfortable…especially if you don't like women. I just want to be here for you…forever…because you're my sire and I love you."

Raven smiled and held onto her, "I love you too, Rainy. You've been so close to me ever since I met you…I knew I should keep you around. I knew there was something special about you, I just never…predicted it would be this. But…I still love you. You're the first person who's ever taken care of me the way you have. The first person who really cared…"

She smiled back, "Thank you, Raven."

"I just…think you should know that you mean the world to me."

"The same applies to me. We'll always have each other."

"Mmm hmm…" Raven rested her head on Rainy's shoulder.

She gave her a squeeze, "Tired?"

"A little…sometimes staying up takes a toll…"

"You can sleep Raven, I'll protect you."

"But…" She seemed embarrassed, "I…wanted to…to snuggle…"

She smiled, "We can do that." Raven closed her icy blue eyes again as she squeezed Rainy and nuzzled up next to her. She kicked her heels off and laid down on the couch with Raven in her arms, giving her a squeeze, "It's okay. I'll keep you safe."

She looped her arms around Rainy's waist, "Wake me up if…if someone's here…"

"I will, just relax." She rubbed her shoulders.

She gently hummed, "Thank you Rainy…"

"Mmm-hmm. You're welcome."

* * *

The dark scars didn't look any better even after a month of him receiving them. Two of them climbed up his left arm while one was on his right. There were remnants of a green substance inside small bits of the deep scars, as if he burned himself with some sort of chemical. He was surprised Venus didn't notice them the last few times they made love, (likely due to the poor lighting in Confessions or the Chantry), but it would surely be called into question soon. Those scars would most likely be there for the rest of his un-life.

Victor pulled his sleeves down once he heard the doorknob turn, sliding his gloves on, "Hello, dear." He smiled at Delilah, "Are you ready to go?"

"Yes, sir." As she nodded, her hat bobbled with her.

"There have been whispers of Sabbat activity up north a bit. I was told I could take one of my apprentices."

"Thank you for having me then."

"It's going to be quite chaotic. Take the time you need to make necessary preparations."

She looked down at herself, then adjusted her hat, "I have everything I need that could help me."

"Very well." He smiled, "Then we shall take our leave." He said.

He hailed a cab rather quickly, and they began to drive outside the city, heading for quite the wooded area, "So how have your studies been going?"

"They've been alright. Of course, I haven't advanced much…there's only so much a book can do."

"Yes, of course." He said, "I suppose that's where the practicing comes in."

"Your help should aid me quite a bit as well."

He smiled, "I'll teach you the best that I can."

The taxi driver looked clearly confused as he let them out in the wilderness. And just as quickly as the car drove off, the two Tremere heard a voice, "Well…it's quite nice to see the two of you out so late."

Victor smiled at Lafayette and Cedric, "Well, you must be the famous Lafayette that I keep hearing so much about…a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Quiet, Tremere slime!" Lafayette growled.

"And you're just as polite as your sire. Wonderful."

He growled and clenched his fists, he and Cedric prepared for battle.

Delilah nervously touched her hat, her eyes flickering up at Victor, patiently awaiting his command.

Cedric immediately called upon Necromancy, summoning a large horde of zombies and other beings to aid him in battle. Victor quickly donned a blood shield, drawing his pistol and shooting at the nearby zombies.

Lafayette scanned over his two opponents, before he jumped at Delilah with both hands out, glowing red with Vicissitude. She gasped, then used Purge to down both opponents.

The tide of the battle quickly changed as Lafayette, Cedric, and all of his zombies had to stop what they were doing to vomit up blood. Victor took advantage of this by mowing down the rest of the zombies with his pistol, leaving the field quite clear again.

"Worthless worm!" Lafayette spat, sending out bats to attack Delilah and drain her blood. She screamed and swatted her hat at them, shuddering as she held her hands out to use Blood Strike.

Victor was meanwhile having no such luck fighting off the various specters Cedric had summoned, "Delilah…let us switch opponents!" He said, "I'll take Lafayette…you take…well…uh…uh…the bloke in the hooded cloak…we shall say…"

"Yes sir!" She exclaimed as she ran towards Cedric and launched Blood Bolts at him. Cedric was smacked by them as he took a step back, meanwhile, his ghosts screeched in Delilah's face as they began to rear their blades back to attack her. While the man himself dove at her with his scythes.

She gasped and stumbled back out of the way, holding her arms up over her head. She then held out a hand to use Purge, hoping it might do something. Cedric, along with his allies, threw up. This allowed Victor to land quite a few hits on Lafayette in his battle. Blood poured around Cedric's mask as he kept throwing up. Even the ghosts paused as the attack was used. Delilah, meanwhile, hit him with Blood Strikes, hoping to knock him down.

Cedric's purple eyes burned with rage, "You won't win this…Tremere…my blood pool is far superior to yours…your spells will not reduce it to rubble…" She gave herself some distance to use Blood Strike again, not seeing many other options.

Lafayette screamed as Victor burned him for the umpteenth time with his fire. His body was charred and burned, he tried to get up, giving a savage roar as he kept trying to flesh craft Victor.

Cedric meanwhile withdrew his scythes, seeing it as a distance battle. He pulled out a crossbow, shooting a flaming bolt at Delilah, and readying himself for another one. She screamed and ducked, her hat being pierced by the bolt. She hopelessly used Purge again.

Lafayette fell over, the urge to frenzy deep within himself as he was low on blood. Cedric also vomited, but he still looked raring to go. He kept shooting at Delilah. A wolf's howl could be heard far away in the distance.

Victor paused, "How close are we to Griffith Park?"

"Where…?" Lafayette rasped. But they were interrupted by a large horde of werewolves bounding for them.

"Werewolves…" Cedric said, using his remaining specters to defend himself.

Lafayette balled his hands into fists again, fighting one of the werewolves with his bare hands, but it was a losing fight. Victor took a more evasive route like Cedric.

"M-M-Mister Madison, we sh-should go…" Delilah stammered out as she stumbled back, a werewolf slowly closing in on her.

"Escape is nearly impossible. They'll outrun us." Victor said, his eyes widening as Cedric jumped up and mounted one of the werewolf as if it were a steed. The werewolf roared and roared, trying to get Cedric off of him, but he hooked his scythes in like reins in order to get the beast to cooperate. Lafayette on the other hand was getting completely pummeled by the werewolves, as Delilah had drained him of all of his blood.

Delilah shook her head in terror, holding a hand out to try Purge on it right before it lunged. The wolf and its rider threw up, only mildly setting it off course. But it didn't change the fact that the two Tremere were nearly surrounded by werewolves.

"I have a plan." Victor said, "I just hope it will work…"

"Anything…" Delilah said, her deep voice fluttering up to a higher octave as she grabbed his arm. He could quite literally _feel_ her trembling.

"What's the old expression?" He asked, "It's not whether you can outrun the bear, it's if you can outrun your friend!" He launched a large amount of fire at Lafayette. He screamed and fell back, and all the wolves pounced on him as his body burned.

"Lafayette!" Cedric dove in to assist his ally.

"Now, we need to run!" Victor said, starting to book it. Delilah grabbed her hat and ran after him for her life.

"Alright…" Victor said as they ran, "You may return to the Chantry. I…I may stay…perhaps stock up on some blood. I need to kill one of these wolves for their blood."

"Yes, alright…thank you sir." She said, "And…and good luck."

"I appreciate it." He nodded with a smile.

* * *

 **A/N:** Victor's got a bag of tricks up his sleeves…wonder who's gonna get the brunt of it… (Nines? Probably. Who else does he hate that much?) Thanks for reading!


	54. Chapter 54

**A/N:** Here's chapter fifty-four! This is a big one, someone very important dies ;) ;) Enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs.

* * *

 _Buzz, buzz._ A brief pause. _Buzz, buzz. Buzz, buzz. Buzz, buzz. Buzz—_ " Leonardo's hand flew over to his phone, where he flipped it open and looked at the text messages. Winkie-faces, hearts and question marks. He rolled his eyes and shut the device again, setting it on his nightstand.

It was how he met Delilah, after all. But it was actually _her_ that swindled _him_. _Her_ that cast the net. She acted like she was so pristine and innocent, when really, she might have been dirtier than he was. Who knows who else she swindled into her bed and fed on? It was just with him that she accidentally Embraced the poor fool.

Unfortunately, he picked up the trait. But instead of Embracing them, he'd give them his number. _Buzz, buzz._

Well, if she wanted to donate her blood, he wasn't going to deny her. He closed his book and brushed himself off, looking at himself in the mirror before he headed out. He mentioned something to Delilah about travelling out before he hit the streets.

He spotted a blue figure covered in burn marks stomping through the streets. The burns looked horrid, as did all his other injuries. He looked inches from death, as if he fought an entire pack of werewolves for an entire day and night, and he didn't have the opportunity to rest. Leo believed that it was the Tzimisce that everyone had been so frightened of.

His eyes darted around as he nervously adjusted his glasses. Should he take him on? Perhaps this was how he could gain some respect, become more powerful. But he would certainly have to be careful if he didn't want to receive a Masquerade Violation.

But, one wouldn't hurt, right? Especially if Lafayette was killed. He held a hand out and used Blood Strike without hesitation.

Lafayette was smacked in the side of the head. He nearly fell over. He growled as his yellow eyes boiled with rage, "Tremere…" He roared, running at him with his claws out. Leo hopped back out of the way, using it again from behind. Lafayette snarled, swinging his claws at him again.

He hardly ducked out of the way, swiping his fingers through his slicked back hair as he shot another bolt at him. He nearly fell to a knee, but he stood strong, grabbing his machine gun and aiming it at Leo, firing it relentlessly.

He grunted as his body was littered with lead. He quickly used Blood Shield to soak up some of the hits, then he used more blood bolts. Lafayette's eye twitched, it was almost like each new wound was rotting him away, "I think I know where I'm going to get my blood from…"

Leonardo seemed very confused at first, then his eyes widened, "Oh, oh no. No, no, no." He stepped back, shooting bolts at him as fast as he could, though there was quite a bit of recoil. Lafayette went on all fours and began to crawl after him with astounding speeds, though the blood bolts at least seemed to slow him down.

Leonardo screamed as he turned and ran towards the Chantry. Donatello wasn't completely useless, right? He turned his shoulder occasionally, making sure he was a good distance away, but it seemed every time he checked, Lafayette was a little bit closer.

He grabbed the door and ripped it open, running inside and hoping that Lafayette didn't follow him. Lafayette snarled in defeat, turning around and grabbing the nearest human he could find, draining them dry.

As Leonardo caught his breath, he deactivated Blood Shield and held his forehead, walking into Donatello's room. Donatello looked up from his book, "What's going on, Leo?"

"I ran into…Mister Lafayette in the streets…a Masquerade Violation may be on my hands…"

"Lafayette…da Tzimisce guy?" He stood up.

"Yes. He was heavily damaged…" He nervously scratched the back of his head, "I thought that I may have a chance…I suppose my ambition outweighed my logic." He paused, "I understand that you are new, but…if you might…be able to address this to the Prince…"

"We should go outside to check if he's still there." He said, "Tzimisce hate nothin' more than we Tremere. He might invade."

"Well he…seemed reluctant to follow me in here after mentions of diablerie."

"Doesn't hurt ta check." Donatello reached for his cane, "Come on."

"You'd like me to come?"

"If ya want, or I'll just check the front door alone."

"Right…" He nervously adjusted his glasses and followed after Donatello, "Perhaps he headed home…"

Donatello opened the door, taking a good look around, "Huh…well…he's gone…" He shut the doors, "Oh well. Guess I'll call Prince Strauss."

"Yes, I think that would be the…appropriate response." He said, "There isn't a chance I may be excused, is there? I understand…pertaining my Embrace, I'm already far overdue pardons…"

"Eh, I'm not so sure. Even if I were not to tell da Prince, news would get out eventually…were you fighting in da streets?"

"Unfortunately…"

"Yeah, den I bet people saw the fight…it'll get out eventually."

"Yes, I…understand…" He sighed, "Well, I will restore it another time. Thank you, sir."

"No problem, pal."

* * *

He had to admit, it was a little upsetting sitting next to Garret's empty chair. He wouldn't consider the man a friend, but he wasn't an idiot. There was some sort of bond there, be a blood bond or a bond of wallets. He missed the Toreador.

And of course, now being the only human in the room without a direct relation to any other Kindred was a bit jarring.

Lafayette looked in terrible condition as he sat in his chair at the end of the table. He was about twenty minutes late, but nonetheless the rest of the Sabbat members at the table were relieved that he was back.

"Sir, it's wondrous to see you back." Cedric said, "I searched and searched for you, I had thought you perished from the werewolves."

"I killed the foolish sacks of fur one by one." Lafayette brooded, "But thanks to those damned Tremere, I nearly lost my life…"

"I had expected as much with a Tremere's Princedom, but…it seems even their weakest clan mates can do a considerable amount of damage." Vernon said.

"I'll say." Sirius said, "So what are we gonna do about 'em?"

"There is one Tremere in particular who irritates me more than the rest." Lafayette said, "Victor Madison." He growled.

"Yes, he has thwarted many of my attacks on the city." Ebony said, "He and I shared the same Chantry, before I saw the light and joined the Sword."

"I heard that the foolish Anarchs tried to have him assassinated." Gideon snickered darkly, before he laughed, "And it didn't even work!"

"Yes, that's right." Archie said, "And my son was involved in the affair. Hence his absence."

"What do you mean?" Lafayette coughed, "Did the assassination not take place several nights ago?"

"No, you're right, it did. But he was a part of it. He was their sniper." He brooded, "And he will pay for it. I'm not telling him about the meetings, but I'm using him for errands. I advise you all do the same. We'll use him up until he takes his own life, which I'm sure he'll do after I'm through with him."

Lafayette felt his head, then his eyes widened, "Right, I had nearly forgotten your call. So you believe your son to be a traitor?"

"Traitor?" Antoinette asked, as whispers gathered around the table. (With the exception of Raphael, who most likely never spoke during these meetings, or spoke as little as possible).

"What an intriguing development." Gideon smirked.

"A double agent, I presume, due to his true loyalties to the Anarchs. Regardless, I'll have him handled. I'd say the Camarilla is still our priority. The Anarchs are so weak at this point, they'll take care of themselves." Archie said.

"An interesting viewpoint." Lafayette smiled, "Sirius, are you not infiltrated in the Anarchs?"

"I am." Sirius said, "I could keep an eye out on Killian and the Anarchs, if that's what you're asking."

"Excellent." He said, "Now, we need to focus on this Tremere problem. Especially this Madison man."

"I doubt an assassination would work." Gideon said, "Thanks to the Anarchs, the Camarilla most likely has their guard up."

"Killing Tremere in general was never easy." Vernon said, "They're tricky."

"Does…Madame Vaska have any suggestions?" Antoinette asked.

"Ah, yes, that reminds me." Lafayette said, "Madame Vaska is no longer within our sect. We had one too many disagreements and I outed her from the Sabbat. She was always more partial to the True Black Hand anyway."

"That's highly irresponsible." Vernon frowned, "We don't _another_ enemy over our heads."

"On the contrary. Her death will give a bountiful growth for all of us."

"Maybe the Phantom's Mask will take care of the Tremere problem for us." Gideon said.

"Tell us more about this Phantom's Mask." Archie asked.

Gideon looked over at Cedric, "You are in grave danger, friend."

Cedric's expression hardly changed, "Is that so?"

"Something's going to happen to Cedric?" Lafayette asked.

"He will survive. Though it will be a grizzly affair." Gideon said, "The masked phantom will jump start the conflict that will span across all sides. Death will be heavy, but none of it will be Sabbat."

"Good, good, all we needed to hear." Archie said, "On that note, I had another plan, deep in the back of my mind, if anyone was interested."

After Lafayette coughed for the umpteenth time, Vernon looked at him, "You should really get some rest. In your own soil."

"Not during a meeting." Lafayette said, and everyone at the table faced Archie, to listen to his plan.

His grin widened a bit, "If we're to take down the Camarilla, I don't think we should aim for Madison first. I think our priority should be Vanderbilt." He paused, "The little brat's got a crew of dozens on his back, supporting his every decision. I suppose his mind runs a little different than most, and that excites them. If we wipe him out, we would crush their morale."

There was a pause as everyone talked it over. "I know not of this Vanderbilt. Who is he?" Lafayette asked.

"Eh, he's kinda more hated by the Anarchs, if I were to judge." Sirius said, "But knocking him off would probably be useful to us."

"I nearly killed him once and I could easily do it again." Gideon said, "I shall put on the assassin's hat and murder him."

"Thank you very much. It would only do us more good." Archie said, sitting back.

"You're going to kill this Vanderbilt?" Vernon asked, "It sounds time-consuming…"

"I'm the only one who's fought him before." Gideon said, "I can find him in a snap and end him." He snickered.

"Very well." Lafayette said, "If that's the last order of business, I need to rest surrounded by mounds of dirt from my home." He got up and felt his head.

Archie stood up and dusted himself off, then approached Sirius, "Sirius, was it? Did Killian talk to you?"

"Hmm? Nah, I haven't seen him for a night or two." Sirius said, as most of the other Kindred cleared out.

"Damn. Well, I'm in need of a regnant. I'll pay abundantly for every fix. But, you're more than welcome to set a price."

"Really?" He looked surprised, as his snake's tongue flickered out, "You want me? I thought you were gonna bug that Ishtarri guy for blood, to be honest."

"I don't care about clan. I need someone open-minded." He adjusted his tie, "I'll double the pay if you join DMP."

"Eh, I'm not sure how much help I'll be with that. I'm the biggest spy in our group. My time is usually spent hiding on the other side. Look, maybe I'll hypnotize a broad or something once in a while, but I ain't no snuff dealer. I'll give you blood too. But you better stay away from bright lights or else you'll be in trouble."

"Bright lights?" He raised a brow, "Fine. Manageable." He crossed his arms, "Price?"

"Money was never an issue with me. Look, just keep doing what you do for the Sabbat. That's enough payment for me."

He raised a brow, then held a hand out, "I won't question it."

Sirius smirked as he shook his hand, "Pleasure doing business with ya."

* * *

The door creaked when it was first opened, but after an inch or two of pressure, the creaking went silent. "You're back."

"So jaded, Susan." Archie stepped in, "Does the perfect housewife life you've always imagined not suit you?"

"I never wanted this." She looked over her shoulder. She didn't expect Archie, nor did she think it was him until she heard his voice.

"What's the matter?" Archie cooed, which was terrifying in itself, "Did you fail to live up to your own expectations? Is my son not enough?"

She stood up, "I vowed I would never let a man control me."

"Is that so? You've done a terrible job, then."

She grit her teeth, "I am my own person. I am not a tool for you." She whipped around, "I am not Susan. I am not yours, do you understand?"

He seemed entirely unamused. "No. I'm afraid I don't."

She stepped forward and grabbed his tie, tugging him down to meet her eye as she scowled at him, "It means I'm not afraid of you anymore."

"Is that right?" He chuckled, pushing himself away from her and facing the other direction. Finally, he whirled around, his eyes looked like pits into hell, "I can't wait to see the look on Abram's face."

The rage on her pretty face faded, "Isaac?"

"You want me to give you up? Fine. I will. I'll set you free. It's something you've just been _dying_ for, isn't it?

Her fists were balled, but they quickly unraveled, "…what?"

"You are no good to me anymore, _Velour_." He sneered, stepping forward and holding her face in his hands, "You can't lie to me."

Fear glistened in her eyes, "Can you blame me?"

He had a good laugh at that, "At least I can say you made me the most cash." He met her gaze like some sort of predator, "Not even Winnie made as much as you." He released her and folded his hands behind his back, pacing to and fro, "But I suppose you were always better at faking it."

She marched up to him and pressed a hand to his chest, "I could kill you." She hissed through clenched teeth, "If I wanted to."

"Mmm?" He asked with a smirk, scratching at his beard, "You could, hmm?"

"You're….j-just a ghoul." Her eyes filled with tears, despite how fierce she was trying to be.

"I am. But you couldn't hurt a fly." He stood up and crossed his arms, "I warned you. I warned you that I would kill you if you tried to bend the rules." He reached into his suit and took out his lighter. "You played with the Sabbat for the last time."

Her lip trembled as she backed away, "You wouldn't …"

"Yes, I really would." He spat, "You stupid, stupid girl!" He lunged forward and grabbed her by the throat, holding her up, "You were a waste of my time since day one." He growled, "You could have made me every dollar in the world, but that still wouldn't be enough to put up with you."

Her nails dug into his fingers as she hung there, "If you take my life here tonight, yours won't last much longer…"

"Oh, what, you think Abrams will take my life?" He sneered, "Or what about your little slaveholder? Killian? You think he'll avenge you?" He snickered, "That boy is too naïve to lay a finger on me. I'd be dead ten times over if he had the capability to kill me."

She felt a sob seize her chest as she shut her eyes tightly, shivering with fear.

A sickening grin split his face, "Are you afraid, Susan? Are you afraid of death? You're afraid of hell, you poor little doll…" He laughed and laughed, "I'll be the last thing you ever see. The last person you ever spent your time with will be me. The last man who ever touched you, the last words you ever spoke will be mine." His eyes were hungry, "I'll kill Velvet Velour. And who will even care?" He snorted, "I suppose I'll offer you the honor of taking a last request."

Her eyes peered open, still glossy and full of tears, "Slade…" She whimpered.

"What?" He raised a brow.

"Slade…I want you to tell him…" She sobbed, "Tell him I'm sorry." She met his gaze, something deeper there he was completely oblivious of.

"An apology? You want me to give him an apology?"

She closed her eyes, "In the top drawer of my dresser…there's…a note. I'd just like you to mail it to him…Slade…and if you see him…give it to him. And tell him I'm sorry."

"How pathetic." He flicked the lighter a few times until it lit up and caught on her stomach. She gasped as he threw her to the bed, which began to catch fire as well.

She tried to put out the flames, but her hands caught too. She gave one last horrified look at Archie, who was laughing like a madman. "This building has no sprinklers. And…" He looked at his watch, "Sun will be up in two minutes." He looked back at her, "It was lovely doing work with you, Susan." He snickered and grabbed the note in the dresser, tucking it in his suit before he watched her sob for another moment, and left.

It was only two hours until the entire building was lit up in flames. Firetrucks came an hour later, but could hardly put a dent in the inferno until the sun set. The police report concluded there were no survivors, and it was likely an electrical fire.

* * *

 **A/N:** I know, I killed VV, don't hurt me, please. Thanks for reading!


	55. Chapter 55

**A/N:** Here's chapter fifty-five! (yay!) Some action from a quieter side of the war who will soon speak up a bit more…enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs.

* * *

"Slade, there's mail for you." Tess closed the door behind herself, "But there's no address or anything…"

"That…sounds suspicious." Slade said, "Although this is Jyhad…so I guess I should expect as much…"

She handed it to him, "What's the worst that could really happen?" As they sat down at the couch together, he tore the letter open and began to read it.

 _Dear Slade,_

 _If you're reading this letter, it means my life has come to an end. I was taken as a hostage by the Sabbat, and forced to adhere to a code of laws that did not abide by my own character. But please, do not be upset. I am free now, whether in hell or not, immortality was always a suit that never fit me. But, if you take one thing from this note, please understand that I am sorry. I'm sorry for ever Embracing you, for thrusting you into this World of Darkness without any say. Any trouble you face in this life is no fault but my own, any tear you've ever shed, any fear you've ever had. I hope at some point, you may be able to forgive me._

 _With all my heart,_

 _VV_

 _Susan_

The entire letter was handwritten, her real name at the bottom signed in a nearly illegible cursive signature. Tess couldn't help but peer over at the letter, quite surprised at what she was reading.

Slade's vision was soon fogged with his tears, he tossed the letter on the table, clenching his hands into fists, "Damn it…god…damn it…"

Tess gently held him, smoothing her hands up and down his back, "It's okay, sweetheart, I'm here."

"She can't…she can't actually be dead…"

"Maybe she isn't. Maybe it was precautionary?"

He stood up, brooding as he started pacing, "I bet they're dead too…"

"Who, Genevieve and Dragomir?" She asked, sitting back, "They weren't…they weren't as important as she was. The Sabbat killing VV was likely just a threat for Isaac. They probably wanted to upset him. Killing Dragomir and Genevieve would serve no faction any good. If someone did kill them, it'd be for no reason. I think both of them have enough sense to avoid those types of people."

"But why…why did she have to die…?" He growled, "Why would you capture someone if you're just gonna kill them?"

"Well…the note said they were forcing her to do things against her own will…maybe she took her own life."

"I'm taking a walk…"

"Did you want me to come with you?"

He left, slamming the door behind himself. Tess's mouth opened to call out for him, then she stopped and leaned forward, picking up the letter and rereading it again. She held her forehead and sat back, pondering the reality of her friend's location.

* * *

"You really don't have to do this, Cat." Cissy followed Catalina out the door.

"You don't want me to stay?" Catalina asked.

"Well…I…"

"I'll just tell him I need to stay here for now." She said, "Leave it open, in case the Assamites need me."

"Right…okay. Okay."

"You okay?"

"Yeah, sorry…just thinking about losing you makes me a little nervous…"

She smiled, they soon arrived at the parking lot for the Empire Arms Hotel. Akeem crossed his arms once he spotted them, "Catalina, you've returned." He said, "Are you ready to go?"

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about." She said, "I think I'm staying here."

"…staying here…?" He repeated.

She nodded, "There's some…leftover business…I need to attend to. But we could keep in touch…in case I need you or you need me."

He thought about it, "Very well. I will be leaving soon. Do you think you can manage here by yourself?"

"I'll be fine. Something tells me I won't really be alone."

Cissy gave a little smile, then looked back at Akeem, "You'll be back though, right?"

"Only if I'm needed." He said, "I need to store this book someplace safe, preferably so that kine will not find it again."

A shotgun blast hit the wall. This caused all three Kindred to look back in alarm, seeing three hunters heading their way.

"Die! Servants of Satan!" Gavin roared, getting out a large machine gun.

Smoke poured out of Vance's shotgun, he aimed again and kept shooting at the Kindred.

Ella had tears burning in her eyes, "You're gonna pay for what you did to Hirst, Akeem!"

"Uh…Akeem…why do the hunters know you by name?" Catalina asked.

Akeem looked largely undisturbed, "They must have traced the stolen book back to me…"

"Can't we just feed on them?" Cissy asked.

"You can try…" Catalina said, "It might not be easy…"

Ella fired at Cissy, a grenade rolled by her feet.

"Cissy!" Catalina dove into her, they both rolled in the pavement as the grenade exploded from afar. Catalina's body was pressed on top of Cissy's as the explosion sounded, she looked up, waiting to see where the hunters were going to strike next before she slowly got off of her. Cissy's eyes were wide before she gently laid her hands on Catalina's back, until Catalina got up and she followed.

"Then what the hell should we do?" Cissy reached for the gun on her back.

"Quietus." Akeem said, pulling out a katana as a red glow surrounded him. It looked like he was draining the hunters blood, Catalina quickly followed suit, and the hunters began to look exhausted. Unlike Kindred, the amount of blood they could hold in their bodies was hideously low. This pretty much made it so their only option was retreat. Ella snarled and fired off a few more grenades before she finally left with the other three hunters.

The three Kindred steered clear of the explosions, regrouping once the hunters escaped. "That was too close…" Catalina said.

"I'm surprised they survived that…" Akeem said.

"Those were strong humans…" Cissy said, "Jeez…"

"They're from the Society of Leopold." Catalina said, "Vampire hunters."

"I get that but…still." She scratched the back of her head, "I could hardly handle a machine gun and that little girl was firing a grenade launcher…"

"They go through a harsh training regimen…since they're young most likely."

"Jeez…" She sighed, "I guess we should get back to work." She winked at Catalina so Akeem couldn't see.

"Yeah, you're right." Catalina said, giving a small bow to Akeem, "Until we see each other next time."

"Good evening, young one." Akeem said.

* * *

Mr. Westley needed to retire. He could really only handle so much more of the _screaming_. Did she think it would help? Did she think it would make him stop?

He pulled the lever back and she hung so limp in that chair, he wondered if she was dead. Her raspy breathing was the only sign he could see of her life. "Miss Voerman." He said softly, "You must sit up."

She must not have heard him. _No wonder, she must have hearing loss from all her damned screaming._ "Sit up." He grabbed her shoulders and pushed her up against the back of the chair.

Her eyes were bloodshot as her head thudded against the wooden chair, staring off into the distance. _Is she dead?_ No, another shaky breath told him he hadn't overdone it. _I'd like to retire, not_ be _retired._ "One more round might do the trick." He said, speaking slowly for her, "And then, I will take you to your room for the rest of the evening." How many times had he said the same thing? At least three years, if not four.

As he switched the lever, she let out a piercing scream that didn't stop. Mr. Westley had heard of people who _loved_ the sounds of screams. They claimed it sounded like progress. Not with Voerman, he told them. He had been dealing with her for two years now, and she hardly made an ounce of progress. She'd hallucinate constantly, throw fits and act as if she was a different woman, like that would free her. He thought if he increased the voltage, maybe it would work, but it only seemed to exhaust her.

At least if she was exhausted, she wasn't whining or falling into hysterical fits. If she couldn't think, she couldn't pester him.

Over her screams, he didn't hear a person walk up behind him. He turned suddenly, a bit startled. He didn't recognize the man. "May I help you, sir?" He asked.

The man looked amused with the entire scenario, "Simply visiting."

"Visiting? An asylum?" Mr. Westley asked, raising a brow. _This man should be in an asylum himself. Who comes to these places for entertainment?_

"Considering it was one of the first places constructed in the state, it must have some value."

Mr. Westley sighed and crossed his arms as he turned back to his patient. "We always prioritize the health of our citizens."

"What does she suffer from?" The man slid his hands into the pockets of his suit.

"Hysteria." He said, "As do most of the patients here. Her case is just…particularly problematic." He cranked the lever back and she wilted in her seat again, letting out a soft moan. "It seems the most humane decision would be to…put her down, but she is the only one left in her bloodline. She has no written will, no official documents of…what we should do with her generous fortune. Her father passed before he could sign her will or any sort of documentation, and she was much too young for a husband."

"Let her sign her own will then."

Mr. Westley looked over at the man like he was really insane, "Let her sign her own will?" He repeated, "That's simply unheard of."

"It is her life. She should decide whether or not she forks it over."

"The will is to be signed by an appropriate guardian, be it a father or husband."

The man's eyes flicked back up to the patient, she wearily sat up and looked over at them. He couldn't even tell if she could see them, or if she could just hear the noise and was trying to decipher it. "I suppose she is in no state to do such thing."

"Of course she isn't." He adjusted his gloves and took the equipment from her head, unlocking the straps around her ankles and wrists. She still sat there numbly until he grabbed her shoulder and pulled her out of the chair.

She stumbled forward a few steps, but her ankles gave out and she fell to her hands and knees. She rested her forehead on the backs of her hands and started sobbing silently. The man looked up at Mr. Westley as he wiped down the equipment. "This therapy. Has it been helping?"

"It's been keeping her quiet. It must be doing something."

The visitor looked back down at the girl, then fell to a knee and held her shoulder. She looked up at him with big glossy gray eyes. He could feel her trembling in her hand, and looking closer, he saw her eyes darting around. He recognized the signs of hallucination, he could tell she wasn't even aware of what was happening. It was likely she was dreaming up an entirely different scenario entirely, and couldn't see reality in the slightest. He snickered at their diagnosis of 'hysteria'. "This one was in Wisconsin before this institute was built, yes?

"I believe so." Mr. Westley approached and the visitor let go of the patient. "Miss Voerman, please stand." When she didn't, he got more irritated, "Miss Voerman. Miss Voerman." He grew very irritated before he lifted her to her feet and shoved her towards her room.

The visitor kept watching from where he stood, before he left, not bothering to visit any other patients.

* * *

"Miss Voerman, you have a visitor." The nurse's voice was too sweet and peppy for her liking. The door opened a bit more as the figure stepped in and stood there, simply looking down at her.

His suit looked clean, at least. It had been ages since she last saw one, or at least, it felt like ages. She looked up at his face. Tan skin, dark eyes, a Middle Eastern appearance to him. "Daddy…?"

Amusement flickered on his face, "No. My name is Jacob, dear, but may call me what you wish."

She simply blinked at him a few times, "I've never had a visitor before."

"I might have tricked the doctors into believing we were close friends."

She gave a playful smile, then she stood up and rubbed her fingers over the lapels of his suit. She sighed blissfully through her nose and closed her eyes, "Daddy…" There was certainly something immoral about the way she sighed that name.

He gently wrapped his arms around her, "Therese, is it? You're suffering a bit of _hysteria_?" He said the word bitterly.

She squeezed him like he was the last living thing on the planet, quietly crying into his shoulder. He pat her back, "There, there, dear." He tried to pull her away, but she suddenly clung to him and kissed him.

His eyes were confused, beyond shocked at the advancement. But, he wasn't going to question it. She was gorgeous, really. Gorgeous and insane, she was perfect.

Her eyes were hazy as she pulled herself away from him, her heart pounding in her ears, "You'll take me out of here…?"

"I'm not sure I can." He confessed. And he really did want to. She would make an excellent blood doll. "But if you can forge an escape, you should find the lighthouse."

"Lighthouse?" She asked. He still saw that look in her eye, the look that she wasn't thinking clearly at all. It must have been the lobotomy, and whatever else they'd been doing to her.

"Yes, it is east of here. That is where I may be."

"But…I must escape…?"

"Yes. But, I have faith you will find a way." He smiled.

"Yes, of course, Daddy…" She nodded quickly, "I will."

* * *

The sunset hurt on her skin, her eyes especially. She felt nauseous just standing under it, but knew she had to keep running. They hadn't caught her, but she didn't want to chance it. She saw the red and white tower over a hill, she heard the sound of the waves in the distance.

She felt her heart beating in her throat as she reached the shore, filling her lungs with the salty air. There were a few boys there that gasped at her, left their things and ran.

She looked down at herself, at the torn up white gown she was in. At the blisters all over her ankles and wrists. But her heart kept beating. He was going to be here.

She walked over to where she saw the people sitting. They left towels, an umbrella, food and drinks. She slowly sat on one of the towels, it felt so soft under her palms. She kneeled there for a few moments, simply stroking the towel. Then she looked up at the umbrella, out at the warm colors of the sunset.

And she waited.

And she waited.

And she waited.

The sun had set, everything was dark. There wasn't another soul nearby to be seen. A cold breeze drifted across her frail body. She shuddered and hugged her knees a bit closer, smiling as she felt tears stream down her cheeks.

He wasn't here.

She gripped her nails into her skin as she started sobbing. Her pitiful wails filled the sky as she faced the stars and cried out for her family.

And then, Jeanette reached forward, reaching her hand out for the bottle left behind. She felt Jeanette smile and bring the bottle to her lips before she drank all of it on her empty stomach.

When Esau stepped out from the lighthouse, he saw the girl lying there in the sand, in the dress from the mental institution. Her eyes were open, drool was pooling from her lips. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying.

He slowly stepped closer and sat next to her. Her body convulsed and her eyes flickered over to him. He held the stare. Her frame weakly came up as closed her mouth and looked at him, wiping her lips with the back of her hand. "My sister was looking for you." She said softly.

"Was she?" He hummed.

"She was." She looked over him, then giggled and leaned her head on his shoulder, "She's going to die in there."

"In the asylum?"

"Mmm hmm…"

He looked her over a few times, "Would you like her to be safe?"

"I would." She looked up at him, "Because if she loses me, then she'll die."

He leaned in closer, placing a hand on her shoulder before he tugged her down towards him just enough for him to whisper right in her ear, "You're going to owe us, my dear." Her response was just a sigh, like she was holding her breath. He tugged her in closer and slowly bit into her neck, savoring the taste. Her eyes widened as she gasped, before she gave in and melted into his arms.

* * *

 **A/N:** The previous scenes were not stated to happen. If you try to look into Therese's backstory, you find a huge muddy pile of lies and illusions and quotes from four different people that don't line up at all. Guess that's what happens when you ask four Malkavians what happened…This is just a rough assumption from me of what _might_ have happened. Of course, if you have a suggestion, feel free to leave it, I'm always willing to change and update things :) Thanks for reading!


	56. Chapter 56

**A/N:** Here's chapter fifty-six! Sorry we've been away for a while, one of us was actually busy for once, but don't worry, the other did do a considerable amount of writing meanwhile…heh, heh, but that's for later…Enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs. There's also some spice at the end, if you're not a fan.

* * *

The only contact in her phone was practically staring at her. She sat, drooped over her couch, rubbing one of her temples, staring at Rainy's contact name.

She wanted to call, just to hear her voice. Her thumb would hover over the button, then flitter away. She shouldn't call, because she was with Raven. She was with the woman she loved.

There was a sharp knock on the door, which pretty much gave away who it was, but the visitor let himself in anyway, "Phaedra…uh…Strauss wants to talk to you." Cadmus said.

Phaedra shut her phone. "Wonderful. Thank you." She stood up and put her phone on the table.

"You know what the hell you did this time?"

"Hmm? Is it just another task?"

"I have no idea." He left her room with her, "Maybe it's connected to Velvet Velour's death. Heard the Sabbat killed her. Slade's been a wreck."

"I'm not sure who that is." Phaedra confessed.

"Never mind…" He said, approaching the double doors leading to Strauss's office, "Just try not to die in there."

She chuckled, "Of course I won't." She pat his shoulder, "Strauss would keep me safe."

Cadmus gave the double doors one last unsure look, before he turned away and started leaving. Once Phaedra entered the office, Strauss folded his hands, "Greetings, Miss Kokinos. I wanted to ask you a few questions about the loss of Santa Monica."

"Hmm? Of course." She stepped forward.

"I have received an updated…briefing…on the battle, while we were having a meeting." He said, "Miss Voerman informed me that she was in a position to dispatch the three assailants, but you stopped her."

She paused, "Yes, that is true. She was going to use Visions of Death, I'm assuming."

There was definitely an air of disappointment in his voice, and expression, as he spoke once more, "It is likely she would still have Santa Monica if she defeated those Sabbat Kindred…"

"Forgive me, sir." She bowed her head, "It was a fear of mine that…her powers might accidentally end my life as well." She stood tall again, "I wasn't sure how much control she had over the attack…if she might…perhaps, kill all of us in a rush of fear."

"I see…" He said, thinking it over, "She does have the tendencies to overstep her bounds, on occasion…"

"I also…thought, she was rather inexperienced, when it came to combat, at least. I didn't want her to hurt herself. It was really the combined efforts of Celerity and Purge that brought us down with ease."

"Yes, indeed. Taking the city back will be an easy task…"

"Good. I will help with whatever efforts there are in restoring it."

"Retaking the city will occur after this Phantom's Mask finally comes and goes. I wish for it to be behind us before we concentrate on any territories."

"Of course. That makes the most sense."

He nodded, "That was all, for the time being. Unless you had any further questions."

"No, thank you sir." She gave a small bow before she turned and headed out the doors, back to her room. Once she got there, she fumbled for the phone and called Rainy, wincing at herself with every ring until she picked up, "Rainy? You aren't busy, are you?"

"Phaedra?" Rainy's voice came from the other end, "How've you been?"

She sighed softly just hearing her voice, "I've been fine, what about you?"

"We've been fine. With the Kuei-Jin back, we moved to the Skyline Apartments. But I like it better here, we feel safer."

She sat on her couch and closed her eyes, "I'm so happy to hear that, dear…what have you been up to?"

"Not much. This girl was going to run away from all her friends, because men were fighting over her, but I told her that she shouldn't run away, and now she's really happy."

"What a happy story…" She beamed, "I'm so proud of you, darling…"

She giggled, "Other than that, I've just been staying in with Raven."

"How is she?"

"She's doing well. We're…taking things slowly."

"That's good. She must really appreciate that."

"I'm still…honestly surprised she's into something like this."

"I think she cares about you enough to give it a try."

"I just hope she doesn't feel pressured into it…"

"She would let you know if she was."

"Sometimes it's hard to tell with her. Her whole marriage, she was just…abused into going along with everything…I just hope I can provide her an environment of love after all those horrible things she went through."

"Considering how tender and affectionate you were towards me, I think she'll be more than pleased."

There was a pause, "I really hope so."

Phaedra closed her eyes, "Just keep doing what you're doing, dear, she'll be more than happy."

"I will. Thank you, Phaedra."

"Thank you for speaking with me…"

"Did you want me to visit more often?"

"No, no, that's alright, you need to spend time with Raven. I understand."

"Okay, just remember you can call me whenever you want."

"Yes, of course." She said, then added, "I'll let you tend to her."

"Okay, bye Phaedra."

"Bye-bye, love." She said before she hung up and sighed. It would be another long night.

* * *

"Hey, Killian and I need to go feed on someone real quick. We're low on blood." Sirius fibbed, "So…uh…just give us a minute or two."

"Uh…right…" Catalina said, "Take your time, I guess." Sirius gave her a nod, then nodded Killian over to an alleyway. Killian followed Sirius into the alleyway, something off about the look on his face. There was less of a chilled look there, less of an air of cockiness. He looked apathetic and distracted.

"Your dad knows everything." Sirius crossed his arms, "He knows you're truly an Anarch. I don't know how…but he's shutting you out of the Sabbat, pretty much reducing you to an errand boy."

"I figured as much." He said bitterly, "My place burned down, VV must have died in the fire." His stone cold eyes landed on Sirius's, "I'd bet my life it was his doing."

"No way." He looked surprised, "He killed VV?"

"I can't find her." He said, "Last thing I said to her was some…stupid argument about bullshit." He leaned against the wall, "I have to distance myself. I have to disappear if he's gonna go about it like this. He'll try and kill all you guys. And he's not gonna do it himself, he's gonna get someone with a ton of power to do it for all the money he has."

"Well actually, he's my ghoul now." He smiled, "I'm annoyed at giving the bastard blood, but, it's easier to keep track of him when he belongs to me."

"Yeah, I was supposed to talk to you about that." He muttered, "Well, I'm not doing shit for him anymore. Dammit, I'm gonna take his head off the next time I see him."

"Right on. He pretty much suspects nothing, so if you need me to kill him, just say the word."

"I…I need to do it myself."

"Alright, fair enough. I'll keep you posted about whatever the hell he's doing."

"Aright…we should probably get back out there before they think we're giving each other BJs."

"Tch, you can bet your ass at least _one_ of them think that." He said, heading back out to regroup with the girls.

"Everything okay?" Catalina raised a brow.

"Peachy. Keep walking." Sirius flicked a hand out as if she were a fly.

"So, _do_ you have a girlfriend?" Cissy leaned in towards Killian.

He looked down at her without turning his head, "No. I don't want one."

"Oh, what, you…you know, gay?"

"What? Hell no." He looked over at Sirius, "I didn't think you'd be right…"

"Eh, become as old as I do, you can nearly predict the future." Sirius said.

"…so you don't want a girlfriend? You want to be alone forever?" Cissy asked.

"Yeah. Sounds about right."

"You sound just like Cat." She crossed her arms.

"Look, if there was one thing I learned from going through this life the way you are, it's that love is impossible. You're immortal and everything and everyone close to you will eventually fall apart. Including yourself. You're not gonna live forever, and neither are they. It's not worth it, alright? Even if it did somehow last that long, you'll get bored of each other."

"See, this is why I think you're a Toreador sometimes." Sirius said.

"I do not think like that." Catalina crossed her arms.

"It's the truth." Killian grumbled, "Name one successful Kindred couple that's been together for more than a year."

"…alright…that's just depressing…"

"I'm not asking for your hand in marriage." Cissy said, "I just want a good time. And you could use it too, mister grumpy-pants."

"Yeah, no. I'll pass." Killian said.

"Trust me, she'll ask you about a-hundred more times, I'm sure." Catalina said.

"Great." Killian huffed.

"I'll take anyone at this point." Cissy muttered, "I'm not even looking for something long term, I just need attention."

"Hopefully you'll grow out of that." Catalina said.

"Yeah, I'm almost positive she will." Killian said.

"Hold up." Sirius held an arm out, "Looks like there's a brawl up ahead."

"Really?" Catalina whispered, seeing a large burly man flanked by two women who were fighting what looked like the grim reaper, who only Sirius and Killian recognized, "I've never seen any of them…"

"Three of them are Kuei-Jin." Sirius said, "If we're lucky, they won't notice us…"

"We should help them out." Killian said to Sirius, "The Sabbat."

"Yeah, Cedric might appreciate it." Sirius said, "Alright, you two girls beat it. Go back to the Last Round or something."

"What?" Catalina looked annoyed, "Hell no." She pulled a gun and a sword out, "I can fight for myself." As the four Anarchs joined the battle, the three Kuei-Jin and one Sabbat vampire turned to see them. Cedric more or less hid himself behind Sirius and Killian, calling on Necromancy to summon his hordes of zombies.

Jun took a deep breath, creating a sword of fire and blood to fight off the three men in front of him, while Tsubasa started clashing her sword with Catalina, and meanwhile Kalliyan began shooting at Cissy. "Shit, he's got fire." Killian said, his fists sparkling with Potence, "How the hell do we beat that?" He looked over at Sirius.

"I'll handle the big guy, don't worry about it." Sirius said, standing in front of Killian.

Jun gave a hungry grin, going to swat at Sirius with his flaming sword. But nothing happened. It was as if Jun slashed a stone statue. A few loose flames caught on Sirius, but that was it, "What madness is this?"

Sirius pulled his Colt Anaconda out, shooting away at Jun. Jun growled as bloody holes opened up in his chest, he kept swinging at Sirius, but Sirius wasn't taking any damage. Sirius kept shooting at Jun, even Cedric began to join the act with one of his crossbows.

Cissy was having a tough time landing any hits on Kalliyan, so Killian rushed in with Celerity and Potence to punch her right in the back. Kalliyan coughed up blood, falling back. She did her best to scramble to her feet, aiming her pistol at the two of them and firing.

Catalina and Tsubasa kept clashing blades, but Tsubasa kept dashing around, cutting Catalina to ribbons. She stomped on Catalina's chest, cackling, "Come now, little Kindred, I thought you would put up more of a fight!"

"Help her!" Cissy pointed, so Killian rushed in to punch Tsubasa in the face.

Tsubasa laughed and sped back, "You're too slow, Cainite!" She slashed through Killian with ease. Catalina got up, soaked in blood, she wobbled a bit, looking on in worry as Kalliyan resumed shooting at Cissy.

"Shit." Killian spit to the side, then grinned, "It's been a while since I fought someone like this." He kicked a yield sign at her and ran in as she was distracted to try and hit her. Tsubasa evaded the attack, although barely, then she sped at Killian, but Catalina blocked it. She coughed up more blood at merely the impact of their swords hitting, her boots skidding back as Tsubasa kept speeding into her.

"Shit…" Sirius looked back, "They need help." He said, "Think you can handle this guy?" Cedric nodded, shooting at Jun a bit more. Jun backed away, looking back for plans of retreat. Sirius stood in front of Cissy, Kalliyan's bullets were simply bouncing off his body.

"What? What the hell is this guy, invincible?" Tsubasa asked.

"Alright, Sirius, you take her, we'll handle the last one." Killian said as he, Catalina and Cissy narrowed in on Kalliyan.

"Fall back!" Jun said, "That Kindred is unmovable! We need to retreat!"

"But how?" Tsubasa asked, "Kindred can't just…be invincible…they're abominations…there needs to be a drawback."

"You wanna stick around and find out?" Sirius taunted, he then looked at the other Anarchs, "Beat it. I can take everyone here by myself."

Catalina looked like she wanted to argue, but she was too weak to do so. Tsubasa grinned, "Don't worry, little one, we'll meet again soon, I'm sure, and I promise to give you more pain." Catalina shuddered, coughing a bit more.

"Just go!" Sirius said, getting hit by all their attacks without taking the slightest hint of damage.

"Alright, c'mon." Killian said, gently putting an arm around Catalina's shoulders and helped her off as Cissy trailed after them.

"Hit me with your best shot!" Sirius laughed like a madman.

* * *

Three cups of sugar. As she measured out the cups, she contemplated how much she really had used. Three cups really was a lot. She really shouldn't eat all that sugar.

She mixed it all together, smiling a bit at the bright red color. Oh, who was she kidding? She deserved a treat now and again. And it wasn't like Sirius cared. In fact, he'd probably _want_ her to eat it all in one sitting. She stuck a finger in and tasted it. "Ugh. Dammit, I'm good."

She wondered if she should go back to work. She was sure the kitchen could use it. She honestly missed it too, sitting around and just pigging out on anything she could make. But, at the same time, she wouldn't mind never seeing their faces again. Who knew she could be such an introvert?

"One tablespoon of honey…" She mused, grabbing the ceramic jar she usually used for honey. "Do I have any left? I thought I used it all up…" She opened the jar and peered inside.

Her face paled and the lid dropped to the ground, " _Sirius!_ "

"See, we gotta work on you yelling at me the second I get home." Sirius said as he entered the room, "Completely kills the mood."

"What the fuck is this." She asked, holding out the jar for him to see.

He sat at the table listlessly, the same smug smile on his face, as if they were discussing perfectly ordinary matters, "I mean…a basic anatomical intern would tell you it's a heart."

She looked at the heart, then closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose, setting the jar on the counter, " _Why_ , is it in my honey jar."

"Oh, is that your honey jar?"

"Yeah." She said dryly.

"Maybe we could put a different kind of honey in there." He said, "Bet it would taste good."

"Ugh." She shuddered, "No. No." She crossed her arms, "No putting your organs in my cooking supplies."

"Come on, Juliet. Don't break my heart."

She held her forehead, "I hate you. I hate you, I hate you…"

"Cool trick, huh? I rip my heart out of myself, and it like…hardens my body. I'm like totally invincible."

"…really?" She peeked up through her fingers.

"Yup. Trick is to hide the heart someplace safe."

"Well…maybe try somewhere that I won't run into…" She shuddered, "It's kinda gross."

"Alright, alright, give it back." He held a hand out. She handed him the entire jar, still a little grossed out. He took the heart out and swallowed it whole, "Ah…well, it'll find its way down there, somewhere…"

She looked revolted, "Ugh…uh…wouldn't that just go in your stomach?"

"Nah, it'll find it's way to where it belongs."

"Okay…" She said slowly, "Good…good, good, fine…whatever…please wash your hands…"

"Oh, don't pretend." He laughed as he walked over to the sink, "I bet your panties are soaked right now."

"They're about average." She muttered, "Nothing more and nothing less. I thought I'd lose my lunch when I saw that fucking organ in my honey."

"You squeamish?" He asked as he washed his hands.

"No, I just…don't like blood or meat or…touching it…or the thought of it…" She said, "Maybe I am."

He dried his hands off, "Maybe I should acquaint you, then." He went to reach down his throat.

"Sirius! No, no, no! Fuck, stop!" She shook her hands and looked away.

He laughed, "Oh, this is going to be fun."

She sighed shakily, "Please don't do this to me…"

"Come on, it's fun." He said, "Now I know what to do if you do something I don't like."

"And how the hell am I supposed to get you back?"

"I don't know. I feel like I'm way to open with what turns me on for you to gross me out."

"Maybe I can take sex away if you annoy me."

"Oh come on, that's the oldest trick in the book."

"Yeah, cause it works."

"Alright." He sat back at the table, "You're on."

"Fine." She crossed her arms, "Our relationship is more than sex anyway."

"Eh."

"Please." She rolled her eyes, "I've never felt closer to someone."

"But seriously, I'm gonna need to keep my heart here somewhere on the more advanced missions. If another Kindred find my heart and destroys it…or worse, eats it. I'm dead. Immediately." He said, "That's the drawback to the Heart of Darkness."

"I get it. How about you keep it in that jar under the bed or something? Under the mattress?"

"Eh…I guess I could get a spare jar…I didn't know you were using that one, to be honest."

"It's alright, it was my fault, really. I guess I should have specified."

"I'm surprised I was able to pick it up so easily. Now I'm really getting strong. Soon no one in this country will want to fuck with me."

"That's a relief, at least…"

He smiled, "So how was your day?"

"It was alright. Relaxing, as always."

"What are you making?"

She went back over to the bowl, "I was making strawberry bread, but I don't have any honey, I guess."

"Want me to go grab some?"

"I mean, if you're up to it. I know you just got your heart back so…you should probably be careful…"

"What, am I gonna get shot up at the convenient store, I'll be fine." He stood up and began to head out, "I'll take the motorcycle, I'll be quick."

"Okay…be careful." She gave him a worried look.

He took off rather quickly, returning in less than half an hour, "Alright, I'm back." He set a few jars on the table, "Got your honey."

"Ugh, you're the best." She grabbed some, measured it out and added it to her bowl, mixing it together before she poured it into a tin.

"Kinda looks like your pussy after I'm done with it."

Her shoulders dropped, "Sirius." He laughed and laughed, sitting back in his spot at the table.

She sighed and leaned against the counter after she put it in the oven. "I'd ask if you wanted any but…"

"It's fine, Juliet." He said, "One day you'll remember that I'm a vampire."

"Yeah…" She sighed bitterly.

"Come on, I'm just joking."

"I know. But…it's kind of true. I keep picturing this…perfect life with you, but…you're a vampire." She said, "Your life is…very different than mine, it's really so much worse…so…I don't know." She looked up at him, "It's just a…chaotic relationship."

His smile faded, "You don't like it?"

"I didn't say that."

"Yeah but…you implied it's not the 'perfect life' so…how am I supposed to feel about that?"

"It isn't perfect. If it was perfect, I'd hate it."

"I guess…" He said, "Whatever…me not being able to eat shouldn't bother you. It's fine."

She crossed her arms, "The kids are gonna wonder why Daddy never eats."

"He works late…or…something…jeez, how the fuck am I supposed to know? We don't even know _what_ the kids are gonna be!"

"What do you mean?"

"We talked about this, since you're a ghoul, your kids might not be human."

"But, like, what would they be?"

"Hell if know, I'm hoping it's just…more ghouls or something like that."

She paused, "So we really should teach them about the World of Darkness then. Should we even send them to public school? It would be too dangerous, right? I guess we could probably rig up some sort of private school, or tutor or something, we have the money."

"Yeah, something like that."

She sighed, "Well, that's gonna be in the oven for like, another hour or so…what'd you wanna do? Watch a movie?"

"Sure." He stood up and held his arms out. She hugged him, then walked into the living room with him and sat on the couch with him, flipping through channels. He gave her a squeeze, "Relax, everything's gonna work out." Her eyes seemed to smile as she kissed his cheek and cuddled up beside him. "Anything good on?"

"Not really." She muttered.

He rested his head on her shoulder, "That's fine." He laid more of his weight on her. She wrapped her arms around him, then just laid back and cuddled with him. "You better stay awake, or the whole house will burn down."

"Ugh, I know…" She muttered, "If I fall asleep, just wake me up in like…an hour…"

"What if I fall asleep too?"

"Then…then…I'll wake you up…"

"Did you like, set a timer or something?"

"Yeah...it's on the counter…" Her eyes closed.

"Damn it, what am I going to do with you?" He sat up a bit so she could sleep on him, holding her close and deciding to wait the next hour out.

"It just happens when I'm with you…" She muttered, "I can relax…"

"Fair enough." He kissed her forehead, "Enjoy your nap."

"Wake me up when it's done."

"I will."

She clutched him tighter, going so far as to wrap her legs around him too. After about fifteen minutes, she even started snoring, using his shoulder as a pillow.

When the timer went off, Sirius shook her awake, "Rise and shine." She moaned and clung onto him. "Juliet…"

"Take it out for me…?"

"I'm not even eating it." He pulled away from her, digging around for oven mitts for what felt like forever, until he found them and took the bread out, turning the oven off.

She had sat up by the time he came back into the living room. "Thanks babe…" She rubbed one of her eyes.

"Don't mention it." He scooped her up and sat her down in one of the chairs in the kitchen, "Huh…don't…don't know…how you wanna cut this…or whatever…"

She giggled a bit, "I'll do it." She kissed his forehead, "Thanks a bunch for the free ride." She stood up and rubbed one of her heels, taking a butter knife out and slicing the loaf, putting some on her plate.

"Maybe I should give you some more often."

"I wouldn't turn that down." She said as she ate some, "Mmm, it's good. Wish you could taste it."

He shrugged, "Smells nice, at least."

"I have an idea." She smiled, leaning in to kiss his lips.

He kissed her back for a while, "Look, I already know that you're the best chef in the state, but I guess the confirmation is nice."

"Sure thing." She smirked and ate some more bread. "If I eat this loaf, I'm gonna gain like, twenty more pounds."

"Then save the rest for later."

"Guess I will." She stood up, putting foil around the loaf and putting it in the fridge before she sat and finished the bread on the table.

"Well, I guess I could say work is fun." He said, "We tried to assassinate a guy the other day, but I guess it didn't really work out."

"It didn't work out?" She asked, "And everyone's okay?"

"Yeah, for now, I guess."

"For now?"

He shrugged, "Well, I bet word's out that we _tried_ to kill someone…so…they ought to be pissed, I'm thinking."

"But you're invincible."

"That's right. As long as my heart's in a jar."

"Yeah, that's manageable."

"So the reader's digest version is, I'm safe."

"Good." She kissed his cheek, "And you're taking care of the others?"

"Eh, doing my best, at least. Some of the Kindred there are only a few years old or less."

"Pfft, only a few years…jeez, you make it sound like they're incompetent…"

"I mean…this one chick is only a few months. She literally knows nothing."

"She's still probably stronger than me."

"You could beat her ass over until next week."

She snickered, "What, is she tiny or something?"

"Eh…she's just some punk-ass junky. She's more concerned about giving her next blow job than work. Probably got Embraced at a club by accident, and now we're all stuck with her. She's annoying."

"Kick her to the curb, then. You're the boss, right? Aren't you the oldest?"

"Me? No, I ain't the boss here."

"Really? There's someone else?"

He nodded slowly, "Nines Rodriguez. He's the leader of us."

She snickered, "You say his name like I'm supposed to recognize it."

"I guess you're not, or he'd be doing a pretty shitty job as a vampire then, wouldn't he?"

"Yeah, guess so. So what's this guy, like, eight hundred?"

"Nah, I think he's only got a couple years on me or something…if that…"

"Huh." She crossed her legs, "I think you should be the leader if you're invincible."

"You think so?" He laughed, "That's nice of you."

"I mean, doesn't it make sense?"

"Hell yeah, a ton of sense."

"Maybe if he dies, they'll figure that out." She muttered.

"Of course, on the side I'm pretending I'm on, the Kindred there crack about five-hundred, so…that's pretty open and shut."

"Jeez…yeah, I'd just…keep quiet and do what they say…"

"You know, it's pretty fun to tell you about this stuff."

"Fun?" She asked.

"Yeah. I like talking to you."

She smirked, "What, is it my stupidity? Is it entertaining?"

"No, I just, like how you think. It's nice to be able to tell _someone_ about all the shit I go through, after keeping secrets all damn night."

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense." She smiled, "Am I part of your little secret treasure stash?"

"I guess in a way, no one knows about this place, and I plan to keep it that way."

She giggled, then stood up and stretched, "Guess we should…go to bed."

"Uh-huh, we'll 'go to bed'." She looked up at him, then crossed her arms and followed him up the stairs, standing in the bedroom like she was waiting for something. He took his trench coat off, hanging it up, "The hell are you looking at?"

"Nothing. I was waiting for you to assault me."

"You did it first."

"What?"

"You were the predator first."

Her cheeks flushed, "Well, you do it more often."

"But you were first."

"That hardly matters."

"I guess it doesn't." He took his shirt off, "In a way, I guess you taught me everything I know."

She ogled his chest, then blushed and turned away, not even realizing she did it, "No. No, I didn't teach you a thing. You made it clear when we first fucked, you were not a virgin."

"I guess you tainted me."

"No, no, I did not taint you." She looked quite angry now, "You talked about all the whores and models and strippers you fucked, I don't want to hear it."

He pulled his pants off, bouncing slightly as he got on the bed and laid back, "Jeez, I'm just joking."

She sighed, "You know just how to get me riled up…"

"You don't have to take it so seriously."

"I know…" She laid next to him, looking at her feet, "My feet are killing me."

"I noticed." He said, moving downward to give them a rub, "Probably because of your eight-hundred inch heels."

"Okay, they're four and a half."

"Jeez, still sounds like a lot." He said, "Course, I don't know the first thing about women's shoes." He said, pushing one of her feet back with the brunt force of his palm. Each crack from her heel got louder than the last, "I don't…I don't think feet are supposed to do that…"

She grit her teeth, "Mmm…yeah…yeah, I don't think so…" She closed her eyes, "You're….you're very good…"

"I mean, I've had practice." He shrugged, "Hmm, maybe I should be a bit gentler." He softly massaged her ankles.

Her eyes closed, "God, what did I do to deserve this…?" She muttered.

"I don't know." He kissed one of her ankles for a while.

She smiled, "How can I get you back? Anything sore? Shoulders?"

"Nah, nothing's really sore, I'm just kinda tired." He climbed up to get level with her, "You mind if we just do missionary?"

"Not at all." She rubbed her hands over his shoulders anyway.

He kissed her hungrily, reaching down and taking her blouse off, groping her breasts through her bra, "Jeez…one day I want to hose down your tits…"

"What?" Her cheeks blushed, "It's not like there's much there…"

"What do you mean?"

"I just…feel like there's not enough…tit there to…enjoy."

He shrugged, "I like them." He took her bra off, going down and kissing one of her breasts.

"They really grow a lot when I you know…start producing milk and shit…"

"Oh yeah?" He started to suck on one, licking the nipple.

She bit her lip and nodded, "Uh…u-uh huh…"

"Now, let's see how soaked you are." He reached down and pulled her shorts off, then her panties, "Nice."

Her cheeks lit up like flames, "Hey, I never said I was ready yet…"

"Could have fooled me." He kept staring at her sex.

She squirmed a bit, "Just because _it's_ ready doesn't mean _I_ am."

"I know, I know, hold still." He held her close and went back to kissing her. She kissed him back, wrapping her legs around him and gently scratching his back. "Want me to get anything specifically?"

"Whatever you want." She said as she caught her breath. He repositioned himself slightly so he could kiss her neck, rubbing her stomach as well. She closed her eyes, "Want me to say something to get you off…?"

"I thought you said you weren't ready…"

"Well, sometimes hearing you get really horny gets me even wetter…"

"Alright, let's hear it." He grinned, as his snake tongue flickered out.

"When I'm pregnant…I'll probably have at least four…maybe even six…I'll be the size of a whale…" Her nails ran up and down his back, "My cup size might double…and god, I'll eat tons…you'll have to shovel it down for me…"

"Fucking Christ, Juliet…" He said, tearing his underwear off and pressing his length on her lower abdomen.

The let out a deep moan from the back of her throat, "Fuck yeah, that's good…" Her hands slid down his back and held onto his hips as she slowly rolled hers in a small pattern.

He kept it up, squeezing her a bit tighter and humping her a bit more aggressively.

"Okay…o-okay…Sirius please…" She pleaded.

"One more beg…" He kissed her throat.

"Fuck my brains out…" She whispered in his ear.

The bed creaked slightly as he shifted all of his weight on her during the penetration. She let a warm sigh fill the air as she melted beneath him, letting him fill her completely before her face twisted in pleasure when he started a relentless rhythm.

He cupped both hands around her butt cheeks, letting out a loud sigh as he kept pummeling into her deeper and deeper. Her voice grew in volume with his pace and pressure, her muscles tensing beneath him as she rapidly approached her climax.

He pressed his chest up against her boobs, which he must have really enjoyed, because he groaned again, thrashing and thrusting inside her more vigorously. Finally, she hit her peak and screamed, biting onto his shoulder for grounding. She gasped for air as she kept her legs tightly bound around his, panting and combing her fingers in his hair.

He gave her a last batch of humps before he pulled himself out, "Fuck…"

"Yeah…uh huh…." She put a hand on her forehead, her body lightly coated with sweat. He gave her a bit of room, giving her a light squeeze as he rubbed her stomach. "Have fun…?" She smiled.

"Course I did…"

She smirked, "Thinking about knocking me up?"

"I really wish I actually could…"

She snickered and kissed his cheek, "I'm sure you'd do _great_ …"

He kissed her breast, "Don't rub it in…"

"I'm certainly not going to stop you from trying…"

"You're evil."

"I know." She closed her eyes and kissed his forehead.

"Sleep well, alright?"

"Yeah…thanks hon…" She rubbed a hand over his chest, "You too. Get rest." Her eyes closed, "You'll work yourself to death." She said with a smile.

"Alright, alright…" He closed his eye.

She held one of his cheeks, kissing his lips and wishing him goodnight before she went to bed.

* * *

 **A/N:** Now that the Anarchs have a stone statue of invincibility, how will the other sects go about taking them down? Will they? Thanks for reading!


	57. Chapter 57

**A/N:** Here's chapter fifty-seven! The Kuei-Jin slowly crawl closer and closer to the hub of the action…so what happens when they get there? Enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs. Also, this chapter has some lemony scenes, if you're not a fan, feel free to skim over it.

* * *

Tess's eyes lifted from the page she was reading as she heard Slade walk in, "Slade…"

Slade plopped on the couch next to her, "What are you reading?"

"A memoir." She closed the book and set it on the table, "Are you alright?"

"I don't…I don't know what to feel…" Slade said, "Sometimes I feel nothing…other times I feel mad as hell…"

She gently hugged him, "It's not your fault."

"I know it isn't." He said, "I just…I don't know how to feel. I feel like a jerk, an asshole. I had so many things left to say to her…and…and now she's dead…"

"I know…I…" She sighed, "As stupid as it sounds, I felt the same about Julius. But…I'm sure she understood. She loved you a lot."

"That's what you warned me about…all the time…" He gave a shaky sigh, "To cherish my sire. Turns out I didn't really listen well…"

"It's alright, sweetheart." She closed her eyes and gently kissed his cheek, "She understands."

He closed his eyes, a single tear leaked out, but he brushed it away, "Now all our sires are dead, the three of us…"

"It's such a shame…" She said softly, "That was something he warned me of, too…Julius…" She said, "He told me that if you have a childe, your chance of dying is doubled. It's like there are two of you…twice as much chance for someone to run into you and want you dead. I'm sure that's one of the main reasons Jack was hunted so much…"

"Who's to say they're not dead too?"

"Who?"

"You know who. Dragomir and Genevieve."

She took his hand with both of hers, "All we can do is…just hope."

"They're dead, Tess. It's been months." He said, "We might as well just…face facts…"

She pulled his head in close to her neck as she held onto him, "We can't give up…" She felt herself tear up, and just couldn't bear to face him.

"I had the most diligent Kindred in the Camarilla look for them, and they couldn't find them."

"Something will pop up…whether it be their ashes or their bodies…we'll…find something…"

"I…I think it's time to end it…this Phantom's Mask thing sounds like the perfect time…"

"…time to end what?" He didn't respond. She squeezed him closer, "No, Slade." She said, as firm as her wavering voice could be, "Whether he's Malkavian or the way he used to be…Dragomir wouldn't want you to kill yourself…he'd be…so disappointed…" Her voice cracked. "So angry…"

"I don't care about that." He said, "What's the point of doing any of this shit without Dragomir?" He frowned, "We overcome this Phantom's Mask…this Sabbat…then what? Yay, we get to fight more people. What the hell is the point to that?"

"If he's dead…then it's our duty to live out the rest of our lives in his honor…"

He wilted, "I don't…I don't know if I can do that…" He said, "I'm just…so worthless compared to anyone else…I can't do anything right…"

"Slade…" He felt her smile against him as she gently pressed a kiss to his neck, "Think about who you're speaking to…"

There was a silence for about a minute, then she felt him squeeze her tightly, "I know…"

She chuckled softly against him, but it was cynical laughter, full of self-hate, "Think about…how I treated him…think about everything I said, how I broke him down and just…tried to tear his heart out and stomp all over it…and that…that was _before_ I used him…" She shuddered and clutched onto him, "If you…if you take your life…fine…" She gasped out, "But I deserve to live the rest of my life in hell for what I did to him…he was the one who accepted me first…in school…the one who actually…sat next to me, gave me his lunch, took me out places with his friends to show me that life could be _enjoyable_ …and how did I repay him?" She shuddered, "I will _never_ forgive myself…"

"I…I had no idea you felt that way…" He held her close, "I'm sorry."

She rested her eyes up against his shoulder and just sat there, her chest burning with contempt, "I want him back just as much as you do…"

"I know you do…I'm sorry."

She sat back and rubbed at one of her eyes, "What were your plans for the rest of the evening?"

"I…I don't know…" He said, "I'm sorry though Tess, it was inconsiderate of me to…to talk like that…I completely didn't consider how you felt…"

"Don't be sorry…" She wiped his tears away with her thumbs.

"You're coming with me to the Phantom's Mask though, as well as a few other missions." He said, "I talked to Strauss about involving you more…"

She smiled, "Thank you Slade."

He nodded, giving her a squeeze, "We'll pull through this."

Tess rested her head on his shoulder, "Did you want to go to bed?"

"Yeah…that makes the most sense…"

She stood up and took his hand, walking into the bedroom, "What are you in the mood for?"

"I…I don't know…" He said, "Right now…I just feel really bad for saying all that stuff…and making you feel so sad…"

"No, you didn't make me feel sad…" She said, "That's…been pent up for a while…"

"Maybe you should lay down…I'll take care of you…" She smiled and undid her blazer and shirt, laying back on the bed as she kicked her heels off. Her fingers then unsnapped her skirt and pulled that off. "Anything specific in mind?" He asked as he loosened his tie.

"Something soothing. Whatever you'd like."

"Alright, I'll just start with the basics then." He took all his clothes off aside from his underwear, laying on top of her and kissing her lips, holding both her hips and squeezing them occasionally. She met his lips with hers, rubbing her shoulders gently as she crawled back on the bed a bit more.

He kissed her a bit harder, squeezing both his hands around her boobs and letting out a sigh. A light sigh filled the air as she combed her fingers through her hair, "We don't have to have sex if you don't want to…"

"I mean, it's up to you."

She held his face and smirked before she slid her panties off. He smiled back and held one of her hips as he rubbed her lower abdomen. She sighed and let her head rest on the pillow as she grasped the bedsheets and spread her legs just a tad to make room for him. He crept back and kissed her stomach, making sure to really get in there and rub the small of her back as well as her rear.

She lightly sighed his name and threaded her fingers through his hair as she wrapped her legs around his body. He sucked a bit harder, grabbing onto her butt a little tighter too. "C-Can you…get my…my legs?" She asked.

"Sure." He went back a bit and started kissing one of her legs while rubbing the other. She groaned and spread them even more, lifting one a bit for him. He grabbed onto it rather quickly, sucking on the calf and giving it a lick occasionally as he squeezed it.

"H-Higher…" She pleaded. He nodded, getting close to her inner thigh and licking it quite a few times, if not outright suckling on it. She let out a shameless scream and clawed at the sheets, begging for him breathlessly.

He chuckled, "Someone want me?" He asked as he took his underwear off.

"Please…"

He shoved his length against her inner thigh for a bit to get himself properly warmed up, sending the blood through his system to make his shaft grow quite a bit. She grit her teeth as she kept begging, nearly shredding the sheets with her nails from the anticipation.

He then finally inserted himself into her, letting out a stifled roar as he began to penetrate her. Her voice competed with his as she tried to limit her thrashing beneath him and keep it at a moderate roll of the hips.

He held her close and felt her curves up whenever he needed a bit more inspiration. Meanwhile, her arms traced over his shoulders and biceps, gently feeling the muscles there. She felt her final climax seize her as she felt the muscles of his back contract with each thrust.

He relaxed and laid next to her, giving her a squeeze, "There we go…"

"Mmm hmm…goodnight, Slade…"

"Goodnight, Tess."

* * *

"You know, I don't mean any offense to your clan or nothing…but…it's weird…that you have to eat that much flesh…" Prospero said.

"I find it quite intriguing that Caine had so many appropriate weaknesses to dole out to each clan." Victor smiled, his hands crossed behind his back as he walked in the center of them.

"Uh…you…uh…might be alone in that regard."

"I do suppose watching her sire do her business has desensitized me on the whole affair." Victor said, "She was standoffish and cold as Phaedra was hospitable. A rather interesting sire and childe dynamic, they have."

"Needless to say, Pisha was very disappointed with my turnout." Phaedra said, "I mentioned morgues to her as a location for flesh and she looked at me as if I had grown several heads."

"I mean, yeah, it's too obvious." Prospero said.

"Well, she was more astounded at the fact that I was eating flesh that was a few days old rather than freshly killed. She liked to eat them live."

"Yes, it was a rather interesting show to watch." Victor said.

"Uh…" Prospero said.

"She attempted to teach me to feed that way, as well." Phaedra added, "I fell for it for a few years before I realized bodies just a few days old performed the same task. I find my humanity suffers less from the life of a scavenger rather than the life of a hunter."

"Course it does, that's what our organization stands for. Staying away from the Beast." Prospero said.

Victor's smile grew slightly, "That odious Phantom's Mask draws near, and if what I heard from Strauss is correct, we'll all be there."

"Perhaps my army will help." Phaedra said.

"It's fair to assume that you may not be the only one with an army." Victor said, "That man in the cloak has access to Necromancy as well…"

"Yes, I have fought him before. He broke my axe countless times."

"Who are we even up against…anyway?" Prospero asked.

"You remember the meeting, every possible side is possible." Victor said, "Which very much excites me…"

Phaedra chuckled softly, "Let's just hope Mass Suicide is helpful." She smiled at Victor.

"We'll soon see, I'm sure."

"Hold up." Prospero said, "Kuei-Jin."

"Is that so?" Victor asked. They were soon met with Jun, and as usual, he was flanked by Tsubasa and Kalliyan. "Awful brave of you to come this close to the heart of downtown." Victor said, "Near the red tower, no less. State your business."

"Greetings, Kindred." Jun gave a small bow, "I have a proposition for you."

"A proposition? How interesting." Phaedra smirked, "Let's hear it."

"I believe we have a common enemy. In the mysterious Kindred in the cloak." Jun said, "I don't think your sects are aligned, what group is he part of? The Sabbat?" He asked, "Whatever that means, I think we should eradicate him together."

Victor and Prospero didn't look like they were having any of it, "Eradicate him together?" The former repeated.

"Yes, we're all formidable warriors here." Jun held his arms out, "It's unlikely that he would be able to survive an attack from all six of us."

"He is nearly impossible to attack." Phaedra said, "His body seems to break weapons."

"You'll have to forgive us. We have no interest in joining an alliance with you." Victor said bluntly.

"Is that so?" Jun said as a smile crept onto his face, "It's unfortunate to learn that Kindred are so inconsolable about this matters…"

"Look, why don't you beat it before you run into some trouble?" Prospero asked.

"Oh, we'll leave, as soon as we clear the city of a few bodies." Jun's voice deepened, as Tsubasa immediately sped out and attacked the front most person, which happened to be Victor. Victor grimaced as bloody scratches opened up in his body. He was taken aback by her sudden speed. He held a hand out and the three Kuei-Jin threw up blood.

Their opponents looked in pain as they threw up. Jun seemed to have an advantage over the three puddles of blood on the ground. He grabbed the blood with his hands as if they were solid claw, forming it into a sword.

He created another sword of fire, "Ah…Kindred need blood to use their powers, is that right? A useful endeavor, on perhaps your own kind, Tremere." He punched Victor in the face.

Victor coughed up blood, tumbling back on the ground, "I…" He choked, "I believe a great deal of my bones are broken…"

"Damn it…" Prospero powered up Potence, trying to fend off Jun.

Tsubasa dashed in to attack Phaedra, while Kalliyan started shooting at her. Phaedra seemed irritated at the bullets hitting her, but expressed no pain. She held her axe out to block Tsubasa's attacks, "I'm going to need some help stalling them if I am to use Necromancy." She said to Prospero.

Prospero sped around with his own Celerity, "Then let's switch. I'll take on the girls, you try and get the big guy."

"I'll try, at the very least." She said as she dove out of the way and gave herself some space, waving her arms around spiritually as she summoned a specter.

Jun made his way over to Phaedra, as Prospero meanwhile tried to fight two opponents at once. He gave the specter heading towards him an unamused look, waving a hand and freezing it in place. It shattered into pieces as it hit the ground, "Unfortunately for you, the undead world does little to scare me. It may work amongst your Kindred brethren, but sadly that is not the case for me."

"How fascinating…" She said, seeming intrigued, or at least trying to replace her crippling fear for something more calming, "You're actually the first member of your kind I've ever met. I've been to Egypt, Greece, Italy and other northern areas of Europe, but never once have I met one of you." She held a hand out to try and use Trance.

The blue glow went around his head, but nothing happened. He raised a brow once she finished speaking, "Shouldn't you be in Korea?"

"I should." She said, "But I'm not. Call me illegal if you will." She smirked, "But paying for life never suited my style." She grabbed her axe and held a defensive position.

He clashed both his swords against her axe, "Suits the rest of your kind quite well." He said, "I rather enjoy the fact that we keep them fenced in."

She snickered as she grinned, "Are they like dogs to you? Do you feed them your scraps?"

"I think it rather suits a kind that's doomed to eat nothing by human flesh. That and blood, those are your only two options…" He smiled back, "Do you want to know what I ate last night? Miso soup. If that doesn't divide on which of us is truly damned, I don't know what does."

"You'll be the damned one when your flesh lies on my plate for dinner." She gave a haunting laugh, "And what a meal I'm sure you'd be! Two hundred pounds of miso soup!"

"I'd like to see you try."

She chuckled softly, "Perhaps when I'm in less squeamish company." She stepped back to slam the axe into his knees.

Jun took a deep breath, spraying fire down at her. She gasped and hardly dodged out of the way, "My, my…very impressive…" She was clearly reevaluating everything.

He ran at her with both his swords out, trying to either burn her alive or cut her completely to ribbons. She ducked low and gasped as she felt her back get sliced open. She stumbled back and looked over to check Prospero's condition.

Prospero didn't look much better, he dashed over to Phaedra, "I might pick up the Tremere Primogen and we might have to make a run for it…"

"I think that's a good idea." She nodded.

Prospero scooped Victor up and had him latch around his back, dashing off with them. If it were not for the fact that the red tower was so close, they would have never made it.

"Alright, they'd be idiots to chase us in here…" Prospero said.

Victor looked a little embarrassed that he was situated on Prospero's back, "Surely…I don't need to be carried like this…do I? I…I feel adequate…"

"Don't worry, buddy, your secret will be safe with me."

As they sat at an upper-level lobby, Phaedra wearily sat in a sofa, wincing, "I could contact a healer, if you'd like…"

"No, no…I'm sure some blood will suffice…" Victor said.

"Let me go catch someone for ya." Prospero said, then he took a heavy sigh, "I guess it's safe to say that we'll be seeing those Kuei-Jin guys at the Phantom's Mask."

* * *

He was more cautious this time, wandering through Hollywood. The streets almost seemed a little darker than usual, too. The bell still rung when he walked in, "Hey." He said softly, his gray eyes flickering up at Isaac.

"Killian." Isaac looked up from his desk, "It's good to see you again."

"Yeah…" He cleared his throat, "I'm gonna cut the small talk and give it to you straight. VV's dead."

"Dead?" His eyes widened.

"He lit the entire place on fire. I haven't been able to find her. The fire started in our room."

"So…so your father killed her?"

"Yeah, he figured out I was a double agent."

He rose from his seat, pacing for a good while, until he stopped and looked out the window to see the night sky, "A tragic loss for Hollywood."

Killian grit his teeth and wiped a tear from his eye, "I can't find him either. I need to find him and tear his head off for this…"

"He needs to die." He faced him, "In order for any of this to be resolved. He needs to die." He said, "This whole Sabbat needs to be destroyed."

"He'll die, sir…" Killian said, which Isaac had probably never heard from Killian, "And it'll be by my hand. I'll find him, and waste no time taking him out."

"I appreciate it, Killian." He said, "I know what the man means to you…but now, he's gotten out of control."

"I understand."

"We need to do it. For Velvet Velour. She needs to be avenged."

"Yeah. Yeah, she will. I promise." He looked up at Isaac, "I'll be back when the deed's done."

* * *

 **A/N:** Archie's got a lot of angry people sniffing him out…will he find a way out of it? Thanks for reading!


	58. Chapter 58

**A/N:** Here's chapter one fifty-eight! Phantom's Mask Eve! Upset that Phantom's Mask is taking place in chapter fifty-nine rather than sixty? Don't be. It's gonna take a few chapters. Enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs. Also, another zesty scene, if you're not a fan.

* * *

When Victor entered the library, it almost sounded like there was a party of teenage girls there, rather than studying Tremere. As he stepped in, he saw Delilah kneeling in front of the fireplace, snickering and giggling as Venus kneeled behind her and massaged her shoulders.

Leonardo was sitting on the couch. He turned and looked up as Victor walked in, "You've come to see the show." He turned a page of the book he was reading.

"It's not a show—Ah, ha, ha! Ah, ha, ah ha, stop it! Ah, ha, ha!" Delilah laughed and laughed, squirming from Venus's grasp as Venus laughed.

"I didn't know vampires could be ticklish." Venus looked up at Victor. "I didn't even know _people_ could be this ticklish."

"You're lucky the Regent hasn't entered the room." Victor said, which sounded harsh and stern, luckily there was a small smile on his face, "He would get the wrong idea."

Venus laughed and laughed, but Delilah just looked embarrassed. "Well, she mentioned her shoulders were a little stiff. I told her I took a massage class, and figured I might as well see how rusty I was. I can't do very much without her falling into a fit." Venus clarified.

"It tickles…" Delilah pulled her hat down a bit.

"The Phantom's Mask arrives after tomorrow morn." He faced Delilah, "I was told that I may bring along one of my apprentices to the battle."

She adjusted her hat, "Why…why are you looking at me? Isn't Iphigenia better?"

The door opened as Iphigenia walked in, dropping a massive stack of textbooks, "I don't think I've read more in six hours in my entire life."

"You are my selection." Victor went on, "You are to vanquish or defend our organization from as many foes as possible, Sabbat or otherwise. I, myself will most likely be occupied with Armando."

Delilah stood up, "That sounds…like a lot of pressure…" She confessed, "Are others going to be present?"

"Of course, but the remainder of the Tremere will stay here in the event that the Phantom's Mask is merely a diversion." He said, "The Chantry needs to be protected."

Iphigenia put a hand on her hip, "That includes us?"

"Yes, that would be you two and Mister Sorrentino." Victor said as he briefly glanced at Leonardo and Iphigenia.

"Gladly, sir." Leonardo nodded.

Iphigenia looked from Delilah to Victor, then smiled, "Good. I'm proud of you." She patted Delilah's shoulder. "You've really been progressing in great strides."

She looked up at Iphigenia, adjusting her hat, "Thank you, ma'am…"

She smiled warmly and chuckled, "You don't need to call me that."

"I just…felt like it was appropriate…"

Victor sat in one of the armchairs, "I was nearly brought to Final Death by some of the invading Kuei-Jin."

"I didn't hear about them." Leo sat up.

"You're alright?" Venus asked.

"I have blood in my room, if you need any." Iphigenia offered.

"That matter has been dealt with." Victor said, "However, I am unnerved at their knowledge about us." He said, "It hardly matches our knowledge of them, if I were to say. The Kuei-Jin rendered me useless in battle in moments. They are not to be underestimated, at any costs."

"Should we look into them?" Leonardo asked, "See what sort of information _we_ can find on _them_?"

"I meant to have a long discussion with the Toreador Primogen about it." He said, "He seems to be the only member of the Camarilla with decent information on the subject."

"That seems counterproductive." Venus muttered.

"They do not openly reveal their secrets." He said, folding his hands, "I suppose they are very much like us, in that regard. They may be vampiric in nature, like we, but they are very different creatures from us. I have just recently learned that they do not use blood to fuel their powers, nearly landed me into torpor."

"Then how do they use their powers?" Delilah sat at the fireplace, "They must generate their energy somewhere."

"Honestly, they still confound me." Iphigenia sat in an armchair and crossed her long legs, "They have human bodies, yes? But, a spirit that seems to…haunt the body, almost?"

"And their powers are just as strange as they themselves are." Victor said, "It's unlike anything I've ever seen…"

Leonardo sat back, "I'm sure some discoveries will come about if they're making themselves so present in our domain."

Delilah hugged her knees, "Either that or they'll take us over before we can learn a single thing."

"They are the faction I'm most worried about." Victor said, "Call it absurd, controversial even, but, it's my sentiment." He said, "The Anarchs are a bunch of fools who will most likely be dead within a fortnight or two. And the Sabbat…well, stronger they may be, and older, but, they will not last long. The Kuei-Jin seem a little ahead of the game. Their leader has many attacks that specialize around fire. There's no doubt that he fought many a Kindred for centuries."

"Fire?" Leonardo asked, his golden eyes wide.

"Centuries?" Delilah seemed even more fearful.

Iphigenia peered at her nails, "I'm sure the Prince has been strategizing, given he knows at least this much."

"Yes, the man's name is Jun Oshiro." Victor said, "I would recommend running from him if he were to initiate a fight, considering even I cannot defeat him."

"Is he fast?" Delilah asked.

"No, but one of his comrades are." He said, "They possess a power similar to Celerity, and Jun's bloodwork is eerily similar to our own…"

A chilling silence fell over the Chantry. Then Venus asked, "Would anyone else like a massage?"

"Massage?" Iphigenia raised a studded brow.

Victor put a hand on his forehead, "I might retire for the night."

"Then I'll be going too." Venus stood up, "Ta-ta." She waved to the others as she left with her regnant.

"Massage?" Iphigenia turned back to the other two.

"She was attempting to help Delilah handle her…anxiety." Leonardo said.

"It tickled…" Delilah twiddled her thumbs.

Iphigenia snickered, "That's because you're ticklish, aren't you?"

"No."

"Yes." Leonardo snorted, "Extremely."

She hugged herself self-consciously again, "At least I don't sleep with every woman with a pulse."

"What?" He flicked his eyes up and glared at her.

"You're more of a playboy than a Toreador."

"Enough." Iphigenia's eyes flickered between them.

"This is coming from the woman who couldn't even stop herself from Embracing me." Leo sat up.

"I said, enough." Iphigenia uncrossed her legs.

"Maybe it's your fault for not stopping when I asked you to."

He turned a page, "Hopefully I'm the only one you've managed to Embrace."

"Of course you are. Once you came around, I learned never to Embrace again, because they'd just become dimwitted, oversexualized morons who like to play dress up and pretend to know how to read."

"Delilah." Iphigenia stood up, "Enough."

She bit her bottom lip as her eyes teared up, "We're equals, aren't we? Don't talk to me like that. Don't talk to me like _I'm_ the one that's guilty."

"I think you should both go to your rooms." She said, "Now."

Delilah crossed her arms in a huff and went upstairs. Leo adjusted his glasses and put his book down, "I'm…rather embarrassed…"

"And you have all good reason to be." She muttered, "Go."

"Yes ma'am…" He stood up and adjusted his tie as he rushed out of the room. Iphigenia rubbed her fingertips over her eyes before she headed out as well.

* * *

"Oh, lovely, I forgot how nice the sewers were…" Slade muttered, at least they were in one of the dryer caverns, almost looking similar to the Nosferatu warrens.

"Mmm…" Derek gave a rather silent response as he brushed dirt from his shoulder.

"It smells like memories." Tess sighed wistfully with a smirk.

"Yup, agreed." Slade gave a chuckle, "We were down here way too much when LaCroix was in power…"

"Think we'll run into any Nosferatu?"

"I'm not sure." He said, "We are under Hollywood right now, but it's to find out if any Sabbat have a base under here…" He said, "There haven't…been any reports of…Nosferatu Antitribu, have there?"

"I feel like they don't have to be Antitribu to be working for the Sabbat." Tess said, "Just angry."

"But what would they be mad about?" Slade wondered, "Strauss treats the Nosferatu way better than LaCroix did."

"I would imagine just being a Nosferatu is enough to be angry about."

He shrugged, "I feel like Gary makes it work. Edgar and Cressida seem okay too."

"Oh, well, of course. They use their anger in very…distinct ways. Gary occasionally hands out information to all sides. Or at least he did when LaCroix was in power. Edgar throws his sledgehammer around everywhere, and Cressida is just…very, very negative."

"Eh, she did strike me that way."

Once they rounded a corner, they were met with three Sabbat foes. Gideon and his childe were also followed by Cedric, "Ah, hello, little children." Gideon snickered.

Slade swallowed hard, "What the hell…?"

Derek eyed him suspiciously, "I'm almost willing to say I recognize you."

"Would you like Miss Belvidere to erase me too?" Gideon chuckled.

"Who…who are you?" Slade asked.

"I am Gideon of the Sword." Gideon said, "This is my childe, Antoinette, and Cedric, a harbinger of skulls."

Derek held out a hand to use Mass Suicide. When it did absolutely nothing, Gideon laughed, "Oh, oh, ho, ho, ho! Good fun, boy. Good fun."

"Um…sir…" Antoinette pulled on her hood, "What should we do?"

"They are two children of Arikel, and one of Ventru. Eliminate them at once."

Cedric immediately began to raise the dead, as many corpses as he could find, as well as spirits, while he and Gideon both powered up Auspex, their eyes glowed a deep red.

Tess took out a katana and started dashing around, trying to slice the zombies down to make room for Slade. Derek, meanwhile, stood back out of the way, just about completely useless, it seemed.

Slade slashed through Gideon, who only laughed as the blue fire on his body began to grow in size, his red eyes also increased in intensity. The attacks seemed to make him stronger, not weaker.

"Uh…" Slade slowed down, "Why is he on fire…?"

"I have no clue…" Tess stepped back with Slade, looking horrified.

The specters that Tess couldn't defeat began to float towards Derek, while Cedric himself began to run for Tess. Antoinette hugged herself and muttered half-baked musings of paranoia every once in a while, which left Gideon and Slade to stand opposite of each other.

"The trio of no parents, is that an accurate term for you roommates?" Gideon held out a hand, as a purple glow came from it.

Slade screamed, horridly loud, as if his skull was being drilled open, foam came out of his mouth as he passed out on the ground, dropping his weapons and laying completely still. Gideon laughed throughout the entire torturous endeavor.

"Slade!" Tess gasped, hearing loud sounds of Derek getting torn open by Cedric's specters. She ran forward to grab both of them and worm her way to an escape, trying any means possible.

"Be warned, children of the Camarilla!" Gideon laughed, "Tonight is Phantom's Mask Eve! You best be careful, or else you will all fall in battle like you have tonight!"

* * *

When she came running up to him, at first he was confused. He wasn't sure how she found him, or why, until he saw her face.

And her black eye.

Her big green eyes still sparkled with life, save for the one that was bloodshot. "Samuel." She said, grasping one of his hands, "I need your help."

"Halcyon…what on earth happened to you?" Sam asked.

"It was one of my consumers. He was not satisfied with my speech." She gently ran her fingers over the eye, it must have been rather uncomfortable, "My sister will want answers."

"You want me to lie to your sister?"

"All I'm asking is for another story to be concocted."

"This one will be more difficult than the last."

"My apologies…" Her shoulders sank a bit, "It was not my intention to make things so difficult."

"It's alright, I just hope your sister will believe my tale."

"I think she will." She assured, "Her mind is clouded with ideas from her library of parasites."

"Is that so?" He asked, "Very well then."

As a taxi stopped, she slid inside and grasped the shoulder of the seat in front of her, "Go straight. Straight, until you see a right. Take it! And then take a left, and a right. And then, we'll arrive."

"Uh…yeah, okay." He started driving. It was only a little while before they arrived and they got out. In the different lighting, Sam saw bruises on Halcyon's wrists as well as she took his hand and pulled him towards their apartment.

When the door opened, Iphigenia stood there, "Sam, Halcyon." She smiled, then her smile faded when she looked at Halcyon, "What…what happened?"

"Poor thing was being mugged." Sam said, "By the time I had arrived, she fought the assailant off. I feel sorry that I wasn't quicker."

Iphigenia ushered them in and gently took Halcyon's hands, "Did you kill them?"

"…" Halcyon looked away.

"Halcyon…" Iphigenia's eyes narrowed, "What did I tell you about that?"

"He was an evil man." She argued defensively, "And I took his money."

Iphigenia sighed and paced over to the fridge, "If anyone finds this, we'll have to move. Again."

"We have the necessary funds."

Iphigenia sighed and sat at the counter, rubbing one of her temples.

"I'm sure whoever this man was, he won't really be missed." Sam said.

"Hopefully that's the case." Iphigenia sat up, "I'll get you a drink. Halcyon, are you hungry?"

"No." She sat at the counter, gently rubbing her eye. "I…I want to see Jeanette…"

"I know." Iphigenia said, "Can you call her?"

"Perhaps." She mused, "But I'm not sure she would pick up." She sat up, "She doesn't want me anymore."

"I'm sure that isn't true." Iphigenia muttered, "Please go try."

"Yes, sister…" She turned and padded off into her room.

"Have the two of them not been getting along?" Sam asked.

"I'm not sure they haven't been getting along." Iphigenia said, "After Santa Monica was lost to the Sabbat, Jeanette almost…went missing."

"I see…rather curious…" He mused, "Strauss has plans to retake the city, rather soon, I believe."

"Good. Halcyon seems to get herself in trouble every other day and needs someone to keep her alive…"

"Perhaps it would be better if she received the Embrace?"

Iphigenia closed her eyes, "I've wondered that myself, but…she's the daughter of a thin blood Malkavian. If Jeanette were to Embrace her, I don't want to think about what sorts of derangements would take over her."

"Is that so? I had no idea."

"I wasn't even sure how she became a ghoul, but…" She shrugged, "Then I heard about Jeanette. At least, it explains why she's…very Malkavian." She said, "I was the daughter of a Nosferatu thin blood, and Harmonia was Toreador, I believe. We're not blood related, but I'm not sure the others know."

"How did the three of you meet?"

"It's a rather long story." She mused as she saw Halcyon start to walk back in, "For another time."

Halcyon sat the counter, "Therese picked up again."

"I'm sorry." Iphigenia handed her a glass of water, which she drank.

"It's quite unfortunate that her club and city was taken." Sam said, "But I'm sure we'll retake the city soon."

"One can hope." Iphigenia said.

Halcyon stood up, then got behind Sam and rubbed his shoulders, "I cannot thank you enough for coming to my home with me."

Sam tried to hide his embarrassment, feeling as if he was put on the spot with Iphigenia still in the room, "It's no trouble, I assure you."

Iphigenia poured another glass of blood, wished them goodnight, then left. Halcyon smiled and kissed Sam's cheek, "Would you like to come to my bedroom?"

"I'm not entirely sure." He said, "With your eye looking like that, rest is probably the best thing for you."

Her hands slowed across his back, "Why…yes…of course…" She hummed, before she added, "You've lost interest in me, haven't you?"

"That isn't true and you know it."

"But I don't."

"Halcyon, you're always tired, and in some cases hurt every night, and I feel as though especially with your new…profession…sex would be the last thing on your mind…I don't like making love to someone who's so weary and exhausted."

"I only make love with you. Sex is something anyone can give and take. But love is not."

He grabbed one of her hands and squeezed it, "True."

"So then, what will it be?"

"I think you should rest. You're working very hard and you've been exhausted."

"Yes." Her eyes drifted to the floor before she stood up, "I should go, then. To rest."

"You're really upset about this, aren't you?"

"I don't have a feeling of depression. I have a feeling of neglect."

He stood up, "You want me that badly?"

"I…require the attention."

He drank his entire glass of blood, "Very well. Just let me do most of the work."

She smirked, then took his hand gently and went into her bedroom. She stood close to him, leaving just an intimate space between them. She stood up on her toes so she could kiss his jawline, "My woes and pains would fade with a taste of your life essence…"

"Unfortunately, nothing about me is alive anymore, dear." He squeezed her close.

She chuckled softly, gently undoing his tie, "I'm asking for your dead blood."

He felt up the small of her back, and the eventually her bum, "I hope you didn't think I was avoiding you sexually for…malevolent reasons…"

"I thought you had lost taste for me."

"No…of course not…" He said, "You're constantly in my thoughts…"

"I'm glad to hear we're a plague to each other." He smiled as he took the rest of his clothes off, laying back on the bed and having her rest on top of him. She started unbuckling straps from her skimpy outfit, "I was never given an answer about your life essence."

"You want my blood?"

"Yes." She grinned hungrily.

"Unfortunately, that's a wish I cannot grant you." He said, "I do not wish to spread my curse amongst anyone."

"You would be a better ghoul master than my own."

"I suppose there's some merit in that." He said, "Though my curse is worse than anything from a mere Malkavian."

"I sensed something different about your blood…" She slowly sat on his hips, "But, I would see you more than Jeanette…"

"You would…but…my blood entering your body would be disaster. My kind reproducing is a rare affair."

She kissed his neck gently, "I'd like you to think about my offer."

"I'm afraid I most likely won't change my mind over it. If I was anything else, I would love to be your regnant."

She closed her eyes as he held her in his arms. He could feel her decompress, all the stress from her day melted away, it seemed, and he could tell without hearing a word from her. He rubbed her back softly, kissing her on the lips in an effort to help her relax.

She kissed him back and sat up a bit, looking over his body like some sort of tactical map, like she was planning what move to make first. He held her hips, "Do take your time."

"What do you want?" She asked, something enticing about the look on her face.

"Just lay back down for now."

"On the underside?"

"No, just on top of me."

She laid down back on top of him, kissing his cheek and rubbing his shoulders. He kissed her on the lips, reaching his hands under her body to feel up her breasts. She closed her eyes and wiggled her hips a bit, kissing him deeply and sweetly. He rubbed the small of her back again, occasionally alternating between that and feeling up her breasts.

She let out a shuddering sigh, decompressing even more in his arms before she slid the bottoms of her outfit off and started rolling her hips against his. He sighed back and squeezed her close so she could continue doing as she pleased.

She whispered his name a few times before she rubbed her hands over his chest, "Would you like to rest on top?"

"Very well." He kissed her and switched places with her. He clamped down on her breasts and eventually reached down to take his underwear off.

"Freedom…" She grinned.

"Yes, indeed." He chuckled, squeezing her closer and kissing her lips, rubbing her stomach. She felt him rush the blood through his system as his length began to brush up against her hip. Her eyelids fluttered close as she spread her legs and moved her face away, revealing her throat and neck. It almost seemed as if she was inviting him to bite her, or maybe just kiss her.

He kissed her neck adoringly, giving her a squeeze, "Are you ready?"

"Very much…" He kept kissing her neck, easing himself inside her rather than being quick or violent, nevertheless, the penetration was very passionate and deep. He could feel her breath hitch before it fanned out across his chest, then she let out a silent sigh, pulling him in closer with her legs.

He closed his eyes in immense pleasure as he felt her boobs squish up against his chest. It gave him enough energy to sink into her deeper, letting out a calm groan every once in a while. Her voice accompanied his as she stared moaning and letting out high pitched sighs when he'd hit a particularly sensitive spot.

Her kisses were warm, as was her embrace around him. It was that warmth that really conveyed a sense of love, if he was doubting it before. However, the ecstasy that generated between them was enough to quell any questions he had. She loved him, and he just couldn't deny it anymore.

He got off her rather quickly once he finished, he started to redress himself, "Unfortunately, I cannot stay. Tomorrow is going to be a very bloody day in Camarilla history. In Jyhad history."

"Is it…?" She asked, throwing the thin sheets over her form, but they were just sheer enough for him to see right through, "Enjoy it then."

"Enjoy it?"

"You enjoy bloodshed."

He gave a short laugh, "Yes, you know me too well." He said, "Well, once the Phantom's Mask is over, I believe the next focus will be retaking Santa Monica. At least that's what Strauss tells me. I look forward to it."

"I eagerly anticipate the forward movement." She laid her head on the pillow, her hair sprawling out around her head.

"I will be back for you as soon as I can." He gave a slight bow, "Goodnight, Halcyon."

"Goodnight, Samuel…stay safe."

"I will."

* * *

 **A/N:** Those two are cute. Thanks for reading! Onward, to the Phantom's Mask!


	59. Chapter 59

**A/N:** Here's chapter fifty-nine! Some suspense, friendliness, and violence. Well, enjoy the pleasantries before the bloodshed wipes over and consumes all…Enjoy!

 **Disclaimer** : I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs.

* * *

His studies were coming along quite nicely. What did he even have to study? He and his kind practically _invented_ Necromancy, and none of these gutter clans would even come close to understanding the world beyond the living, that of the undead.

The Camarilla would lose their territories in this city for sure, Cedric believed. He could defeat anyone in their organization in mere moments, so it was likely it would collapse soon. He headed for his quarters, ready to rest for another night.

He suddenly heard something scuttling from the shadows, before he was assaulted and tackled over by dozens of people. Cedric screamed, they were kine alright, but they seemed brainwashed, most likely. He would have defeated them with ease, but with the element of surprise and the sheer number them, he was practically defenseless. It wasn't long before he felt a wooden stake pierce through his body and passed out.

* * *

"You sure it's this way?" Cadmus asked.

"Word was it was on the coast." Victor said, his hands crossed behind his back, "Although this isn't the first time I haven't listened to an eccentric Malkavian."

"Wasn't it a Malkavian who started this entire thing?" Prospero asked, "It could be a damn trap."

"I sure hope it's not…" Slade muttered.

"Well, if it is, we have people stationed back home." Phaedra said.

"Doesn't change the fact that we could be marching to our deaths." Prospero said.

"Please…please don't say that…" Delilah said softly.

"Well, use your best instincts." Tess advised, "If you feel like you're going to die, run."

"Yeah, completely abandon your comrades at the battlefield, what a great idea." Cadmus rolled his eyes, "Though I guess if Celerity is your only forte, there isn't really another choice."

Tess raised a brow, but Phaedra chuckled, "Maybe instead you could call for help from a friend."

"I must admit, I'm not sure how much help I'll be able to supply." Derek admitted, "But I did purchase a handgun…"

"Are you a good shot?" Cadmus looked over at him.

"I'd like to think so, but that will only be seen in battle."

"Tch…you've got to be kidding me…" He muttered.

"What the hell is your problem?" Slade growled.

"I just want to make sure we actually kick the Sabbat's asses, as well as whoever else is there. But everyone's already thinking about running away."

"Settle down, children." Victor smiled, "Of course, you all may focus on the Sabbat. My target is Armando."

"That's like, the fifth time you've said that." Cadmus said.

"What's got you in such a foul mood?" Phaedra asked Cadmus.

"Nothing…"

"I think that's the only way the kid can express nervousness." Prospero said, "By being pissed off…" He said, he and Slade laughing at the comment, while Cadmus muttered something under his breath.

Phaedra chuckled and put an arm around Cadmus's shoulders in a motherly fashion, "Most of us have fear and anger that work together in times like this." She kissed his cheek in a way that brought back haunting memories of his aunts, "Some of us only have one."

"That's enough…" He tried to pull away from her, "That's enough…"

She laughed, " _Non spaventare i tuoi amici._ "

" _Dio, come dovrei spiegare questo bacio nero a Angelique?_ " He growled.

She laughed again, licking her thumb before she started rubbing it on the mark her lipstick left on his cheek.

"Ah, jeez! I'll just do it myself!" He moved away.

" _Forse potresti usare i tuoi capelli!_ " She laughed even more.

He growled something under his breath, continuing to try and wipe the kiss mark off.

"Well…now that he's good and riled up…" Prospero said.

"Yes, let's go see the show." Tess grinned.

* * *

"I'm not…sure how excited I am about this…" Anastasia said.

"Me either…" Catalina said.

"Oh, this is gonna be great." Sirius smiled, "I can't wait!" He laughed.

"No, of course you can't." She put her hands on her hips, "Why does it not surprise me that you _live_ for pandemonium?"

"I mean, I'm dead, but…"

"Should be interesting…" Skelter said, "Ain't holdin' back tonight, tell you what."

Nines looked like he wanted to interject before Damsel said, "Shouldn't some of us stay back?"

He looked down at her, "I'm not sure what you want from me, Damsel. You complain when I leave you there, and complain when I bring you."

"Well, I'm not saying you have to leave _me_. You could leave someone else." She said, elbowing him and getting closer, "Like Killian or Cissy."

"They wouldn't be any good at restarting our movement. It's not worth it."

"But what if it's a trap?"

"Then we nosedive into it." He said, "I'm willing to bet the Cam and Sabbat's got a good amount of forces here too. We don't want to risk another loss. Even if we can take out Madison, I think it'd be worth it."

"I don't get how your thinking process works at all…" She muttered as she crossed her arms.

"Yeah, but if we pull something against Madison, he'll see it coming." Sirius said.

"I'm killing whoever steps in my way." Skelter said.

"You have to be careful." Nines said.

"We already tried to get rid of one Primogen. What's another gonna do for us?"

Anastasia looked down, "I wonder if Cadmus is going to be there."

"I say we finally kill him." Sirius said, when Anastasia protested, he added, "I mean, _he_ led that helicopter assault, right?"

"We're not killing Vanderbilt." Nines said. "Clear?"

Skelter nodded, for once he seemed really on board.

"I just…have one proposition." Damsel looked up at Nines, "What if he kills one of us?"

Nines paused, then his gaze turned to Anastasia.

"I…I don't know…" Anastasia said, "I don't think he'd do that…"

"Pfft, you guys are too soft." Sirius said.

"You ever have a brother or sister?" Nines asked.

"That's hardly the point." He said, "We gonna spare Killian's dad too?"

"No." Killian finally spoke up, "As soon as I find the bastard, he's as good as dead."

"See? If we let them live and do what they want, they end up killing people close to us."

"That isn't true." Nines shook his head, "It's different when you have brother and sister who care about each other." He looked briefly at Skelter, "You'd do anything for them." He looked back over at Anastasia, "And they'd do anything for you. Even if it meant letting you live a happy life on the opposite side of war." He faced forward again, "Brotherhood or sisterhood….it holds up more of the family than the parents ever can maintain."

Sirius's snake tongue flickered out, "Look, I grew up during the Depression too, but—"

"How about we worry about Cadmus _after_ Victor is dead?" Catalina asked, in some hope for a compromise.

"Fine, whatever…"

Cissy adjusted the strap her machine gun was attached to, looking up at the starry night sky. She wondered if it'd be the last night spread she ever saw. She wondered if her sister was still out there, somewhere, still crying over the disappearance of her big sister. She wondered if she'd ever see her little sister again after tonight. She faced Catalina and smiled nervously, "Let's kick ass so we can go back home and tell some badass victory stories for generations."

Catalina smiled back, "We'll do great."

* * *

At the edge of the shore, all sides were met with a large wooden tower, with Madame Vaska on one side and Cedric on the other, the latter of which was in a stockade, unconscious with his eyes closed. There was still a wooden stake through his heart, which most likely prevented him from awakening. The wooden tower was surrounded by hundreds of kine, which looked as if they were possessed by a Dominate power.

"What the hell is all this?" Cadmus asked, as the Camarilla and Anarch teams soon arrived on the site.

"An execution?" Slade guessed, "Is this what Gideon foretold?"

"This is gonna be so fun…" Sirius snickered.

"Who is that?" Damsel looked up at Nines. The fact that he gave her no response was enough of an answer.

"I wonder how they got a hold of him…" Phaedra mused quietly.

"Wait, I thought that Madame Vaska lady was on the same side of the Sabbat…" Slade said, "Why would she be doing this?"

Prospero shrugged, he looked disturbed enough that Madame Vaska was the center of attention.

"How the hell is she controlling that many people…anyway?"

"It's a high power of Dominate." Cadmus crossed his arms, "If I had to bet, I'd say her generation is absurdly low."

"Oh, lookie here, it's the losers!" Sirius stuck his tongue.

Cadmus glared at him, "And the guy who wants to kill Phaedra, well, I think I know how I'll be spending my evening…"

"Do not alarm yourselves, young ones." Madame Vaska said from the stands, "This is a Final Death that needs to happen."

"Yes, I would say every Kindred here needs to meet their Final Death." Jun said, arriving with Tsubasa, Kalliyan, and an entire team of Kuei-Jin, similar to his triad that Ferrum wiped out.

"Kuei-Jin?" Cadmus asked.

"Yes, I had feared as much." Victor mused.

Slade watched as members of the Society of Leopold gathered as well, "This looks bad…"

Nines felt his Desert Eagle and his newly stocked grenade fly away in the air, floating towards Victor with a strong telekinetic strength, "I'll be taking these for now." Victor said, catching both the weapons and stashing them somewhere, "I thought I would take a page out of your book and take up thievery."

A good handful of the Anarchs stumbled back in terrified shock, but Nines stood still, like nothing had happened at all, "Didn't think I'd be using them anyway. Keep them as a souvenir, if you want. I can get more."

Even Delilah looked shocked. She adjusted her hat and looked up at Victor, feeling a bit more confident about their victory. This confidence spread to the other members of the Camarilla, namely Cadmus, "I'd say this battle is as good as ours…"

There was a silence as a good number of monsters could be heard scrounging about to the battlefield, of course, it was Lafayette who was leading said monstrosities.

"Of all the servants of Satan…" Vance's jaw dropped.

"Why the hell is he blue?" Ella made a face.

"It's been a while, hasn't it, Vaska?" Lafayette crossed his arms.

"You're too late, boy, I've already won." Madame Vaska cackled.

"Clearly, leaving you alive was a foolish mistake on my part."

"And what are you going to do about it? Kill me? You're too weak."

"I want my harbinger back. Now."

"Well, you invited us here for a reason, yes?" Phaedra's voice called out, "What is it? Are we here to witness an execution or a war?"

"Probably the latter, given all the tension in the air." Cadmus said.

"They don't call me the puppeteer for no reason!" Madame Vaska smirked, she raised her hands as a blue glow came from her brainwashed units, mobilizing all of them.

Lafayette's monsters also seemed poised for a fight, "They say Protean is a natural power for the Gangrel, allowing it to imitate god's creations, all of the animals naturally found in the wild."

Madame Vaska's expression faded slightly as Lafayette stood still, her troops would still mow him down instantly. She held her hands out graciously, summoning a trio of large brown worms with horrid mouths that looked awfully familiar for quite a few Kindred.

"Aw…gross…not these things again…" Slade muttered.

"She really is ancient…" Cadmus said.

"While my power is disturbing and alien, even to you Kindred, it breaks the laws of even Protean. Many would say it would be the superior power, in that regard. Show me a Gangrel that can do this!" He bones snapped and his body completely morphed into a new, hulking figure. The closest thing he resembled was a land-shark.

"Zulo form…" Victor swallowed hard.

"I remember this…" Cadmus said.

Lafayette roared and charged towards Madame Vaska's forces, killing them on impact or tearing them in two with ease. He then charged at the tower, bashing it down with his claws and destroying the foundation entirely. Madame Vaska screamed and rolled on the ground as she fell from several stories, while Cedric's unconscious body plopped on the ground, still bound to the stocks. Lafayette then charged in to rescue him.

* * *

As the chaos was unleashed, Killian felt someone immediately slice him in the back from behind. He grit his teeth in pain and turned around to see Slade, standing there with his katanas. "No wonder you're pissed." He said as his arms lit up with Potence.

"Haven't seen you in months." Slade held his swords firm, "Where the hell have you been?"

"Living with VV."

He narrowed his eyes, "Is that right?"

"He's gonna pay. I'm gonna take his head off and put it on a stake." Slade raised a brow. "What? What's that look?"

"Who the hell is 'he'?"

There was just the slightest pause before he stood a bit taller and lifted his chin a bit higher, "Archie. Of the Sabbat."

"Is he supposed to be special or something? Why haven't I heard of him before?"

"There's nothing special about him at all. He's had her on his leash since she was sixteen, he finally pulled too hard."

"So basically you were busy fucking your girlfriend while the rest of the world was moving on."

"What?" He looked confused, "I was doing work for the son of a bitch. I was a double agent for the Sabbat."

He blinked a few times, "So…the entire time…VV was kidnapped…by the Sabbat…you knew where she was…"

"I did. So did Isaac, and anyone who asked me."

"Then…" He closed his eyes as the grips around his swords tightened, "How did she even die?"

"He lit the place on fire when I was out doing his dirty work. What, you think I would leave her to die on purpose?" One of his eyes twitched as he snarled, "You think I _wanted_ her to die?"

"I think you could have prevented it."

"Yeah, maybe I could've." He huffed, "I'm sure a whole shit ton of things could have happened to save her, but they didn't. Getting pissy with _me_ about it isn't going to do jack shit. The Sabbat is the reason this happened in the first place. They pulled her into DMP, and when she pulled away, they didn't take no for an answer. They're the ones that have to pay."

"Typical. Leave an Anarch work that involves a brain, and they can't do it."

He cracked his knuckles, "What sort of groundbreaking shit have you been up to?"

"Watching an idiot nearly get shot to death by a helicopter."

"You really think you have that much more room to call me out on wasting time? When was the last time you saw her, huh? If I'm not mistaken, you're her childe. You know, family. To her, at least. She didn't have shit. She loved you, and how the hell did you reciprocate it? When was the last time you even saw her?"

"I don't know. You and the Sabbat got bored and kidnapped her or something, so my options were pretty limited."

"You had plenty of time. It wasn't like she was kidnapped the day after LaCroix was dusted."

"Yeah, and I visited her quite a few times after he died, so what the hell is your point?"

"Pfft, yeah, alright. Two or three visits, bet you complained about them too. She was just a nuisance to you. God, you are so fucking lucky to have someone like her as a sire. I think every Kindred who knew her would be jealous."

"Least if I knew where she was, she'd be saved just like that." He snapped his fingers, "Guess the same can't be said for you."

"Yeah, cause if I did anything with her, Archie would have killed her. I was trying to play by his rules to keep her alive."

"Those sound like excuses to me."

"Fucking bastard…" He growled, running forward to make the first move, pumping up Celerity and Potence. "You don't know shit! You don't know jack-shit, you brat!"

Slade dashed back out of the way, laughing, "You may have gotten speedier, but I'm still faster than you!"

"And I'm still stronger!" He roared, dashing forward to land another hit.

"We'll see about that…" Slade said, as a bright orange glow appeared around his body. Killian was surprised, his Presence hit him like a truck. It was clear that once he finished his proficiency with Celerity, he worked on Presence. Though to an extent, it was evident that both of them were a lot stronger since they last fought.

Killian utilized his rage and frustration as he stumbled forward, dropping down suddenly to sweep him. Slade jumped back, finally going for the offensive by giving Killian an unforgiving slash, and thanks to Presence, it stung a bit harder. "Ah, dammit!" Killian hissed, reaching out to grab his sword as it was close.

Slade snarled, "Not this shit again, let go!"

He grabbed it with both hands and started bending it. As it slowly melded to his will, Slade's anxiety skyrocketed. "Damn it, just take it then." Slade said, letting go and sheathing his other sword, "I'll just buy another one. Unlike you I'm not dirt poor." He got his Jaegerspas out next, a shotgun that Killian fully recognized, "This is for Dragomir." He said to himself, loading the gun and shooting it, naturally with Celerity up, this all happened in a laughably quick amount of time.

Killian grunted as he was hit, but kept dashing out of the way, kicking up sand and mush at Slade to avert his aim. It did slow Slade down occasionally, but he kept tailing him, with pump-action up and Celerity, the bullets were coming out a faster than either Kindred could comprehend.

"Motherfucker…" Killian looked more and more like a victim from a horror movie as his body was filled with lead. He grabbed the two halves of Slade's sword and ran up to mutilate Slade with them.

"I don't think so." Slade kept backing away, reloading as he continued shooting. Killian kept backing him up until they reached the battered remains of Madame Vaska's tower and the ocean. He grinned and ran forward to slash into him.

Slade drew a sword and defended the blow, holding the shotgun with his other hand. The only reason Killian didn't completely knock him flat with his Potence powering him up was because Slade had Presence up. Killian spit to the side in the sand, reeling his foot back to knock him over. Slade fell back, completely defenseless.

Killian brought the swords back and stabbed them right through Slade's chest, then he started stomping on his stomach, his foot lit up with Potence. Slade grimaced as the blood from the swords leaked around his body, but he pulled something out of his pocket before Killian's foot connected again. It was the handgun he 'borrowed' from Killian in their previous scuffle. His eyes lit up red with Auspex as he shot Killian right in the face with it.

It was Killian's turn to stumble back and land on his back, the sand around him thudded and brushed up into the air. Slade roared with rage, getting up and tearing both shards out of him, doing the exact same thing Killian did with them – driving them right into his chest. "Gotta…give you credit for resourcefulness…" Killian choked out.

"And you I'll see in hell." He prepped his shotgun yet again, "It's the least I can do for VV." With Celerity, Auspex, and Presence all working together, Slade was working at his maximum capacity as he fired.

Unfortunately, Killian rolled out of the way as the sand exploded in Slade's face. He quickly scrambled to his feet to punch Slade in the back. Slade dashed out of the way, shooting another round at him.

This act of attacking and dodging continued for quite a while, both of them had long tuned out the chorus of screams, gunshots and other weaponry clattering in the background. The smells of gunpowder, blood and seawater filled the air, as well as something else. The smell of fear.

Killian soon bumped into someone. He was used to knocking down the people he bumped into flat, but this person was different. He turned to see Cadmus. Even though Killian had more than a few inches on him, there was certainly something in the look he had. It was clear that he had learned a thing or two about the Brujah since his last visit to the Last Round. He pulled his axe out, "Kill him!" He ordered. Slade swallowed hard and gave a quick nod, continuing to fire at him.

Killian held an arm up in attempt to defend himself, then his eyes darted around. He needed one thing at this point, and that was an escape route.

If he killed Slade, it would be no sweat off his back. Whoever this Slade kid really was, he didn't matter. He was fresh meat, only a year old, tops. He'd probably get killed on his own. Killian wouldn't get any sort of praise for putting the time and energy into axing him. Vanderbilt on the other hand, was practically an Anarch himself, whether he wanted to admit it or not. Killing him would not only land Killian in a whole ocean of hot water with the Camarilla, but he'd be kicked out of the Anarch movement for sure. And then he'd have nowhere to run to at all.

So he chose running, while he still could.

"Damn it…" Cadmus swore, "Whatever, let's find someone else to take out…"

* * *

 **A/N:** When the first retreat from the Phantom's Mask isn't even Tess… Thanks for reading! Hope you liked it!


	60. Chapter 60

**A/N:** Here's chapter sixty! The grand battle ensues! All sorts of perspectives of this fight are explored as they all experience very different types of battle…enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs.

* * *

Adrenaline made Cissy's machine gun feel a little lighter as she slung it over her shoulder and grabbed onto it, stepping back away from the mayhem that broke loose.

A few bullets whizzed by her ears, she turned to see Kalliyan firing at her, from her Colt Anaconda. Cissy whirled around and cocked her machine gun, "I recognize you. You're one of those…weird things, right?"

"Weird things?" She raised a brow, "Yes…I'm one of the _weird things_ …"

Cissy grit her teeth and fired, aiming for her chest. Kalliyan gasped, getting torn up by the machine gun fire for a little bit. She dove out of the way, firing back at Cissy.

Cissy ducked out of the way, "What, is that all you got, sweetheart?"

"Don't test me." She narrowed her eyes, shooting again.

Cissy jumped back out of the way, "C'mon, I was dodging bullets when I was _alive_."

"Want a prize or something?"

"If you're offering." Cissy held her gun up and fired again. Kalliyan ducked low, shooting at Cissy from her crouched position. Cissy hissed and stumbled back out of the way, feeling blood leak from her leg, "There we go. That's better." She grinned and reloaded her gun.

She snarled, firing at her again while she was reloading.

Cissy hopped out of the way, then she put her gun back on her back. "Let's see if this works…" She held a hand out and closed her eyes. A longsword appeared there in her hand, a grin on her face. She ran forward to slash Kalliyan with the blade.

Kalliyan jumped back, "Where the hell did you get that from?" She asked as she kept shooting.

"What, you didn't know vamps could materialize stuff out of thin air?" She lunged forward to hit her again.

"Jun and Tsubasa didn't tell me that…" She narrowed her eyes and reloaded, avoiding the attack.

"C'mon…" Cissy grabbed her firearm with one arm and the sword with the other, trying both at the same time.

Kalliyan rolled out of the way, "Too cocky, Kindred." She shot again.

Cissy gasped as her hand got shot, the sword disappeared into thin air, "Son of a bitch!"

"Ah-ha…" She smiled, "Looks like your little weapon of thin air has some limits to it…"

"Well, I didn't want to _drop_ it." She muttered, putting her gun back. With her only good hand, she summoned a fireplace poker, the end was bright white, smoke trailing up into the air.

Kalliyan chuckled, "Cute, Kindred." She stepped back and kept firing. Cissy hopped out of the way, running forward just to tackle her. Kalliyan's eyes widened as she was pinned down by Cissy, "Well…this got quite dark fast…"

"Uh huh." Cissy grinned as she reeled the poker back to stab it into her chest.

Kalliyan bit her bottom lip, screaming, "Not even…" She gasped, "Not even going to take me out to dinner first?" She grinned.

Cissy held one of her cheeks, "Aw, you sweet, sweet thing." She leaned in and kissed her lips before she grabbed her machine gun and unloaded it into her stomach.

Kalliyan coughed up blood, writhing in pain before she aimed her gun at Cissy's face and fired. Cissy grunted and fell back to the ground, holding her face, "Ugh, bitch…"

She quickly got up, firing at her again, "Aw, but we were sharing such a tender moment!"

"All's fair in love and war, my dear." Cissy just barely rolled out of the way before she sat up to reload her gun. Kalliyan took the initiative to keep firing at her as she was reloading. Cissy's body lit up green as the bullets struck, "Yeah, better luck next time, sweetheart." She got to her feet and sized her over for the next attack.

"I remember that green glow, the guy in the cloak had it." She fired again, "Does it really block all attacks?"

"Eh. Depends."

"I see." She said, reloading, "Then if I have to use every goddamn bullet I have, just to kill you, I will."

"Aw, I'm honored!" Cissy put a hand on her chest before she held a hand out to swarm Kalliyan's head with ravens. Meanwhile, she fired her gun.

Kalliyan screamed and fell back. Things were not looking good for her. Having been a Kuei-Jin for only a handful of years, was she going to lose it all to this month-old Kindred?

* * *

The only things Catalina heard was pure chaos. The clashing of blades, the haunting cries of death, the snarls of the beasts, both used by Lafayette, Madame Vaska, or anyone else who had a summoning Discipline like Necromancy under their belt.

She was struck by a black blur and screamed as she coughed up blood and fell back, "I…I should have figured that I'd run into you of all people…"

Tsubasa chuckled, "Glad to see you again, Kindred. And by that I mean glad that I have an easy warm-up before I kill more of your kind."

"You're not going to have an easy time killing me…" Catalina said, holding her wound.

She laughed, "Oh, please, I know you can't catch me!" She dashed forward, Catalina grimaced as she was hit yet again. She fell back, tumbling in the ground briefly. She quickly held a hand out, hoping to drain this Kuei-Jin of her blood.

Tsubasa smiled, "Oh, so sorry, Kindred. Blood isn't nearly as important to we Kuei-Jin as it is to you Kindred. I'm afraid all your strong draining attacks are completely useless."

"…but they still have to hurt you…"

"I suppose. But if you're going to kill a corpse by draining its blood, you may be a little disappointed in how long it takes." She dashed at her again, this time Catalina was able to block the blow with one of her own swords.

She swallowed hard. This was going to be a quick battle if she was hit another dozen times at that strength. She knew that her own Celerity would be practically useless. She had about one, final, deadly option. She held her sword out, coating it with quite a bit of poison, hoping that, if she did cut her, she would only need to do it once.

Tsubasa gave a chuckle, "I suppose we are both tigers, in a manner of speaking…"

"Tigers?" Catalina felt a chill, "What…what do you mean…what are you talking about?"

Tsubasa laughed, dashing forth with her sword. Catalina was able to defend herself again, "Please, Kindred…do you think I'm blind?" She raised a brow, "I see that poison dripping from your sword. I know what you are."

Their clash shook, "Then you know if I hit you once, you die. Slowly and painfully, might I add."

"You forget again, that with my black wind, you'll never be able to catch me." As she said this, the familiar black wind howled as Tsubasa cut through Catalina. Catalina let out a piercing scream as she hit the ground, her vision fading gradually on her as she tried desperately to stay awake.

* * *

Tess's progress was interrupted by a worm burrowing up from behind her, and second one burrowing up in front of her. They both screeched and dove at her with their horrid, cylindrical jaws. She grimaced and stumbled back, taking out her katana to slice one in the face.

The worm gave a high pitched screech of pain, diving back into the sand, while the second worm went in for the attack. She hardly dodged the attack, instead she dove in to stab it as it passed by.

The second worm screamed, now having a nearly identical wound to the first wound, both worms dug in the sand, burrowing around underground and doing nothing productive other than giving Tess quite a bit of suspense.

She sighed and looked around, waiting and waiting. She wondered if fighting a person would be better. If fighting these beasts was easier than an actual foe.

One worm surfaced, letting its whole body come above ground as it tried to sweep Tess with its tail, while the second worm tried to swallow her from behind. She jumped up in the air, utilizing Celerity to give her an extra boost. Her plan was to land on one worm, and perhaps use it to attack the other. Upon landing on one of the worms, it dove underground, in an effort to disorient her and knock her off.

She jumped off and rolled in the sand, quickly trying to get to her feet. As she regrouped, the two worms went to close in at her at the same time. She jumped up again, hoping they'd bite each other. They briefly crashed into each other, but one quickly took advantage of the fact that Tess was in the air, opening its jaws right under where she was about to land.

She gasped and held her sword out below herself to stab it. Her sword stuck into the beast, and blood spurted out everywhere, the worm screamed as it tried to shake Tess's sword off. It was more than obvious that it was a particularly sensitive blow Tess scored. She flipped back out of the way and took a breath, waiting for their next move.

Both worms, the one in prime condition aside from the scar, and the maimed one slithered towards her, but the latter one was moving horrendously slow. Keeping Celerity up, she dashed in to slice up the least injured one. It reeled back in pain and squealed, trying to bite at Tess with its jaws. She jumped on its back, hoping they would be able to take each other out so she could help others.

The worm tried to shake her off, squirming around, while the second worm tried to bite at her from behind with its injured jaws. She grit her teeth and hurled the blade deep into its hide, trying to slice it around its insides. The monster screamed, stopping completely in the sand. This was great as it was badly injured, but it left Tess stationary for the second worm to attack. She jumped up in the air and swung her katana down to perform a similar attack.

The worm writhed around as it was struck, trying to shake Tess off. It was a bit fiercer then the last worm, who still hadn't moved since Tess struck it. She clutched onto its skin with one hand, the other still grasped the sword and tried tearing into it. The worm couldn't take much more after that. It died as it landed on the ground, exploding into ash. The other worm weakly burrowed in the ground, presumably to die down there. Tess panted a bit before she dashed off to the aid of another fighter.

* * *

"God…those worms are so creepy…" Anastasia said, feeling the ground shake every so often as one burrowed around, "I really hope we don't have to fight any of those…"

Skelter's eyes flickered about, "Then let's find someone else to attack before they come for us."

"Who did you have in mind?"

"You pick. I'll grab anyone, you'll at least think about it."

The pair of them heard a shotgun blast pass right by their ears, they turned to see Gavin, one of the lead hunters of the Society of Leopold.

"Shit…" Anastasia said, turning into a bird and surrounding herself with a green glow, "I didn't think it'd be hunters…"

"Then let's get rid of 'em." Skelter activated the same disciplines and ran forward to maul him. Gavin took out a flamethrower and immediately let it loose on Skelter once he got close.

Skelter yelped before he stumbled back, his tail singed a bit. He gave a ferocious snarl at the hunter, keeping a very tense distance between them. Anastasia tried to attack him from a different angle, but she was sprayed by a second flamethrower. She screamed and fell back, surprised that Gavin had the physique to even hold two flamethrowers at once.

Skelter's snarl grew louder before he held a paw out and summoned two wolves to hound after Gavin. Gavin fell back as he was attacked, being attacked by another trio of wolves not soon after, meaning that Anastasia must have summoned her own wolves. Gavin tried to fight all of them off, but it was overwhelming, they could tell.

Skelter snickered, summoning a horde of bats after that. Gavin swatted at the bats, but nonetheless they bit into him. He eventually threw a smoke bomb at the ground, trying to make an escape. Skelter growled with frustration, then nodded at Anastasia as they ran off to tackle the next opponent.

* * *

It had been a while since Damsel actually fought this many people. In fact, she wondered just how long it had been since she really fought at all. At least months. But this many people? Likely never.

Did Nines ever fight this many people at once? She hoped not.

"Nines, what should we do?" She turned to look up to her right, where he usually stood. But no one was there. She checked her left, behind her, but there was still nothing. No one. She growled and grabbed her gun tightly, the tranquilizer gun. She would have brought her shotgun, but she figured this would be more efficient.

"Miss Damsel, is it?" She heard a voice she didn't even recognize, seeing one of the hunters, Vance. He aimed a shotgun of his own at her, firing away.

She ducked out of the way, adjusting her hat, "How the hell do you know my name, twerp?"

He chuckled, "You don't exactly cover your tracks well."

Her brow fell, "I haven't left the state in over ten years, what the fuck is this about?"

"I wouldn't worry about it too much." He started to switch to a different gun, "With your information so well-known, you won't be in the land of the living much longer, hell spawn."

She snarled and ran up closer with Celerity to shoot him with the tranquilizer at point-blank range. He held a fist up and the needle bounced off his gauntlet, "Hmm? An intriguing way of battle…I now see why you've been alive as long as you have. Or…as 'alive' as you can be."

She sneered and stood back quite a bit, reloading her gun. Turned out, it took quite a while, and a good deal of focus, "Why don't you get your cross out so I can shove it up your ass already? And your garlic too, I'll see how many cloves I can stuff down your throat."

Vance laughed, "Killing you is going to be quite amusing, I'm sure."

She snickered, "Cute. I wish I could say the same." She smacked the magazine shut, "But you're just another boring hunter with the cockiness of killing a single vamp under your belt."

"I guess being a bratty immortal frat girl is your idea of being interesting."

"Frat girl?" She snorted, "The hell do you take me for?" She swung the barrel of the gun down on him.

He blocked her with barrel of his own gun, "I call it how I see it." He brandished a cross at her, a blinding white light went off.

She closed one of her eyes, "Christ, I should just carry around a fucking flashlight and shove it in your eye, see how you like it." She jumped back out of the way and aimed her gun to fire.

"See, these are answers I'd expect a child to say."

"At least I'm not dumb enough to think God'll come flying down to save me. What do you fuckers call it, the rapture? You think Satan's gonna come and turn us into his minions or something?" She snickered, "We should just Embrace all of you so you'd see what it's really like."

"What what's really like? Living like animal? You actually do other things?"

"You'd learn what reality is." She ran up close again to fire.

He flinched and stumbled back, luckily the needle only nicked the flaps of his trench coat, "Hmm, so you hell spawn _do_ use tranquilizers, I thought that's what that was."

"We're not hell spawn, call us that one more time you little prick, see what happens." She stood back to reload her gun, "We were just like you, you know. Maybe a little saner."

Vance held his gun out towards her, it was revealed to be a flamethrower once the fire spewed out towards her.

"Shit!" She ducked low and scrambled out of the way, grabbing her hat like it was her infant as it hit the ground. She yanked it back onto her head and grabbed the gun tightly, firing at a different angle.

Vance barely avoided it, "What's the matter, monster? You're so on edge now!"

"Yeah, how would you like it if I grabbed a magic clock and started wasting time away?"

He chuckled, "You're only delaying the inevitable, Damsel."

"Pfft, I'm gonna be curt with you, sweetheart. If I'm going down, it's gonna be the Cammies that hold the smoking gun. You and your little clubhouse of terrified kine don't scare us."

"Is that right?" He asked. Though a worm surfacing from the ground interrupted their conversation. It looked heavily injured, it was most likely the one that Tess fought and didn't finish off. Vance narrowed his eyes at Damsel, "One of yours, I presume?"

"Oh, you can suck a cock!" She spat out, slamming her gun into the worm, "You got another gun, or a knife or something? Give it here!"

He blasted his flamethrower at the worm. The worm squealed and died, exploding into ash. Vance then began to reload his flamethrower.

"Fine." She picked her tranquilizer up again, firing at him.

His eyes widened, knowing that if he was hit by just _one_ of those, it would be over. He moved out of the way, then he switched his flamethrower for a shotgun, blasting at her.

She hissed as he blew a deep hole in her stomach. "Dammit…" She used her gun to keep her balance, briefly looking down at the wound before she stood tall again. She worked on reloading her gun this time, trying to keep a distance between them. He was definitely surprised that he hit her given on how fast she was going. He kept firing, hoping he'd nail her again.

She was much more evasive this time, her eyes honed in on his gun as she circumvented each shot, slowly getting closer and closer to him until she loaded her last dart. Nines had more, but she didn't even know where he was. She didn't even know if he was alive. She pulled the trigger and hoped to get past all the layers of his clothing. Vance pulled his cross out, blinding her slightly which presented the perfect opportunity to evade her attack.

The bullet shot out aimlessly, "Motherfucker!" She spat out, running forward to club him with the gun.

Vance defended it with the barrel of his own gun, "I don't know what hunters you're used to fighting, but you'll find that I'm at a bit of a different caliber than them."

"You're like a goddamn cockroach with its fucking head cut off."

"So in a sense you already know how doomed you are."

"In a sense I know you're gonna die in a few weeks anyway. I'm not worried about you, I'm just annoyed."

He held his cross out again, blinding her and trying to get a shot at her at the same time.

"Son of a bitch!" Damsel hissed as she felt another hole get blown into her chest. She dropped her gun and balled her hands into fists, running forward to punch him in the jaw with Potence.

He coughed up blood and fell back, rolling around in the sand, he slowly got up, "What the hell…?"

The scowl on her face was laced with toxicity. She lumbered forward, even with her small size, to kick him in the shin.

He held his cross out but instead of blinding her, a white shimmer went over his body, raising his defense, she assumed. Nevertheless, the kick still connected and he fell back. He got up, the white mist still on him, firing his shotgun. She was much nimbler without the gun in her arms, "What, is that some kinda holy Fortitude?"

He either didn't hear her or wasn't in the mood for answering questions, so he switched to his flamethrower, getting as close as possible before letting the fire loose. She ducked low and rolled out of the way, leaving her hat in the sand. She didn't have time to grab it and put it on. Her body glowed orange as she ran forward to punch him in the head again.

He fell back, covered in blood at this point. It was clear that he had one good attack left in him, this was even clearer when he tried to blind her with his cross and then use his flamethrower.

"Fuck!" She gasped as she felt the flames burn at her skin. She smacked them out as quickly as she could, keeping a good distance, "You little shit…"

"Seems we're both a bit more skilled than we thought."

"Yeah, sure." She muttered, running forward to clock him in the face again.

He tried to aim at her, but with her Celerity up she was too fast. He fell back, eventually throwing a smoke bomb as he left, "We'll meet again, Damsel, you and your monster friends are as good as dead!"

* * *

"Ah, if it isn't the invincible Kindred." Jun said, preparing a blade of fire and a blade of blood.

Sirius chuckled for a bit, "Yeah, I guess I should keep you busy so none of my allies get hurt." He pulled out a pair of Colt Anacondas.

Jun was quicker than he imagined, running through him and slashing him with his two swords. His eyes widened when Sirius stood unscathed. Again, it was like slashing at a statue. Sirius laughed, starting to shoot at him.

Jun watched as tiny red holes opened up in his body, " _Something_ has to hurt you…" He pondered. He took a deep breath and blew fire at Sirius.

As the smoke cleared, nothing happened, "Yeah…I'm sure something does…"

His eyes shrunk, "Never in all my years have I seen a Kindred maneuver quite like this one…"

Sirius kept firing, Jun took a few more bullets, but then he got wise to the firing pattern, blocking the attacks with his swords. "Very well, then." Jun resolved, "If it takes me all night, I _will_ find your weakness."

Sirius was confident at first, but it soon turned to dread after several minutes passed. Jun kept blocking his shots, and Sirius was unable to hit him. He was invincible, which was great, but without a heart, he couldn't access his blood or _any_ of his Disciplines. Theoretically, this fight could last until the sun came up, because all Sirius had were his guns and a few knives. How was he going to find a way around this?

* * *

 **A/N:** I can see Sirius coming home now, complaining to Juliet about the warrior who was nearly as untouchable as he is…Thanks for reading! More fighting on the way!


	61. Chapter 61

**A/N:** Here's chapter sixty-one! We have some 'champions' meeting and combatting, let's see how the fights unravel…Enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs.

* * *

He was out of his element. Everyone knew, too. Everyone knew he was practically purposeless on the battlefield. But he needed the experience. He needed to be able to say, 'I was there'. It would look beyond impressive on a résumé. He just had to survive. He just had to keep surviving for another century, at least, to begin to impress the Prince. With things moving as rapidly as they were in this Jyhad, it would likely work in his favor.

Derek just had to keep waiting.

If he found a few hunters, he could likely wipe them out with Dominate. With them, he could at least do something. His green eyes scoured around for someone with a beating heart, someone with the smell of fear and sweat running through their system.

"Die, servant of Satan!" A feminine voice shrieked. He saw the hunter Ella, who didn't really have much of a commanding height, especially when compared to Derek.

He slowly turned around and raised a brow. Then he let out a stray snicker, "Are you lost, dear?"

She loaded her grenade launcher, firing one off at him. He hardly jumped out of the way, adjusting his tie as he stood up, trying to be somewhat graceful about it, "Well, appears you…know what you're doing…" Why was this little girl confusing him so much? He should just use Suicide and end it.

He firmly held his hand out to use Dominate on her. He couldn't risk distractions, they'd interfere with his plans.

She raised a brow as the blue glow went around her head and nothing happened, she began to reload her launcher. "What…?" He stepped back, completely astounded, "What!?"

She fired once again. He stumbled out of the way, then grit his teeth and held a hand out to do it again. She switched to a machine gun, firing off that at him instead as the Dominate attack failed. He grunted as the bullets landed in him. He had no choice. He activated Presence and lunged forward to grab her shoulders and bite into her.

"Ew, gross!" She flashed a cross at him, blinding him briefly. When it cleared, she was a bit further away. She kept shooting. He kept his eyes on her aim, swerving out of the way, yet trying to close the distance between them. As he got closer, she switched guns to a shotgun, using that instead.

He stood still, waiting for her to fire. "Tell me, why are my powers foiled in your presence?"

She cocked her gun, "You're not very experienced with this, are you?"

"I have my kine deal with combat. Tonight was an exception."

She chuckled, "My faith allows me to resist some of your devil based powers. Hmm, I thought you all knew that, hence, why I sure you're young."

"I have twenty-five years on your, what, eighteen?"

"Guess it'll be that much sadder when I dust you."

"Mmm." He hummed briefly, taking out his pistol before he started approaching her. She grit her teeth and fired at him first. He dodged out of the way, then pounced. He rushed forward to grab onto her and bite her neck before she could reload.

"Uh-uh." She blinded him with her cross, then blasted him, "Jeez, I could tell you were a total creep when you were alive…"

"Oh, please forgive me." He gave an unnerving grin, "If I shoot you, your blood will taste like lead. I thought you might appreciate the gesture."

"Ugh…" She shuddered, firing at him once more.

He leaned out of the way, quickly regaining his grounding. He was lucky he was so thin and lanky, it was easy for him to dodge. Or maybe it was sheer luck. "Tell me, what led you to the path of a hunter? I can't help but feel you've been misguided."

"Oh, yes, so misguided. Why wouldn't I want to be a monster?"

"And what makes me more of a monster than you are?" His eyes grew predatory, "Think of every creature on this planet that has given its life to sate your hunger. Think of every egg from some beast you've ever consumed, any being living in a cage, up to its knees in its own defecation so its head can be severed and its flesh grilled and served between two buns for mere hours of your satisfaction." His eyes narrowed, "And yet, _we_ are the monsters, for feeding on an overpopulated race of beings, need I clarify, this feeding does not require the subject's death. This feeding is pleasurable to the subject, and leaves them alive, to continue their ways, and reproduce. This leaves us an infinite amount of time to pursue every dream we've ever had, any wish we've ever wanted to complete." He stepped closer, "So then why, are _we_ the monsters?"

"You must have been a vegan when you were alive…"

"No, I was a fool."

She cocked her gun and began firing again.

He swerved out of the way, "Fine then, I will find others to rid of. I can't waste my time on you."

"So you're going to try and run away?"

"You're simply unsuited to my skillset." He peered around for someone else to hunt down.

She gave a loud laugh, switching to her grenade launcher, "Oh, so the mighty vampire is running away from the human, is he?"

He peered back at her, then jumped out of the way, "Yes."

"I don't think so!" She chased after him, firing a grenade at him every once and a while.

* * *

It was no surprise that Nines was Victor's target. The Primogen grinned as the two stood opposite of each other, "So, shall we finally end this, Armando?"

Nines threw his head back a bit and cracked his knuckles, "Maybe."

Lafayette skidded in rather quickly, judging by all the wounds and scars on his hide, he had been fighting Madame Vaska for most of the early battle. He roared, he either didn't notice Nines or didn't see him as a threat, as he ran at Victor with his claws out. Victor coated himself with a blood shield. He then waved a hand, Lafayette and Nines both threw up for a while.

Nines wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, pumping Celerity and Potence to dash behind Victor and pull his arms back behind himself. Victor growled as he was left defenseless. Lafayette took advantage of this, launching bats at Victor to take away some of his blood.

"Oh, how adorable!" Victor writhed in agony, "You two working together and everything…although, the Anarchs would be long dead without the Sabbat helping them, wouldn't they?"

"Uh huh, you know it." Nines shrugged his jacket off onto the ground, tearing the sleeves off with his teeth. He then tied the fabric around Victor's wrists, thankful Celerity kept the whole process speedy.

Victor moved his hands about slightly, setting the jacket sleeves on fire and freeing himself, "Your foolish dirty tricks won't work on me anymore, I'll have you know."

Lafayette, tired of the nonsense, sped towards both of them, hoping to shred at least one of them to bits.

Victor drew two pistols, one of which belonged to Nines, as he fired away at Lafayette. It was clear how much he had been working on his aim, as Lafayette roared in agony and was knocked off course.

As soon as Lafayette hit the ground, Nines dashed in and wrapped an arm around Victor's neck from behind, the other arm over Victor's arms and chest, "Drop the gun, Madison."

"Ooh, careful, you foolish bag of sod, or you'll be lit aflame…" Victor snickered.

"Wrong move." The arm around Victor's mid-section swung back with Potence to punch him right in the gut.

Victor coughed up blood and tumbled out from Nines's grasp, plummeting to the ground as he screamed in agonizing pain. He shouted for a bit more, unable to get up. It was likely the blood shield was the only reason he took the hit as well as he did. He stood up, "Clearly having blood in your body is a privilege you cannot afford any longer!" He held a hand out, and Nines and Lafayette, (who just got up), threw up more blood.

Nines coughed a few times, his furious glare landing on Victor, and then again on his desert eagle. He ran forward to punch him again, this time aimed for the chest instead of the stomach.

Victor gave a confident smirk. As a precaution, Nines had lowered his Disciplines, leaving him much slower, and, in turn, easier to dodge. Victor avoided his attack, but was soon assaulted by bats from behind. He screamed and fell over, not moving.

He must have ran out of blood. Lafayette and Nines exchanged a glance for a minute or two. The look was like that of a beast meeting the eye of the tamer. Nines slowly backed towards Victor's body, grabbing his gun and grenade. The entire time, he left his stare on Lafayette, prepared for whatever attack he had prepared.

Lafayette lunged at Nines, his hands glowing red with Vicissitude as he roared. Nines flicked his gun up and fired for Lafayette's face, dismayed with how little it really seemed to do. He jumped out of the way, then contemplated if using his grenade would be worth it.

Lafayette pinned him down immediately, and Nines could feel the aggravated claws digging into his flesh. Even if Nines wanted to use his grenade, his arms were pinned. He grunted as his head hit the ground, and what felt like a very sharp rock. He tried as hard as he could to tear his arm away from Lafayette's claws, trying to reach for his only other weapon, with no avail. He spit his blood in Lafayette's face and kept trying to gain some sort of freedom.

Lafayette snarled, biting into Nines's neck with the intent of one thing on his mind. Nines screamed and fired up Potence, reeling his legs back with the limited space to kick Lafayette in the gut and knock him back.

Lafayette coughed up blood as he flew back, brushing the blood away from his terrifyingly large jaws and thinking of another angle of attack. Nines grabbed his grenade, holding a hand out to waft Lafayette towards himself.

The grenade flew out of Nines's hands, via a telekinetic power, if he were to judge. He turned to see Victor, drinking hastily from the Odious Chalice. He laughed and laughed, "Did you think I was really finished?"

"I knew you weren't ash." He stepped back and grabbed his desert eagle, aiming for the grenade in Victor's hand, "Your choice what happens next."

Victor stashed it in his pocket, "I will save it for a later time." He said, "If I exhaust myself of all my powers once more." He said.

Nines, Lafayette, and Victor all looked at one another. The Tremere, Tzimisce, and Brujah were locked in a deadly conflict that would most likely not end anytime soon.

* * *

Madame Vaska looked slightly injured since her fall, that and she was fighting Lafayette for most of the beginning of the battle. She crossed her arms, "You should not have come here, Camarilla slime. I needed to get rid of that unsightly harbinger. He is older and deadlier than you realize." She said, "There are hundreds, no, thousands of horrible secrets under that cloak he is. When you find out what he really is, it will be too late…"

Prospero clenched his fists, "We'll deal with him once we're done with you."

"Unless we let her handle him while we take care of other pests…" Phaedra mused quietly to Prospero, "Like the hunters or the Anarchs."

"You don't understand." He said, "I _need_ to kill her, immediately."

"Ah…yes…her obsession…right…" She turned back to Madame Vaska, "I'll help however I can."

"Alright, let's do this." Prospero said.

Madame Vaska held out a black-nailed hand, a blue glow coming from it, "You will be my servant." Prospero gradually lost control of his body, being consumed in a bright blue light.

"Now, kill the Nagaraja for me…" Madame Vaska smiled at Phaedra, "I'm sorry it has to end this way, you would have been a valuable ally."

Prospero swallowed hard, powering up Potence and Celerity against his will, "Sorry, Phaedra." He said, as he zoomed in to punch her in the face.

She fell back and landed on her rear, holding her broken nose, "Damn…" She shut her eyes, slowly getting to her feet and waving her hands about, summoning a specter to deal with Prospero, "Rather silly of you to send a minion of yours to defeat someone with an entire army of their own."

"Oh?" Madame Vaska held her hands like a puppeteer, controlling Prospero's every move, "I think you fail to underestimate me, Cainite…"

Phaedra eyed Prospero nervously, "Well, I don't want to hurt him." She summoned a horde of zombies, "Occupy him." She ordered, "But do not hurt him. Keep him away from me."

The zombies crowded around him like paparazzi, hardly allowing him any room to move with how closely packed they were. The specter hovering over him didn't help either.

"This…this isn't how I wanted to spend this battle." Prospero said, mowing down the zombies with relative ease, yet trying to stay away from the specter, as he had nothing to harm them with.

Madame Vaska laughed, "Behold, my power!" She controlled Prospero with one hand, while with her other hand, she made a gracious movement, as dark magical black shards shot out and stabbed into Phaedra. They were razor sharp, causing a searing pain which grew worse as a few more landed inside her. They spread a horrid feeling of sickness through her body, as well as a raw pain.

She stumbled backwards and held her chest, wheezing with pain. She peered her eyes open, "What….unheard of….strength…"

"What the hell was that attack?" Prospero wondered, still aimlessly trying to fight off Phaedra's specters.

"Behold, the beast shards!" Madame Vaska laughed, "They will not only weaken you, but make you succumb to the beast easier!" She said, "Rest Nagaraja, rest in peace!"

One hand rested over her chest, the other over her stomach. She kept stepping back, her head hanging low. She tried as hard as she could to keep the Beast away, fearing the very concept of frenzying. She hated it, it was like the discomfort brought on by vomiting, only worse. It was shameful, it was weak, and it was animalistic. It was nothing she stood for. She reserved all her strength and energy in holding it back.

Madame Vaska snickered, sending out bats to ambush Phaedra next. She grunted and fell to her knees as the bats nibbled on her. The loss in blood certainly didn't help her retain her humanity. "We are so screwed…" Prospero muttered.

Madame Vaska stalked closer to Phaedra, not bothering to keep a distance with the position Phaedra was in, she send more bats at her at point-blank range.

Phaedra's head suddenly whipped back as she faced the sky and screeched. It was a cry fitting some sort of hell spawn, for sure, if the Society of Leopold needed another reason to cling to their faith. She stood to her feet, her eyes bloodshot, her fangs almost looking _longer_. She lunged towards the closest person, who happened to be Madame Vaska.

Evidently this was all part of her plan, as she raised her glowing blue hand up high, the one controlling Prospero as if he were on a leash. He moved in the way to take the brunt of Phaedra's frenzy. With Potence powering him up, he was able to fend off Phaedra in her frenzy. Or at least do so while passing out himself. Madame Vaska walked off once the two members of the Camarilla defeated each other.

* * *

Kalliyan and Cissy had been fighting for quite a while, going back and forth with their firearms. Cissy was starting to get a little weary with it all, until she heard a voice, "Cissy!" It was Catalina.

Cissy whirled around, "Cat?" Her red eyes searched for her redheaded step-sire.

Catalina looked quite worse for wear, "Unfortunately, I brought a friend…"

Tsubasa sped in, standing next to Kalliyan, "Kalliyan, stop fooling around and kill this worthless Kindred. I saw what you were doing with her…"

"We were just having fun…" Kalliyan muttered.

She pinched the bridge of her nose, "Jun will hear about this…"

"I don't care what that old dusty turd hears!" She snapped.

Cissy and Catalina exchanged a glance. "Yeah, we made out." Cissy muttered, in her defense.

Catalina then looked as disappointed as Tsubasa, "Cissy…"

"What? C'mon, how badass is that? It was _while_ we were fighting."

"It seems you and I have a bit more in common than I thought, Assamite." Tsubasa said.

Catalina's gaze hardened, "So you _do_ know what I am…"

"I thought that much was obvious." She said, "We are both tigers."

"So…" Cissy crossed her arms, "We gonna call a truce? Maybe go out on a double date?"

"That would be fun…" Kalliyan said quietly.

It was clear that Tsubasa and Catalina didn't even want to _dignify_ that with a response. "What about this one." The former nodded to Cissy, "What is she? What were her powers?"

"She had the ability to create weapons and items out of thin air." Kalliyan said, still a little shocked by it.

"Oh, so she's a clown?" Tsubasa smirked.

Cissy slowly turned to her, "Where the fuck do you get that assumption?"

"Assumption?" She asked, then she cackled, "You must be a little runt of a clown, then, hmm? Out of all of your kind that could possibly survive, it's you that's left! How precious!" She laughed and laughed. "You want to know why your kind is nothing but clowns to us, Ravnos? It's because we used to hunt you every night for training, for sport! For fun!" She said, "And then your…great grandfather or whatever woke up and ate you all! What a complete joke of a civilization! I can't wait to be able to snuff the last one of you out forever!"

She actually looked pretty disturbed with what Tsubasa said. If the grimace on her face wasn't enough, the tears in her eyes were, "I can't wait to hear about the extinction of the Kuei-Jin…"

"Extinction of the Kuei-Jin?" Tsubasa grinned, "Such a thing will never happen, unless you can wipe out half of the entire planet!" She dashed at Cissy, her black wind howling as she drove her katana deep into Cissy's flesh with unforgiving force.

Cissy cried out as she laid on the ground, shaking as she tried to get up, "…f-fuck…"

"Cissy!" Catalina ran to her aid. Kalliyan would shoot at her, but Catalina could avoid the shots. She grabbed Cissy's hand and helped her up.

"Thanks…" Cissy gave a brief smile before she grabbed her machine gun and aimed it for Tsubasa, gritting her teeth as she fired away.

Tsubasa paused, twirling her sword around so fast, and blocking all of the bullets. Kalliyan meanwhile, kept trying to shoot at them, but Catalina blocked the bullets with her own poisonous sword. "We're at a standstill!" Cissy called to Catalina.

Catalina nodded, "The younger one is a weak link…maybe if I play my cards right, I can get rid of her…"

Cissy gave a numb nod, "Alright, I'll try and…hold off this one." She turned back to Tsubasa and kept firing.

Catalina ran forward, hurling acid at Kalliyan, Kalliyan screamed and fell back, some of her clothes melting away as the acid drenched her entire body. Catalina reared her sword back, ready to end it all with her blade still coated in poison.

Tsubasa dashed towards Catalina, cutting her open with her sword. Catalina coughed up blood and fell back, absolutely coated in blood at this point. "Shit…" Cissy shuddered before she ran forward to club Tsubasa in the back of the head with her gun.

Tsubasa evaded it easily, holding her sword in a defensive stance. Catalina and Kalliyan looked as if they wouldn't be getting up anytime soon, so it was just the two of them.

Cissy knew winning was impossible. She knew in no way, she could hold her own against this creature. But she at least had to try, to hold up Catalina's honor. She grit her teeth and unleashed her magazine.

Tsubasa snickered, blocking her shots and speeding in to slash her. Cissy cried out and landed back on the ground, "Shit…" She hissed, "Fine, fine, I give up…" She shut her eyes tightly, "Go fight someone else…"

"I'm afraid not." Tsubasa smirked, "Not sure if you know this or not, but Kindred turn to ash when they die…"

Catalina's weary, raw, red eyes opened, she tried her best to get up. If she didn't. Cissy was going to be a goner.

* * *

Delilah adjusted her hat, still feeling out of place. She saw Victor immediately run off to fight the Brujah Anarch, and he certainly wasn't the only who ran off and targeted someone in particular.

She backed away from every conflict that sprung up around her, grabbing onto her hat like it was some sort of safety blanket. She saw Cedric, in torpor and now free of his stocks, and without the wooden stake inside him. Her eyes widened as she stumbled back. _No way_ was she going to fight Cedric and live.

Cedric's purple eyes lit up with a fiendish glow as they opened. She didn't know if it was bad timing, or just her luck, but he rose quickly, drawing his scythes, "I remember you…Cainite…" His deep voice said.

She shook her head, then held her hands out to use Purge. Cedric instinctively held onto his mask, throwing up as blood pooled around the outer edges of it. "I will vanquish you from this battlefield, Tremere. Then I will kill that odious Madame Vaska." He leapt at her, going to slash through her with both scythes.

She gasped and hardly swerved out of the way. She held a hand out and shot a blood bolt at him. Cedric took a step back as he was hit. A purple glow of skulls came from his hand, as he summoned a horde of the dead. Zombies, specters, and skeletons, all rushing for Delilah. While he himself switched to a crossbow, armed with flaming bolts. He fired away from behind the safety of his army.

She had absolutely no idea how to combat an army of the undead. She covered her head and screamed as they store into her. She held a hand out hopelessly to use Purge, knowing it would do nothing to stop the monsters.

It actually stopped most the zombies, and Cedric himself, though it didn't affect the specters or skeletons. The latter of which began to utilize Potence as they struck her. And Cedric began to keep firing once he overcame his vomiting fit.

She gasped as two flaming crossbows hit her. She stumbled back out of the way, then turned and ran for her life. "Kill the Tremere!" Cedric pointed, guiding his horde of the undead to attack her, arming himself up with Fortitude just in case.

The countless stabs and wounds began to blend into one for Delilah. After a while, everything went black.

* * *

 **A/N:** Rest in Peace every fallen Kindred, kine, Kuei-Jin, etc…just kidding. No one died. Yet. Thanks for reading!


	62. Chapter 62

**A/N:** Here's chapter sixty-two! At last, Phantom's Mask comes to an end…but, what will be the outcome? Who will come out on top?

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs.

* * *

A sword clashed with Tsubasa's sword, the one about to impale Cissy. Catalina grunted as she blocked it, coated in blood and beyond exhausted.

Lafayette flew back from the attack he was hit by, and Victor and Nines tailed after him, joining the fight of the two Kuei-Jin versus the Assamite and Ravnos.

"Ugh, Nines is here, we're saved…" Cissy laid back on the ground, soon falling unconscious.

Nines glared at Cissy briefly, then gave Catalina a worried look. His eyes quickly flickered to Tsubasa, and it seemed any reserve he had during his previous battles had melted away. He lunged forward to clock her right in the face, too angry to even use any disciplines. Tsubasa laughed and evaded the attacked, slashing at Nines a few times.

Catalina narrowed her eyes in thought. She could make a big break here. Her blood draining spell was most effective when there were multiple opponents around, so she used it immediately, stealing blood from Lafayette, Victor, and the two Kuei-Jin.

"Ah, so Armando has recruited an Assamite, has he?" Victor smirked.

"That's right." Catalina held her sword firm, "And this sword is going to hit you, if I've got anything to say about it."

"We'll see about that!" Victor laughed, holding a hand up, everyone around him threw up immediately. Kalliyan couldn't take anymore, once she threw up, she passed out. Even Tsubasa looked enraged by the newcomers.

Once Lafayette lost blood from both of those attacks, he drank from his own Odious Chalice, restoring his blood. He then began to make a large creation out of fallen bodies nearby.

Nines whipped out his pistol and fired at Tsubasa, clearly uneasy with her very existence. Tsubasa blocked the bullets with ease with her sword.

Meanwhile a huge crash was heard, as a large worm surfaced. It was the last worm Madame Vaska had summoned, and it screeched with hunger.

Lafayette had finished his own creation, which was large, abhorrent, and spiderlike. Given how big it was, it took a lot of blood and flesh to make. He sent it into battle quickly. He himself rushed into battle, raking Victor with his claws with such force, that Victor gave a loud shout and fell over. Again, the blood shield most likely saved him there.

Nines stepped back and watched the monstrosities. With not a single drop left in his blood pool, and with death knocking on his doorstep, he could hardly think straight. But he saw Catalina standing, and knew no leader should leave their people standing alone. He needed to flip the tides of the battle. He needed to change something, make something happen to end this battle before he hit his Final Death.

He took out his gun and fired at Victor's coat, hoping a bullet would hit the grenade in his pocket. Victor growled as he was hit, scrambling and trying to get up.

Catalina's eyes widened as she saw something Victor had dropped, "Is…is that the Key of Alamut?"

"Ah, you would recognize this, wouldn't you?" He chuckled, "Anarchs are all dirty thieves, aren't they? I don't really think stealing from them is a particular crime…"

"How dare you!" Catalina growled, "First, you curse _my_ _entire clan_! Then you waltz around with one of our treasures?!"

"I believe the penalty for attacking our council of seven would be a clan wide curse, wouldn't you agree?"

Catalina clenched her fists, "I'll kill you, for the Anarch Free State!"

"Trust me, it hasn't been that for a while, dear…" Catalina ran at him, using what little Celerity she had to speed herself up. Victor evaded the attack, "Why don't I show you the true destiny of those who follow Armando's path?" He took the sought after grenade, once Catalina was far enough away, he pulled the pin and whipped it at her, and it exploded, leaving a horrendous amount of smoke in the air for all the remaining fighters.

When the smoke cleared, there was no sign of Catalina.

Nines lifted an arm over his eyes and swatted the dust, his eyes scanning through the remaining pools of smoke and dust. A cool breeze suddenly rushed in, brushing some of the sand with it as the waves grew in height.

She couldn't be dead, right? Nines wasn't afraid at all. He wasn't worried in the slightest that she was dead. She was an Assamite, they had thousands of ways of escaping things like this. But did she have the blood for an escape?

He didn't have the time to worry about her. He needed to focus on the biggest threat. He fired his gun again, only to find he was out of bullets. He reached in his back pocket and quickly reloaded it, keeping an eye on the battles before him.

Tsubasa dashed at Victor, slashing through him, but Victor was able to burn her with fire as she passed by. She grimaced, but seemed like she was ready for a lot more action. Lafayette looked on with interest, about to join the battle, it seemed.

Meanwhile, the worm and Lafayette's creation were dueling it out. It seemed even both of the Tzimisce's separate monsters even shared their rivalry.

Nines looked over at Victor, "Madison, truce until we take out the Kuei-Jin?"

Victor gave Nines a cautious look, "What do you suggest?"

"I'm out of blood and just about out of ammo." He said, "But if I can catch her, I can hold her still." He met Victor's gaze again, "I'm not sure what your clan discipline might do to them, but we might as well figure it out."

"Yes, we shall see." Victor said.

It seemed Lafayette was one step ahead of them, as he waited to catch Tsubasa, flesh-crafting her until she was nearly unrecognizable. She screamed until she was a large, amorphous blob.

Victor looked from Lafayette to Nines, "Interesting how it's the three of us again…" He said, "I would pause to say that it's perhaps a symbolic occurrence, but I don't believe we have the time."

Nines stepped back from the other two, "As I see it, we have two options. Fight each other to the death, or leave and continue to represent our sects."

"Leave now?" Victor asked, "After everything we've been through?"

Nines looked around at the battlefield, at the fallen Anarchs, then back at Victor, "That's up to you."

"I'm not going to—"

Lafayette completely mauled Victor. Victor screamed, pinned down in the same position that Nines was earlier. It didn't look like the Tremere would last much longer. Nines ran in to kick the Tzimisce in the side, trying to knock him over, or distract him, at least.

Lafayette began to glow green, Nines's kicks weren't doing anything.

"Fortitude!" Victor gasped, "It has Fortitude?!"

Nines reached down and grabbed Victor's arm, trying as hard as he could to pull him out from under the beast.

Once Victor's arm was free, he waved a hand in front of Lafayette, and Lafayette froze in place, like a statue. Once he was free, he stood tall, "I suppose it is just you and I now, Armando." He said, "You went through great lengths to…aid me…" He noted.

Nines panted, looking at Lafayette like he grew several arms and legs, (although that might actually seem natural for a Tzimisce), "…yeah…"

"Oh, simmer down, will you? He'll be free within a few minutes, and that's being generous." He said, then he smiled. Like he really _needed_ the confidence boost. "Are my new abilities frightening you and your little ragtag team?"

"Eh, I wouldn't say frightening." He looked back over at Victor, "Amusing, sure."

"Yes, it will be very amusing when those same powers kill you."

"It's just…" He smiled and looked down, kicking a rock aside, "When something gets scared, it finds a new way to combat its fear. It's why we picked up tranq guns. We were scared." He snickered a bit, "Funny to look at all the shit you're learning. Wonder why."

"Yes. It's such a shame your little assassination went south, isn't it?"

"Real shame. When are the Blood Hunts?" His smile was like that of a guilty school-kid.

"I wouldn't mock Prince Strauss's rule if I were you. It'll make your stay in the Jyhad much shorter."

"I wasn't mocking it, I was just curious."

"You didn't think I would make Strauss Prince either, and I have. So I would be careful with the skepticism about how efficient our Camarilla is."

"Right. Right, and when was the last time Anarchs had a big strife? When the Kuei-Jin came here? Camarilla practically took itself down. That's why we're waiting. There's no use getting involved in the next civil war."

"Of course. I would think the Camarilla was weak too if LaCroix's rule was the only one I could judge from."

"Let's see if you can hold up to those claims then. What, with this new Sabbat breathing down your neck." He snickered, "Doubt they even know what we are."

"We've already begun to take down key members of their movement. I'm sure we'll do the same with the Anarchs in this city, once Lafayette's forces are dealt with."

"Good to know." His eyes glimmered in a familiar fashion, something Victor remembered from when they were alive.

"I think you're forgetting something very basic _and_ simple." Victor took a few steps closer, "We know you're after us. We know that you want to kill the Primogen, because killing Strauss is just about impossible. We know that you're taking advantage of the Sabbat warring with us to make a strike, and we know that the Sabbat are taking advantage of us warring with the Anarchs to make a strike. We'll always be one step ahead of you, I suspect, none of the plans you come up with will ever succeed, because we'll have a perfect counter for it."

Nines brought his chin up a bit as Victor stepped closer, they were actually quite close to each other in general. Then he grinned. When he was up this close, Victor could see the blood between his teeth, the dirt smears on his face, the stains on his skin, "Your first mistake was thinking we _have_ a plan."

"You may call that plucky spontaneity, but I just call it stupidity."

He quirked a brow, "It's been working for a while now. What, eighty years? Give or take?"

"Luck, we'll call it. Isn't that the Anarch way?"

"Sure thing, buddy." He snickered.

"Surely…you realize…that you…and all your foolish comrades…are doomed…"

"I think it depends. Depends on what they make of themselves."

"Perhaps. If they survive. But I'll do well to make sure they don't." His fist lit up with flames as he punched Nines right in the temple, flooring him immediately, "Ha, ha! I've finally done it!" He said, "I'm going to kill Nines Rodriguez, once and for all!"

Something caught his eye far off on the distance. Cedric was mobilizing a considerable army. But not only that, Delilah was unconscious on the ground. Victor narrowed his eyes. A specter was about to finish her off. Give her Final Death. He may never have a chance to kill Rodriguez again, he would live to fight another day if Victor didn't finish them off.

But he had to save his apprentice. In a way, the other few Tremere were the only family he had left.

He dashed off to save her. Lafayette soon got up after that, free from Victor's spell. Seeing that Cedric was safe with an army, he looked for more opponents to face.

* * *

The battle had long since been passing on. Derek would notice prominent figures dropping in the sand like flies. It was really starting to thin out the crowd. Part of him was getting worried. He needed to take someone out in order to make a name for himself.

Of course, he would have taken someone out, if this annoying redhead hunter would stop following him.

As she fired another round at her, he stopped and turned around, "Would you find something else to occupy yourself with!?" He seethed.

"Would you stop running like a coward?"

"I'm finding a foe more suited to my abilities!"

"Look at the big vampire run away from a little human girl like a coward!"

He turned and lumbered towards her, "If you're so obsessed with me, perhaps I can influence a physical desire as well."

"Whoa there, mister ego…I never said that. I just want to put a bullet between your eyes."

His eyes narrowed, "Then go ahead. It won't kill me."

"Oh really?" She pointed her grenade launcher at him.

He stepped back and laughed, "Well, let's not be hasty…"

A snide grin came onto her face, but she soon noticed a figure looming over her, bringing his zombie army along with him, "Do you mind?" She snapped.

Cedric _did_ in fact mind. With one metal hand, he picked her up like a rag doll. She screamed and thrashed around. "Hey! Let go of me, you creep! Ah!"

Cedric reached for his face with the other hand. The mask came off, revealing a horrid, decrepit face. He sunk his fangs into Ella. Ella screamed as her blood was being drained.

Derek scrambled back. There was no way he would be able to fend himself off if Cedric grew bored and turned to him next. He was Sabbat after all, they were diablerists. He gave one last look at Ella before he started to run.

He bumped into a few bony legs, seeing both skeletons and specters with hungry expressions on their faces. They quickly surrounded Derek, attacking him all at once.

He shivered, watching as they all circled him and crowded him back towards Cedric. He activated his Fortitude and hoped someone might come to save him, because he was positive there was no way out of this.

* * *

By the time the battle was reaching a climax, there were only twelve battlers left standing, and one of them was tending to his fellow Tremere.

From the Camarilla, was Slade, Tess, and Cadmus. The Anarchs were represented by Skelter, Anastasia, and Damsel. The Sabbat had Cedric and Lafayette. The former still had quite a few necromantic allies, and the latter was still in Zulo form. Madame Vaska also arrived, having dealt with Phaedra and Prospero.

And bringing up the rear was Sirius and Jun, "Sorry guys, this guy is pretty tough!"

"Let us see who survives this battle." Madame Vaska clasped her hands together.

"I believe we more than have a score to settle, Vaska…" Cedric growled.

"The hell happened to Nines?" Skelter asked Anastasia quietly.

"I…I saw him fighting Victor the whole time." Anastasia said, "I think he was in the fight too." She nodded at Lafayette.

"Shit…he's…he's not dead, right?"

"No." Damsel joined up with them, "But he's out cold."

Tess joined Slade's side, "Are you alright?" She looked over him.

Slade tried not to wheeze as he answered, "Yeah…fine…" He said, "We…we gotta take these punks out…"

Madame Vaska immediately shot black tiny beast shards at Cedric. Cedric cried out in pain and fell to a knee.

He shivered with pain, "Vaska…" He growled, "Kill her at once!" His undead army concentrated on Vaska, the latter of which was laughing loudly for a while.

Skelter's eyes landed on Jun, "We should help Sirius take him out."

"If Sirius couldn't handle him, I don't want to think about what would happen to us." Damsel said.

"Not if we outnumber him."

Jun caught their attention, running at them with both his swords out, slashing at as many Anarch as he could see.

"Shit!" Damsel ducked for cover, but Skelter was too busy pushing Anastasia to the ground to duck himself. He was practically cut in half as he flung back and landed on the ground. Thankfully, he was still in one piece, but bleeding horrendously.

"James!" Anastasia screamed. She growled as she turned into her bird form, arming herself with Fortitude to claw at Jun. Jun stumbled back, not taking the aggravated damage too well. Sirius eventually joined in on the act with his gun, firing at Jun.

Skelter tried to get up, but Damsel glared at him, "Stay put. We'll handle him. We can't risk losing another one to those damn devils." She said, turning to Jun with her newly loaded tranquilizer and firing.

Jun stumbled back, realizing he couldn't take the full brunt of the Anarchs at once, he quickly retreated, looking for Kalliyan and Tsubasa to aid them.

Lafayette charged over to Madame Vaska, slashing through her a few times while she was dealing with Cedric. Madame Vaska stumbled back, bloody scars all over her body. Lafayette continued his merciless attack, while Cedric was trying to recover from the beast shards.

"What should we do?" Slade wheezed, looking at Cadmus.

Cadmus was thinking about it. There was no representation for the hunters and the Kuei-Jin anymore. That just left the Anarchs and the Sabbat. The latter of which was busy fighting itself.

"There are more Anarchs left than Sabbat…somehow…" Tess muttered. "Guess they're hardier than we give them credit for…" She watched Skelter slowly get back to his feet.

"So should we attack the Anarchs?" Slade asked.

Cadmus thought about it for a while, "No. Let's fight the Sabbat."

Slade nodded, dashing forward with Celerity to attack Lafayette, but his sword broke, "Aw…god damn it! Now I don't have any swords!" He said.

Cadmus looked surprised, Lafayette having Fortitude was a strange sight to see. Tess handed Slade her katana, then took out her machine gun.

"Damn it, would the hooded guy's Fortitude break weapons too?" Slade asked.

"I wouldn't be surprised." Cadmus said, "Concentrate on Vaska, then. She's not to be trusted."

"But she's already running away…" Slade said. Sure enough, Madame Vaska retreated, unable to take the full attack force from Lafayette and Cedric at the same time.

"What do we do then, we can't attack them…" Tess looked up at Cadmus, "We need Victor to drain their blood or something."

"You're right." Cadmus said, for once showing a bit of nervousness. No doubt Lafayette and Cedric would attack them and the Anarchs soon.

"Should we attack the Camarilla?" Sirius looked from Damsel to Anastasia, to the wounded Skelter, "They look so lost and confused. Hell, that guy in the blue shirt is like, half dead. Let's do it."

"Yeah…" Skelter said, using Anastasia to stand as he spit blood to the side, "Why the hell not…"

Sirius gave a hungry grin as he ran straight for them, Anastasia followed suit. Cadmus held a scowl and held his axe defensively, protecting Slade and Tess from harm from Sirius's attack. He then held a hand out, a blue glow came from it. Anastasia hit the ground like a sack of rocks and fell asleep.

Skelter met Cadmus's gaze, hardly able to stand by himself, but he managed. He looked like he was about to argue, but instead, he said, "You get rid of him?"

Cadmus grimaced, fending off Sirius seemed hard enough on its own, "He ran away." He looked at Skelter, "Slade and I were too much for him."

Lafayette loomed over Slade, who gasped and barely dashed away, while Cedric meanwhile began to shoot flaming crossbow bolts at Tess. Tess was able to use her Celerity to dodge the crossbows. Well, until she bumped into Damsel. Damsel grabbed her shoulder and lit her fist up with Potence as she nailed Tess in the face.

"Tess!" Slade yelled, flashing over to Damsel with his swords out to slash her. Naturally, this meant that Lafayette followed him. "Oh look, it's the boy scout. Long time no see."

"Yeah, sure." Damsel lifted her gun after she dodged, then fired for his chest at point blank range.

He blocked the shot, "Nice try, but I know all about your tranquilizer trick." He went to slash through her again.

She swerved out of the way, then clocked Tess in the back of the head with her gun, knocking her to the sand. "What, is your new girlfriend blind?"

"I'll kill you!" Slade dashed at her again. Cedric meanwhile, fired off at Tess while she was grounded.

Damsel swerved out of the way, dropping her gun and using her fists to run forward and punch him. He evaded the attack, switching to his shotgun and shooting at her at high speeds. "Ah, fuck!" She grunted as she took another hit, then looked around for Anastasia or Sirius.

Anastasia was out cold, while Sirius was busy fighting Cadmus. This left Slade to keep firing at her, while Lafayette and Cedric were getting awfully close to Tess.

She hardly ducked out of the way, then ran over to Skelter. He was busy trying not to bleed out, but was shocked when she ran over in a huff, "What the hell are you—"

"Shut up, we're going back." She slung an arm around his shoulder and started bolting, he could hardly keep up with her.

"We can't leave without the others!" He resisted, pulling away from her, "Who the hell is giving you the business?"

"It's that Toreador…" She admitted, turning around to where Slade was with Tess.

Skelter pushed away from Damsel and activated his war-form, charging after Slade.

"Shit…" Slade kept on the evasive, continuing to shoot him. Cadmus on the other hand was still stuck in his never-ending lockdown with Sirius. This left Tess, who had either Cedric shooting at her or Lafayette charging at her.

Needless to say, she didn't last very long. She had bolts sticking out of her like a porcupine, and deep claw marks from Lafayette. It was nearly impossible for her to defend herself without her katana, so she fell soon like a sack of bricks.

Skelter huffed and puffed as his beady amber eyes looked from Tess to Slade.

"Tess!" Slade yelled. He would have kept firing at Skelter, but with Lafayette and Cedric starting to stare them down, they knew they were next.

Skelter put his war-form down, "Yo, Damsel!" He called, "We oughtta get out of here!"

Damsel picked up Anastasia and pulled back with him, "What about Sirius?"

"Come on, guys, we can take these losers!" Sirius howled with laughter, while Cadmus was still loudly wondering why he hadn't taken any damage.

A cane tapping against the sand was heard, as everyone saw a lone Samedi enter the battlefield. Sam looked at the eight or so remaining fighters. He was clearly a sight to see for anyone not knowledgeable about his clan.

"What…the hell…is that?" Cadmus looked mildly revolted, while Sirius smiled.

Skelter wheezed as he leaned on Damsel's shoulder, "Am…am I seeing shit…?"

"No…no, honey…this…this is happening…" Damsel said slowly.

Sam looked at the small crowd, "I suggest any of you who do not have Camarilla loyalties leave immediately…or you'll face a fate worse than death…"

Cadmus and Slade looked relieved at hearing that this creature was on their side. Cedric looked like he was going to start to fight Sam, but Lafayette turned back into his standard form, "Leave him. We've shown our strength today. I feel a lot of power and wisdom from that Cainite. It's best we save our strength." He said, and the two Sabbat vampires left.

"Leave immediately." Sam said, "Take your injured comrades and go. Staying will only result in more victories for the Camarilla."

"Better do what he says." Sirius smiled.

"Why the hell are you _smiling?_ " Damsel snarled, but Skelter just pulled her back.

"We're leaving." He said firmly, finding Nines and Catalina, scooping them up, "C'mon."

She huffed and glared at Sirius before she grabbed up Cissy too, following after Skelter. Sirius soon went after them, leaving no one but Camarilla personnel.

"Does anyone have any vitae?" Sam asked, "We need to restore our numbers at once."

Cadmus nodded, "I got some emergency blood packs." He started walking around to revive his allies.

"Hello everyone." Victor said, Delilah in his arms, "Who's this?" He looked at Sam.

"He's one of us." Cadmus said, tossing a blood pack in Victor's general direction. Victor barely caught it. He set Delilah down and held the blood pack by her nose.

Her eyes peered open before she snatched it and downed it all, "Thank you…" She said softly, "Thank you very much, sir…"

"I'm thankful you're still in one piece." Victor said.

Phaedra held her head as she sat up, "Ugh…" She looked up, then smiled, "Samuel…"

Sam gave her a simple nod, while Cadmus's jaw dropped, "You _know_ this guy?"

"I suppose." She said, "We're graveyard pals, I think."

"Well, he is a Samedi, isn't he? A fine sort, if I were to judge." Victor smiled.

"I don't…I don't know what the hell that is…" Cadmus said.

Prospero felt his forehead as he stood up, "What year is it?"

Slade hugged Tess, returning her sword, "Tess…I'm so sorry…you got knocked out cause of me…"

"It's alright, sweetheart." She smiled and rested her head in his chest.

Phaedra held a hand out and helped Prospero to his feet, "Are you alright, dear?"

"Fine." He said bitterly, "But Madame Vaska got away…" He shook his head, "I'll never be able to kill her straightforwardly…"

"Nonsense. I'm sure we can find a way." She gave a firm smile.

He smiled back, "Thanks, Phaedra."

"Well…Phaedra…" Cadmus looked around at all the carnage, all the dead, kine bodies lying around, (Most of which were Madame Vaska's responsibility). "I'd say you have a buffet here. That or a buy one get one free deal…"

She had a good laugh, "Yes, yes, it's marvelous. I didn't even think of it…"

"Well, if that is all, we should be on our way, then." Sam said.

Derek stood up and dusted himself off. He was about to head out with the others before he caught a sight of Ella's body. He absentmindedly approached her lifeless form, watching as the others started to leave. He kneeled down beside her and gently held her face, angling it towards himself so he could see her face.

Youthful. Innocent. And, quite cute looking, her features were nearly flawless. Her round cheeks, even rounder eyes, and yet her dark lashes were quite the contrast to her red hair. He imagined her lips would taste very sweet, if they were to have a flavor, that is.

She looked restless, even in her dead state. He felt no pulse there, and her skin was just slightly chilled. It was a shame. There was something about her spunk and drive that he saw in a potential ghoul of his.

And then he saw her hand twitch.

Nonsense, he decided. Leftover nerves. Sometimes the brain wasn't really dead.

The hand balled into a fist, her eyes shut tighter. Nerves could do that, right?

She didn't have a pulse. There was nothing there. His eyes widened as he realized what had happened to her.

He lifted her up, "Wait. This girl, this hunter, she's been Embraced."

"Hmm?" Sam asked, everyone turned to look at Derek.

Ella's eyes popped open, they were now a bright red. "Huh…huh…?" She asked, then she yelped and hopped out of Derek's arms, "What…what the hell is happening…what happened…?" She paused and felt the back of her canines, then her chest upon realizing that she didn't need to breathe, then she felt her wrists for a pulse. When nothing was there, she let out a piercing scream.

Cadmus covered his ears, "Damn it…there goes my hearing for a week…"

Derek shut his eyes tightly, then peered one open when she had finished, "It wasn't me…" He clarified, one of his eyes twitching, "In fact…I'm not sure any of us know what clan you reside to…"

"Perhaps I could determine that." Victor said, squinting at Ella, "Who was it who bit into you, dear?"

"Why the hell would I answer any of your dumb questions!" Ella snapped, "Screw this, I'm leaving!"

"We're trying to help you." Slade crossed his arms, "If you try to go out by yourself, you'll be dead by sunrise. Partially because you can't be in the sun anymore."

Ella scoffed, looking to the side, "It was that creepy guy in the cloak…"

"Hmm…" Victor reached out and touched her face, ignoring the disgusted look on Ella's face, "You've gotten very pale…a little gaunt too…" He said, "Cappadocius."

"Cappadocius?" Phaedra asked, "But the Giovanni…"

"Hence why he seemed so valued…" Derek mused, before he turned back to Ella, "Regardless, you should let us help you. Your fellow hunters will not accept you. I will gladly take you under my wing."

"Yes, I had noticed the Discipline combination he had from the stories I've heard from others." Victor said, "It was too coincidental to me. He must have been astonishingly old to have survived the Giovanni purge." He said, "So that means your blood must be extremely potent." He looked at Ella.

"I don't care!" Ella frowned, "And I don't need your help!" She looked at Derek, "I don't need any of you!"

"Oh, yes, you do." Phaedra said, "Please, trust us. Your life will be so much simpler with at least some sort of sire-like figure, or figures. It doesn't have to be one of us in particular. We can offer you a haven. A place to stay, at least."

"I hate to be the one to say this, but you don't have much of a choice, anyway." Victor said, "You need to be watched by the Camarilla."

"No! I'm leaving!" She turned around to walk away.

"Look." Cadmus said, almost chilled by how familiar this scene looked to him. "The same exact thing happened to me, alright?" He said, "I was human, living the best days of my life. Happily married, talking about maybe starting a family. Then…my wife died…and not long after that, I was Embraced by some asshole Ventrue who's dead now. Point is…a lot of things are going to change for you. You can't return to your mortal life anymore. Your friends, your hunter pals, they won't recognize you, or even like you. But…you'll have a chance to start over, with us."

"Ugh…it's like I'm going to jail…" Ella rolled her eyes, "Whatever, fine, let's do this."

"You will not regret your choice." Derek said, "There is space in my domain, if you wish to stay there."

"We'll figure out what to do with her once we return to downtown." Victor said, then he smiled, "Well, it must have been at least a few centuries since a Cappadocian has graced the Camarilla's doorstep."

"Yes, that's right." Phaedra smiled, "This is an exhilarating time for us."

* * *

 **A/N:** So, it appears the Camarilla has 'won' the Phantom's Mask, but how will the other sects feel about this victory? Thanks for reading! Let us know what you thought of the battle with a review! (Sorry there were a tons of names and characters XD)


	63. Chapter 63

**A/N:** Here's chapter sixty-three! Let's address two people who weren't at the Phantom's Mask…Enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs. And yes, there is a lemon, if you're not a fan.

* * *

When Victor came into his room in the Chantry for the night, he saw Venus mixing herself a drink. The place was cleaned up nicely as well, but he figured it was because Venus was a bit of a neat freak when it came to décor and clutter.

But one of the things he liked most about her cleaning was how nice and smooth she left the bedsheets, (she must have ironed them. There was never a single wrinkle), and how she never touched the books he left out. He could always find what he was reading because she never bothered to move them.

He shut the door behind himself, smiling, "I trust the Chantry was safe while we were away?"

"Of course. Very quiet."

"Excellent." He hugged her from behind.

She smiled and melted into his arms, leaning back to kiss his cheek. "Where've you been? You smell like gunpowder."

"You don't remember?" He asked, "I was clashing with Armando at the Phantom's Mask." He said, then he chuckled, "Sounds like some sort of…macabre…dance party or something similar now that I think about it."

"I didn't think there would be guns."

"Oh, there were plenty." He said, "There were all sorts of things."

"Mmm hmm." She smirked, then reached her arm back and gently rubbed his back, "Well, how was it?"

"Quite…eventful…if I were to say." He gently broke the hug and moved away from her, sitting on the edge of his bed, "Lots of…warring, I suppose. Poor girl got Embraced right on the battlefield."

She poured her drink out and took a sip, "What was she doing there?"

"Well, you see, there were some vampire hunters there, as well. I suppose some bloke thought that it would be a hilarious bit of irony if this girl was turned herself. Wasn't the first time it's been done. It's been an old trick since the dawn of time."

"Oh…poor, poor thing…" She walked over and sat next to him, "Is she dead? Or, I should ask, where is she?"

"We took her in." He said, "She needs to be watched by the Camarilla, closely, I would say. We cannot risk having her fall into Anarch or Sabbat hands. But…it's obviously taken a toll on her…" He said, "She's completely new to this world…"

"Of course, I could only imagine…" She said, "You should bring her here. Or, maybe to Confessions. I'd love to talk to her."

"I'm not sure how well it would bode." He mused, "Her manner of Embrace was very similar with what happened to Mister Lockwood or Mister Vanderbilt. They might know more about how to get on even footing with her. We don't want to seem overbearing or inconsiderate, or she'll fall right in the Anarchs' lap."

"Mmm, you raise a good point."

He clasped his hands together, but it was far from a movement of happiness. He rose from the bed, pacing momentarily, "Those fools. It's one thing to _hear_ about the Anarchs' delusion, but it's quite another to _see_ it on the battlefield." He faced away, "Especially that Armando, I was so close to killing him, once and for all. But not to worry. I will destroy him, and his foolish allies." He chuckled, said chuckle easily befitting a demon, "With fire, for now, unless I grasp a Thaumaturgic ability more potent. Some of them will burn more slowly than others, I'm sure, but that won't be a problem…"

"Mmm….mmm hmm…" She kept drinking form her glass.

"My plan will soon fall into place…and then we won't have to worry about the Anarchs anymore."

She closed her eyes, "Yes…yes, that sounds…magnificent…"

"Yes, then all that will be left to focus on is the Sabbat." He said, "Well, at least in terms of large threats…"

She reached down and set her glass on the end table, "Mmm….hmm…"

He sat back on the edge of the bed, "I must admit, I'm very pleased Strauss's rule has been going off without a hitch as much as it has…"

"I'm very pleased you've been having such success with all this…"

"Yes…but there remains my…inconsistent status…at the Chantry. I mended relations with Delilah, and I have you…but…I'm not entirely sure how Iphigenia and Leonardo view me…"

"I think Iphigenia's confused. Leonardo just wants to be stronger, still."

He sighed, burying his face into his hands, "Perhaps I should speak to them…"

She sat next to him and kissed his shoulder, "Don't act so frantic, love. They're very strong. They don't think you despise them."

"Well, at least they don't now." He turned toward her and gave her a hug.

She hugged him back, kissing his cheek, "Did you want a massage?"

He reached back for his trench coat, "Yes, now that I've heard of your…skills…in the matter, I would like one."

She giggled, "It's not like I'm qualified or anything…it was a silly class for fifty dollars…"

"Well, let us do it and see what it turns into."

"It's much better if you take everything off." She stood up and took off her dress.

He quickly caught his jaw as it fell open, "Yes…I suppose it does…" He began to take all of his clothes off, hanging up whatever he could.

"Massage oil or not?" She asked, then she paused and stepped closer, "Are those…scars?"

"Indeed they are." He took his gloves off, in nothing but his underwear at this point.

"From the battles?"

"No…they're from…experiments I'm working on."

"Experiments?" She smirked.

"Yes, I'm working on numerous experiments at once." He said, "I suppose some of them need rather…interesting ingredients…"

"What is it?" She asked, her eyes bright and thirsty for hearing all the little details.

"The finished product? Well, it will be an army." He said, "One that will obliterate the Anarchs and the Sabbat."

"And what were some of the ingredients…?"

"There were many." He said, "My flesh…for one…" He looked at his arms briefly.

She gently rubbed her hands over his arms, "I think they look nice." She met his gaze.

"Keeping them open is a nasty procedure." He said, "I needed to burn the wounds with chemicals so they wouldn't heal…"

She traced her fingertips along them, then suddenly lunged towards him, kissing him with fury and lust that he hadn't seen from her in quite a while. He sighed and kissed her back, rubbing her back as he held her in his arms. She caught her breath, "Oh…forgive me…your massage…"

"You seem a bit preoccupied with something." He kissed her neck.

"You've just…given me a lot to think about…is all…"

"Yes, well, I'm perfectly willing to satisfy…whatever desire you have…tonight…I'm in a rather pleasant mood…so I want to please you. Whatever you want, I'll give it to you."

She gave a devious grin, then kissed him again, "There's too much for me to ask for." She rubbed her hands over his shoulders, "You don't know how much you get my blood stirring…"

"Perhaps we should continue this lying down." He gave her a light push on the bed, kissing her lips over and over again once he got on top of her.

"Victor…" She closed her eyes, maybe she just couldn't meet his gaze when she asked this. "I had to get rid of the handcuffs, I didn't want you to get hurt again…but…do you have any…any neck ties…?" He got up and grabbed the tie from his suit, tossing it her way. "Yes, now tie me to the bedpost. Just my hands."

"Yes, dear." He took both her hands and tied them to the bedpost.

"Yes, thank you…" She shuddered, keeping her eyes closed, "Do…do as you please…torture me…"

He couldn't resist from chuckling, "You want me to torture you?" He asked, "I have to admit…I…don't have much physical strength about me…and I'm not entirely sure my powers would be appropriate…"

"If you can't do pain, do pleasure…"

"Very well." He got back on top of her, kissing her for a while and groping her breasts through her bra with unforgivable force. She grit her teeth and moaned, pulling against the tie as she squirmed a bit underneath him.

He eventually went back and unhooked her bra, squeezing her breasts once again while kissing her jawline. She sighed and moved her face out of the way, "You should bite me…"

"Would that make you happy?"

"So…so happy…" Her hips squirmed as she tried to peel her thong off.

"We'll have to see how we can time this." He took his own underwear off as well, rushing the blood through his system, "Because you'll likely be quite tired afterwards…"

She spread her legs and closed her eyes again, her wrists straining against the tie, "Do…w-whatever you have to…"

He licked her neck a few times, sucking on it, before he licked the backs of his fangs and sunk them into her. Once he did that, he moved in for the penetration. Her eyes rolled back and closed as she dove into an orgasm right away. It was something darker and more sensual than she had ever experienced, like no drug or drink she had ever taken in.

In turn, he felt an ecstatic sensation from both his teeth, as well as his length. Swallowing her blood gave him more energy to drill into her, though he made sure to stop before her blood went to critical levels. Without her hands, she just had to hope the scars on his arms would graze her soft skin. Any time this happened, she let out moan after moan, letting the image of him pouring acid into his wounds fill her mind.

His thrusting, on the other hand, lasted a bit longer now that he was completely refreshed. He would sigh Venus's name in between thrusts, getting in as deep as he physically could. As the bed creaked even louder, she gasped and held onto him tightly with her legs. He kept hitting a spot deep inside that made her lose herself, and pushed her into another climax.

Her panting filled the air as he finished, dizziness clinging to her vaguely. "Victor…" She panted out, "Could….c-could you unfasten me…?"

"Yes…of course…" He stood up and stretched, "I had nearly forgotten…" He walked around the bed and set her free, laying in the bed next to her.

She wrapped her arms around him, "I've never been…dominated like that…"

"I must admit…I could've applied more…practical uses of torture…if that was what you wanted…"

She closed her eyes, "I've always been the dominator…but for once…I just couldn't handle it…"

He laughed, "I knew you had latent sexual desires within you…it's nice you were finally able to voice them…"

Her cheeks actually blushed, "I didn't…think you'd like it…"

"If you wish to do it more in the future, I'm perfectly capable."

"If the inspiration strikes…"

"Very well, dear." He kissed her lips, "I'm glad I'll be able to finally rest after the grand battle."

"Yes…of course…" She smiled warmly, kissing his nose, "Goodnight, Victor…"

"Goodnight, Venus."

* * *

"I heard there were quite a few rumblings ever since that Phantom's Mask ended." Beckett said, the two of them were underground quite a ways. They were in ancient catacombs that were both old yet ornate and fancily decorated. Like it was a final resting place. However, every time Ferrum asked why they were down there, Beckett gave him an inconclusive answer.

"Yeah…Vanderbilt's full of stories…makes me wanna wring his neck…" Ferrum stuffed his hands in his pockets.

Beckett chuckled, "Sometimes I don't think that man is content unless he's in the middle of everything at once. Whether it's a live explosion or a war remains to be told."

"Guess we're both adrenaline junkies…"

"I heard someone was Embraced fresh on the battlefield."

"Oh yeah? Sounds like something the Sabbat would do." He muttered, "I'd do it all the time."

"I myself did it once, to a pesky hunter who wouldn't leave me alone." He said, giving a shrug afterwards, "Her life was only moderately ruined."

He snickered, "What's the fun in it then? That must've sucked."

"She wasn't exactly the most ethical of kine."

"So it was a good move on your end then. Yeah, I just kinda grabbed whoever was nearby."

He gave a nod as a pause went by, then he said, "I heard you received a Masquerade strike while you were retrieving that book on the Kuei-Jin. I do apologize, I hope Maximillian was understanding."

"He didn't say anything, actually…guess it's not a huge deal if I only screwed up once."

"That's fortunate." He said, "While I don't agree with every little stature the Camarilla comes up with, the Masquerade seems to have its merits, at least occasionally."

"If you want my honest opinion, I'd be Independent too. I just can't afford it. Too risky. Besides, I think Miranda would break my neck if I left the Camarilla…"

He smiled, "She's a rather sharp Ventrue. I've met dozens that were ten times her age, yet they were total half-wits, Sebastian LaCroix included."

He chuckled, "I think she'd make a good Prince."

"Of course, once her time comes." He said, they eventually reached a long hall of coffins. Beckett would occasionally open each one, there was an absent-minded nature to how he would fling them open, only to move onto the next one.

Ferrum raised a brow, "Lookin' for something?"

"Yes, these are ancient Setite ruins, by the looks of it. Perhaps belonging to one of the most infamous ones of their kind." He mused, looking around, "Didn't know she had such a large lair under here in California…but…where hasn't Kemintiri been?"

"Who is this now?"

"Kemintiri is one of largest Kindred criminals in the world." Beckett said, "Correction. She is _the_ largest Kindred criminal in the world. Over the centuries, I've done quite a bit of research on her, though the rest of the Setites don't really appreciate the invasion of privacy, I suppose. I'm assuming they don't want their biggest blemish aired out like dirty laundry."

"Yeah, guess that makes sense. So, is that why I'm here? Security?"

"I assumed with all of your friends away at the Phantom's Mask, that you wouldn't mind accompanying me on this trip."

"Nah, this is probably one of the coolest things I've done in a while."

"What I didn't expect was for the place to be so…empty." He said, "I mean, to live for thousands of years, you would have to cover your tracks well, but…I'm going to be quite disappointed if we return empty-handed…"

"Empty-handed?" He asked, "So you _are_ lookin' for something specific…"

"Well, Kemintiri enjoys converting both the living and the dead into mummies, presumably to have a loyal army of invincible supporters. I had hoped to find at least a small piece of evidence, or research."

"Ah hah…" He peered in one of the coffins, "And these are empty. Huh. Waste of materials…"

Beckett went to open the last coffin, and immediately he was surprised. A body was inside, dressed in black from head to toe. A black collared shirt, with black jeans and black dress shoes. His skin was incredibly pale, and his short, styled hair was as dark as his clothes.

His eyes opened, the irises were split like an X. The X itself was amber, with the rest of the iris colored black.

"Who…who are you?" Beckett asked, who was a little speechless at first, "Are you familiar with Kemintiri?"

The man in black stepped out of his coffin like a drunkard, "Sybil…" He rasped, in a deep, brooding tone, "Lucius…where…where did you go? Where did you go…tell me!"

"Uh…think you found your research…" Ferrum said.

"I'm not quite sure whether this qualifies as research or not…" Beckett said.

The man in black was graced by the familiar black glow of Obtenebration as it went around his body. He gave an almost feral growl, pulling out a katana from its sheath. It hissed and glowed with a cursed aura, looking nearly identical to the sword that Miranda was known for wielding.

Beckett immediately called on Protean and Fortitude, shifting into his wolf form. Even with his magnificent defenses up, he hissed as he was knocked back by the man's cursed blade, rolling around on the stone floor.

"Shit…" Ferrum turned into a bear and gave a fierce roar, lumbering forward to clobber him in the face. He held an arm out, it was hard to see whether or not Ferrum was doing any damage, as this LaSombra seemed to have a high level of Obtenebration.

Beckett turned back into his standard form, not foolish enough to deactivate Fortitude, however. "I think we should run."

"Yeah…and what about this guy?" Ferrum did the very same.

Beckett struggled to answer that one so quickly, "Killing him may be impossible with that enchantment up. I assume you've fought alongside a LaSombra or two?"

"Yeah…" He seethed, "We gotta warn someone." He said as he turned and started running with Beckett.

The LaSombra began to give a chilling, crazed laughed, revealing that he was at least asleep for years, "I am not just _a_ mere LaSombra, you simpering fools! I am not _a_ LaSombra! I am one of the _true_ LaSombra! I am Remus Stone, and I will control the entire world!" He laughed louder and louder, "Do you hear me, Master Lafayette! I have awoken, and I bring death with me, for the glorious Sword!"

"Fuckin' hell…" Ferrum picked up the speed, "You always getting yourself into crazy shit like this?" His wild green eyes landed on Beckett's tinted shades.

Beckett offered a weak smile in return, "I suppose so." He said, then he added, "I may…be vacating the city, for a while…if news were to reach the Prince that I inadvertently awoke a high-ranking and dangerous LaSombra from torpor, it might not bode well for me…"

"Yeah, yer secret's safe with me."

* * *

"Well, that was fun." Sirius laughed as he sat in one of the booths on the first floor of the Last Round.

"Fun?" Catalina asked as she sat in a booth with Cissy, "Ugh." She crossed her arms, "You have to be insane to have thought that was _fun_ …"

"Eh, but we didn't lose anyone. Not many people died or nothing."

"Yeah, but some people _almost_ died…"

"Sorry I fell as early as I did." Nines said, finishing off a fourth blood pack.

"It's fine." Damsel said, "You were fighting the Primogen, it's honestly a miracle you're even alive."

Cissy puffed smoke up in the air, "That was pretty terrifying."

"I…I underestimated him too, you could say…" Catalina said.

"Told you he was going to expect anything we had to throw at him. Now that the execution was a big failure." Sirius said.

"Can we…maybe talk about what the hell he's capable of?" Skelter asked. He didn't have his shirt on, but he had bandages wrapped around his midsection where the huge gash was left.

"Don't know." Sirius said, "That Thaumaturgy can get pretty damn diverse once you get up there."

"Great." Anastasia shuddered, sleepily hugging Skelter.

"I hate to actually agree with Sirius for once…but maybe we should focus on a different Primogen for the time being." Catalina said.

"What, just like, pick one?" Cissy asked.

Skelter gently squeezed Anastasia's shoulder, "The Brujah Primogen."

Nines rubbed one of his temples, the one that Victor had hit, "Maybe we shouldn't focus on a Primogen at all."

"Then who do you have in mind?" Sirius asked.

He shook his head, "Madison's got plans. I need more time to think."

Damsel gave him a nervous look, "What…what did he say?"

He crossed his arms, "He's fucking pissed."

"What?" Anastasia squeezed Skelter in fear.

"The Cam is getting rid of the Sabbat first. No big surprise there." He said, crossing his arms and sitting back in the booth, "But they're still keeping an eye on us. It's not an excuse for us to go ahead and attack them." He sighed and closed his eyes, "Besides…they've made plans for whatever we do. They've thought through everything."

Skelter had a good laugh, "They _think_ they did. They don't know what kinda plans I got in my head. They might _think_ they do."

"They did counter the assassination point for point." Anastasia said.

"Eh, it's probably just empty threats. That's usually how the Camarilla rolls." Sirius swatted a hand.

"No, it isn't. Victor almost killed me. He can kill any of us, in like, ten different ways." Catalina said, "God, could you take _one_ thing seriously? Like at all?"

"Jeez…"

"Just give me time to think about it." Nines said, "I'll think of something."

Damsel sat across from him, "We'll figure this out, right?" She gave a little smile.

He gave a little nod and brushed someone's empty beer can aside, "Of course." He sighed and rested his arms back on the seat of the booth, "Burned my jacket to dust…" He muttered bitterly.

The door opened and Killian walked in, "Everyone made it out alright?"

"Yeah, where the hell were you?" Cissy snapped.

He slowly closed the door, "Slade and Cadmus wanted me dead. One was too fast and one was Anastasia's brother, so there really wasn't much I could do."

"Ha. Wimp."

"Yeah, sure, whatever." He sat at the bar.

"Those Kuei-Jin are a bit more dangerous than I thought too." Catalina said, "Very deadly."

"Yeah, one of them can produce fire anytime he wants, so that makes things not fun pretty fast." Sirius said.

"I wanna know what the hell that sword was made of." Skelter said, "Hurt like hell."

"It looked like blood." Damsel said.

"We had to fight a hunter." Anastasia said.

"You did?" Damsel asked, throwing her hands in the air as she became full of animation, "So did I! Man, was he a son of a bitch! Those things are like ants! You step all over 'em but they just keep getting up!"

"You know, I heard that a hunter was Embraced out there." Sirius said, "Wonder what the hell became of them…"

"Really?" Damsel asked, "I hope it was the one I was dealing with. Maybe he'll stumble in here all full of tears…"

"Well, it'd be a new recruit…" Catalina muttered.

"You know what clan?" Damsel asked Sirius.

Sirius shrugged, "It's just something I overheard while I was Obfuscated."

"Damn…" She sighed.

"So…" Skelter narrowed his eyes, "Anyone knew what that…that thing was?"

"What thing?" Anastasia asked.

"The zombie with a top-hat."

"I don't know…he looked pretty cool though." Sirius said.

"What are you guys talking about?" Catalina asked.

"This zombie guy told us all to beat it. Guess he's Camarilla then. I think he's a Samedi, if I were to judge."

"You knew him." Damsel said.

Sirius raised a brow, "Knew him? Why the hell would I know someone in the Camarilla?"

"I don't know, I was gonna ask the same thing. You were all smiles when you saw him come around." She crossed her arms, "Look, if you're double agenting us or some shit, fine, whatever. But you've overstayed your welcome."

"Damsel—" Nines gave her a firm glare.

"Shut up, Nines." She spat, then turned to Sirius, "He's been fucking playing us! All of you need to stop being dense and realize he's playing us!"

"Well, I'm glad someone else finally sees it." Catalina said.

Sirius rolled his eye, "Look…Damsel, you were probably hit in the head one too many times or something, I don't know what you want me to say." He said, "I just thought he looked cool, I didn't mean to look _too_ happy, I guess. Didn't know that was illegal now."

Damsel stared at him for an uncomfortable amount of time, before she sat down and looked away.

"Who was this Kindred anyway?" Catalina asked.

"Some Samedi, an old one, if I were to judge." Sirius said, "This sucks, just when we think we know everyone in the Camarilla, they got someone else hidden in there…"

"With the Tremere in power, I would only expect more surprises like these to pop up." Nines said.

"And you're positive you don't know this Kindred?" Catalina crossed her arms.

Sirius snarled as his snake-tongue flickered out, "Look, this 'Sirius is a big double-crosser' thing isn't really funny anymore. What did I say when I first joined?"

There was a pause, Catalina clearly didn't think she would be put on the spot like this.

"That I wanted to join the Anarch cause to make it a free state. And what did I say about the rest of my clan?" He asked, "I said they hated me, and wanted nothing to do with me." He said, "So if I was 'playing you', who would I be giving this information to? The…four or five random skanks I know? Who exactly would I be playing you with?" He waited a beat, standing up, "Look, but if me being here makes you uncomfortable, and you need me to leave, then I'll just leave."

"No." Nines shook his head, "You don't need to leave. You've been welcome here from day one." He looked at Damsel and Catalina, "These two are just used to being hurt."

"The hell is that supposed to mean?" Damsel asked quietly as she looked up at Nines.

"I don't know why else you'd throw a tantrum like that."

"Oh, am I throwing one too?" Catalina raised a brow, "I'm just trying to keep us safe. I've seen Setites take apart organizations with ease."

"I understand. I don't think Sirius is like them." Nines said.

"Well, I'm glad to be welcomed back." Sirius smiled as he sat back down.

Killian took a mighty sigh, "So what's the next step?"

Nines stared at the tabletop, "I'm not sure yet…I need sleep, if you want my honesty…" He rubbed his forehead.

"Don't we all…" Cissy muttered.

"That makes sense." Anastasia rubbed at her eyes, "It's probably what all the other sides are doing, too."

"Might as well head home then…" Skelter muttered, "As soon as I feel like getting up…"

"I'll go update Isaac." Killian said.

"Yeah, I might as well beat it." Sirius started to leave.

"We should go too." Catalina stood up.

Cissy took her hand, "Uh huh, let's go." Catalina, of course, did everything she could to worm her way out of the grip.

* * *

 **A/N:** Am I the only one who thinks Beckett and Ferrum are adorable? Thanks for reading!


	64. Chapter 64

**A/N:** Here's chapter sixty-four! A big, spicy, (unplanned), argument between two friends…will it be resolved? Enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs.

* * *

"I keep it very neat and organized." Derek plunged the key into the door before it swung open and he tucked the key back in his suit, "I'd like for you to keep it that way. Of course, arrangements can be made to separate private areas. I don't require much space, you're more than welcome to take the entire living room, if you wish." He stepped in with her, "Luckily, this room has two bedrooms, but only one bathroom. It should hardly be a problem, it's still quite spacious."

Ella looked at her red nails as she walked in, "Remind me why it's you I have to room with?"

"I have one of the only flats here with two bedrooms. And only one is occupied."

She sighed, "Well, I guess I just won't sleep then…how wonderful. No sleep at night…or I guess no sleep in the _daytime_ , because the sun would barbecue me…"

"Why wouldn't you sleep?" He walked further into the living room, which really did look untouched.

"Because the creepiest person in the tower is my roommate."

He shook his head, "I'm sure you'll…get over that." He muttered before he strode further, "This is the bathroom. Tub, shower, sink, toilet too, but I doubt you'll be needing it. It's for ghouls, really." He walked her down over to another door, "And, this will be your bedroom." He faced her again, "I'll pay for whatever expenses you wish. You'll find the room is rather…barren. Sheets, paintings, furniture, whatever you desire, I'll pay for."

"Whatever I desire, huh? How about a trip home? Will you fund that? Huh?"

"Unfortunately, I will not. My apologies, Miss…?"

She brushed past him, "Then I'll just run away." She said, "What would the punishment for that be? Death? 'Kay, fine."

 _Her execution? No. Mine? Yes._ "No, he would not execute you for running away." He was able to catch up with her fairly easily, due to the fact that she was at least a foot shorter than him, "We are giving you an opportunity to become as powerful as you can. I don't see why you would pass up these odds."

"Because I don't care. Ugh, you vampires are all the same." She frowned, "I don't want to be a powerful overlord, or…whatever it is you guys do, I want to go home. I want my old life back. And if I can't have any of those, then there's no point."

There was a knock on the door. Derek raised a brow before he opened it. "Ah…company…"

"Yes, I'm not here for you." Phaedra quite literally pushed him aside as she walked in, "I came to see Miss Ella." She held a hand out, "Phaedra. Pleasure to meet you."

"Yeah…uh…hi…princess of the vampires…or…whoever you are…" Ella shook her hand reluctantly.

She chuckled softly, "Oh, please, I hardly have any power in the Jyhad." She sat on the couch, "I'm sorry about your roommate."

"I do wish you wouldn't talk about me while I'm still in the room." Derek crossed his arms.

"Oh. Good point." She said, "Leave."

One of his eyes twitched, "The audacity you have to say such things in front of the young mind of such a valuable Kindred…"

She swatted a hand, "She's an adult woman, I can say as I please." She crossed her legs, then pat a spot next to her, "Come, dear, have a seat. Make yourself comfortable."

Ella made a face, "Yeah, I'll stand, thanks."

She chuckled softly, "You remind me of myself, when I was young." She faced forward and stretched her arms, "You're quite lucky. You might think your Embrace was unfortunate, but there are clans you could belong to that could really change your life. Clans such as the Nosferatu, in which the Embrace is nearly always some sort of attack, or trick. The victim is never able to see the surface again."

"I'm sure frightening her isn't helping." Derek said flatly.

"And staying with a man like you isn't going to help her much either."

"You two are perfect for each other." Ella looked at her nails.

Phaedra gave a loud laugh and held her chest, while Derek looked appalled. Then he shook his head and went into his bedroom, muttering something about a phone call.

"You really are going to get on well here." Phaedra said with a smile, turning over her shoulder to meet Ella's gaze, "If you have any questions, I can answer them to the best of my ability. I'm rather new to this city as well."

"I don't want to be here though. You guys are like, basically capturing me against my will!" Ella said.

"Yes, yes, I understand…" She faced forward, "I can understand your pain, and I'm sorry you feel that way. Would you be more comfortable going on a walk with me instead?" She asked, then paused, "Actually…no, that…might not be the best idea. But, I do understand how you feel. It will take you some time to get over the…emotional effects of your Embrace, I'm sure." She said, then she asked, "Mister Vanderbilt was Embraced in a fashion very similar to yours. Would you, perhaps, like to talk with him? He might have some valuable advice."

"Who is this Mister Vanderbilt anyway? Sounds like a goddamn CEO."

"No, no, I believe you've spoken to him before. We're friends, I suppose. He resides to clan Ventrue, as does Mister Parker. Though, Mister Vanderbilt is much more…pleasant to be around. He acts nothing like his clan, it's quite refreshing."

"Huh?"

"He's not…dominating and as egotistical as…Mister Parker." She mused, "He's quite down to earth. Very blunt, at times, but, again, I quite like him."

Derek walked back in, "I do hope you haven't tainted her yet."

Phaedra simply faced away and chuckled, "What's the worst I could say?"

"You could…invite her into your terrible clan habits…"

"It isn't a habit." She said, "No other clan would physically be able to partake in it."

"I could leave the room while you two make out." Ella said.

"I think Mister Parker would like that too much." Phaedra said with a smile.

"Ugh." Derek shuddered, "Fortunately for you, Miss Kokinos only occupies herself with women."

"I'm not sure where you heard that." Phaedra said, "Or why you say it like it's a sin."

He rubbed one of his temples, "Please, Miss Kokinos, just head to your room for the evening. I have much more explaining to go through."

"An explanation I would gladly help you with. Considering I am your senior."

His eyes narrowed, "And how long have you been involved in the Camarilla? Three months?"

"I'm merely going to chime in. Go on. No pressure, of course."

He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, "Let us…just start with what you _do_ know." He looked at Ella.

"Which is nothing." Ella said flatly.

"Very well." He said, "And, of course, that's understandable. Let us start with the basics. There are three things, as a Kindred, you must make note of. Fire, sunlight, and the consumption of blood. Avoid both fire and sunlight. They will kill you immediately. And you must feed regularly, or suffer from the Beast within."

"Kindred?"

"It's what we refer to each other as." Phaedra said, "Instead of saying vampires, we call each other Kindred. Likewise, we call humans kine."

"Alright…and what's this beast?"

"The Beast is an entity that resides within each Kindred. The animal inside us, if you will. We must retain our humanity, our façade of appearing and acting as human as possible. The better your humanity, the easier it is to communicate with kine and Kindred alike. The less chance there is of Masquerade Violations, and the Beast taking control." Derek explained.

"The Masquerade is the way we live, if you will. The game we play that your hunters have figured out. It's the concept of Kindred trying to blend in with kine, to keep our powers hidden, and our humanity high. If we get caught by the humans, or reveal any sort of secrets about ourselves, the breech is considered a Masquerade Violation. I'm sure that concept makes sense to you, considering your previous life." Phaedra explained. "After all, a Violation is usually followed by an onslaught of hunters."

She nodded occasionally during their lectures, it was a lot of information to absorb. They were interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Another visitor…" Derek asked as he opened the door, "Ah, Mister Vanderbilt. Please, come in."

"Ah, so he gets a warm welcome…" Phaedra crossed her arms.

"You pushed me aside in my own room."

"Mmm. Fair enough."

"Ugh…it's like some sort of…creepy welcoming party…" Ella said, looking at Cadmus, "I didn't know they let street punks into your little vampire club."

"I didn't know they let Barbie dolls be vampire hunters." Cadmus said.

She frowned, picking up a strand of her red hair, "I am not a Barbie doll…" She growled to herself.

"Let's try and be a little less toxic." Phaedra said, "Ella, this is Mister Vanderbilt. I had told you about him."

"I remember you." Ella said, "You're the one whose wife died…" She said. The three of them were honestly expecting her to hurl a toxic insult or two after that remark, but she had the decency not to.

Cadmus crossed his arms, "Guys, I'm going to be honest with you here. This phase can last like, years. Least it did with me…"

"And we'll be here to support her through every step of the way." Phaedra said.

"This isn't just a phase!" Ella shouted, "My life isn't just some…phase…or experiment you can track! I will get out of here, and when I do, you'll all pay!"

"Alright." Cadmus shrugged, "I said all the same things."

"But it's different with me!"

"It is, but, you'll make out fine. Probably better than me." He said, "We're not here to control you or to order you around. We're here to help you blend in. Live as a vampire. Stay safe from all the mortals. It's as simple as that."

"But…but…Vance and Gavin…they'll take me back…when I find them…right? They sure would…wouldn't they?"

He didn't respond.

"If you were still a hunter, and one of your friends returned from that battle as a Kindred, how would you feel?" Phaedra asked, "What would you do?"

Ella fell back and sat in one of the chairs, her eyes wide, "Then…then it's over…"

"Relax, dear." Phaedra said in a surprisingly soothing voice, "You're more than welcome here. Vampires can still have friends, they can still have love. We've welcomed you into our family, for sure. That is how the Camarilla feels to me. Like family. Your life as a Kindred doesn't need to be any different than your life as a human."

"Though…she might…not want to hunt us…that might be counterproductive…" Derek muttered.

Cadmus gave a small smile as Phaedra gave her comparison, it was nice to know that he was partially responsible for making her feel that way.

"…maybe I should just go to bed…" Ella said quietly.

"I think that's a wonderful idea." Phaedra stood up, "You may find a few restless nights of sleep ahead of you, but please, try and relax. You'll find that this tower is likely the safest place on the planet."

"Alright...great...guess I'll go...pray to Satan...or whatever it is you guys do..."

"None of us actually do that." Cadmus said.

"You're free to pray to whomever you like." Phaedra said, "You'll find that most of us do not."

Cadmus watched as Ella headed to her bedroom, "This is a very big breakthrough for us." He looked at Derek, "If we don't screw this up, she could be almost like a secret weapon to get rid of the Sabbat."

"Yes, of course. I will treat her the best I can." Derek said, "Though, considering her temperament, I may need assistance, at times."

"Keep a close eye on her. It's fair to say that this is most likely the most important task you've ever been assigned."

"Yes, I understand."

"It's difficult for me to relate to the poor thing." Phaedra said as she left with Cadmus, "And I believe Derek is the same. We were both Embraced purposefully. You on the other hand, are quite good for relating to her."

"I'm not sure she would listen to a street punk like me."

"She'll get over it. She was Embraced tonight. Not even I was at my best when I was first Embraced. Give her time to think. Soon your appearance will be nothing."

"…you make it sound like my appearance is unnerving or something…"

"It's not typical of your clan, at least." She assured, "She was the second person to assume I was some sort of royalty. You're not the only one."

"You sure strut around like it…"

"Do I?"

He gave a small shrug and a smile, "I mean, you got your dress…and this…thing…" He tugged on her scarf, "And…your accent…"

"It's called a scarf."

"Yeah, I've seen scarfs…they go around your neck."

She pulled at the fabric there, "It is around my neck…well, not tightly. I don't like the look of that. It's loose. It's stylish."

"It'd put most boa constrictors to shame…"

"You think?" She asked with a smile, "What, does it look tight?"

"No, I just meant it was longer than most scarfs I've seen…"

"Ah, yes. Quite long." She played with some of it, "Rainy used to like it."

He looked ahead, perhaps feeling sorry for bringing it up now, "Have you been in touch with her?"

"I called her the other night. She's doing well, thankfully, with her sire."

"That's good, at least." He said, "You must feel lonely."

"I do." She said quietly, "But, friends like you, and Prospero, and even Rainy, you all cheer me up…"

He gave a small nod, "So who did you fight during the Phantom's Mask?"

"Mmm…Madame Vaska…she caused me to frenzy."

"She did?" He looked surprised, "Once the battle was ending, Lafayette and Cedric drove her away. I think _they_ hate her more than we do. She must have fully broken away from the Sabbat."

"Yes, it seemed that way. I pitied Prospero, really, she's obsessed with him."

"God, was he trying to fight her too?"

"Yes. Even before I frenzied, she Dominated him into fighting me."

"Jeez…that sounds creepy…" He shuddered, "I fought a few Kindred, myself. Which reminds me, I ran into your little Setite friend."

"Oh, did you? I thought I had seen him there."

"Look, something's…not right…about him…"

"I'm sure many things are not right about the man."

"I'm talking about during the battle." He said, "I don't think he took damage. From anything."

"Really? I've seen him take damage before…"

"I…uh…I'm a very defensive fighter. I like to wait and make sure someone is open or vulnerable before I attack. So it could stand to reason that my axe only nicked or grazed him. Maybe I didn't cause any damage, maybe it's just me." He said, "But you'd think that, a battle as rigorous as that one, he would have been hit by _something_." He said, "A stray bullet, a monster, anything…"

"It is odd…perhaps I'll ask the Prince about it."

He nodded, "It's not like it was Fortitude or anything…I've never seen it before."

"He must know. The Prince. He knows mostly everything of our lore, yes?"

"Him or Victor, if you're looking for a Kindred with a bit more time on their hands."

"Mmm…perhaps Victor then. I wouldn't want to disturb the Prince." They stopped at her room, "Did you want to come in?"

"Maybe for a few minutes. I need to go to Santa Monica soon. Strauss wants me to start efforts to take the city back."

"Ah, yes." She let him in, opening her refrigerator to take out a bag of blood and hand it to him, "Miss Voerman still wants me dead for losing her city."

"You were there for that?"

"Yes, I was. She was going to use Visions of Death to kill them, but I wasn't sure if she might…lose her mind. And…" She added quietly, "There's something about the two that came and visited that…intrigue me."

"Oh yeah? Who were they?"

"Polonius is one, Gottfried is his accomplice. There's something different about them. I'm not sure what, but it's there."

"You mentioned Polonius before." He said, "I've heard his name quite a bit. Sabbat newcomers." He finished the blood bag she gave him, disposing of it and crossing his arms.

"Yes, I've run into them before." She sat on the couch, "They hardly seem Sabbat to me. But, perhaps it's because they're newcomers."

"I've never seen either of them." He said, "What clans are they?"

"Polonius claimed he was Ishtarri. I have heard of that clan before when I was in Egypt, but I didn't know they had access to Celerity. Gottfried also has Celerity, and Potence as well, but I'm not sure if he's Ishtarri or not."

"Damn…I have no idea what that clan was." He growled, "If the Sabbat win the state, it'll be because they have all these weird new clans none of us know about…"

She smirked, "We have strange clans on our side, as well."

He nodded, "Again, Strauss and Victor are probably the only two Kindred in America who have specific knowledge on the Ishtarri."

"I will bring that up as well."

He took a deep breath, "So it's fair to assume that I'll run into those two if I try to take some of our forces out there to take back the city."

"Perhaps." She crossed her legs, "Don't kill them yet. I'd like to see what happens with them."

"What?"

"I'm curious about them."

"They've caused too much damage, they need to be taken care of."

She met his gaze, something annoyingly wholesome about the look in her red eyes, before she averted his gaze, "Yes, you're right."

He slightly narrowed his eyes, "What's going on?"

"Hmm?" She looked back up at him.

"What are you curious about?"

"Them."

"Yeah, what _about_ them? Did they say something interesting?" He wondered, looking nearly as curious as her now, "Are they more inexperienced than we thought? Do they reveal Sabbat information?"

"No, no, I…simply find them interesting. The way they talk. The way they act. It's interesting."

"Oh my god…"

"What? What is it?"

"They're handsome, aren't they?"

"Well, yes." She said, then she grinned, "What, you think that's the only reason I have an interest in them?"

"I didn't think you would lose a city for any other reason."

She laughed, "You really have no faith in me. How invigorating."

"You don't understand. We _lost_ a piece of territory. A small one, but an important one. Do you know what would happen if someone found out the _real_ reason why? Someone more important that me? If Voerman found out why you blocked her Dementation…I don't even want to think about what actions she would take…"

She spoke in Italian, it rolled off her tongue much faster and was able to convey the bitterness to her tone a bit better, "I didn't invite you into my room for a lecture."

He clenched his fists, snapping back in the same language, "You have a problem, Phaedra! You're lovesick, and it's starting to cost us our land!"

"Even if they looked like demons, they would still overpower us! Therese doesn't fight. Therese doesn't have the stability to defend us, it was just me. And they were easily able to overpower me. They were too fast and too strong."

"You could have allowed her to kill them. It was just one hand motion. One simple attack. We would still have Santa Monica."

She threw a hand in the air, "Then I apologize. I'm not sure what else you want me to do. Strauss does not trust me anymore on solo missions. Are you content?"

"What else do I want you to do? Stop falling in love with every single Kindred in the state, for the love of god! One of these days you're going to get one of us killed over it, probably me, just to protect your precious eye candy."

She closed her eyes, "I adore your assumption of my curiosity. That, because they happen to be attractive, that must be the _only_ reason I find interest in them. Perhaps hearing their pitiful cries when Therese struck hallucinations upon them, seeing their devotion for each other, the care, that is something you do not see in the Sabbat. That is something more that I do not want to cast aside. That is something, as an archeologist, I want to study, I want to delve into. It is a story I want to hear. I feel as though their lives are misguided, and I would like to help them. Is that wrong? Is it wrong of me to see potential in that?"

"Yes." He switched back to English and crossed his arms, "Because Ferrum was also misguided and from the Sabbat, and you treat him like complete garbage, so explain that."

"If I had the chance to reconcile with the man, I would love to." She spoke in English as well, "But he sees me as a demon, and there is only so much I can do."

He closed his eyes, taking a frustrated breath. He headed for the door, grabbing the knob, "I have to go to Santa Monica. To clean up _your_ mess." He said, "Enjoy wallowing in your own self-pity."

"Cadmus…" She held a hand out, "Thank you."

He looked back at her with a puzzled, yet annoyed expression.

She folded her hands on her lap, "Thank you for…the truth. I have never had a friend as truthful as you."

"I feel like you're screwing with me…"

"I'm not. I need…I need this." She faced forward again, "If no one tells me these things, I contemplate whether or not it's really true…" She held her face with a hand, "And I really do have a problem. And I really do need help. But, we don't have time to address it." She looked back over at him, "Let me help you take Santa Monica back."

His eyes widened, "Yeah, sure." She stood up and they hugged, "I just…wish that you were more liked in this place. When you first joined…in…March or April…or whatever, everyone wanted to know why I dealt with you. Why I liked you. Hell, my ghoul even got jealous and thought I was cheating on her with you." He said, "And I tell them how great you are, but…they never listen. And then…and then you do things like this, and I don't know what to say…I don't know what to do. I know I come across as harsh sometimes…it's…my shitty way of trying to help…"

"And I understand that." She smiled, "You're the only person who is there for me to offer that help." She patted his shoulders, "I suppose I'm not very good with first impressions, hmm?"

"One out of a-hundred ain't bad…"

She snickered, "Forgive me. Even when I was a girl, I never met many people. Even after I was Embraced, I hid for years, like Pisha told me. I've never met this many people in my life."

"Yeah, I know." He said, "Well, we better get ready to head to Santa Monica."

She nodded, heading behind one of her bookshelves and grabbing her axe, "Yes, let's."

* * *

"This should be pretty straightforward." Cadmus said, "The pier shouldn't have that many Kindred. Tonight is only a stakeout night, we're just sweeping the city to see who's here." He said, "It's fair to assume that the Asylum is probably pretty populated with Sabbat vampires, namely the Ishtarri and his allies."

"I understand." She peered around, "Sounds manageable."

"Hopefully we find no one and we can go back home." He said, "I never thought I'd say this, but I'm not in the mood for battle. I'm still kinda tired from the Phantom's Mask."

"I can understand why. I still feel…dirty."

"Dirty?"

"From frenzying…it repulses me…"

He nodded in agreement, "I've never frenzied."

"I've frenzied twice now. Once from the Setite and once from Madame Vaska. It feels like an insult to my humanity."

"How did Vaska make you frenzy?"

"Beast shards, she called it. A very powerful form of Animalism."

"Jeez…" He said, "Those disciplines really wreck you once they get up there…"

"And the way she controlled Prospero was quite upsetting…"

"Dominate can get pretty dangerous." He said, "She's probably at least generation seven or something, if not lower."

"Mmm…yes, that's even less than Pisha…"

He nodded, then his eyes froze at the end of the pier, "Crap…I think recognize that chick…you're an Anarch, aren't you?"

The redhead raised a brow, "And you're Anastasia's brother." She said, looking over at Phaedra, "And you must be the Nagaraja that Sirius wants to kill _so_ badly that he talks about it nearly every night."

Cadmus slowly pulled his axe out, while Catalina drew a sword, dripping with a deep purple toxin.

"What are you doing here?" Phaedra asked, taking out her axe.

"That's none of your business." The Assamite said, holding her sword firm.

"Well, that doesn't sound suspicious at all…" Cadmus said.

"Maybe she's secretly allied with the Sabbat." Phaedra smirked.

"I am not!" Catalina snapped.

Cadmus raced forward, slamming his axe into Catalina's toxic sword, they clashed for a while, neither of them getting a significant edge. Phaedra kept an eye out for others before she lunged in for the back of Catalina's knees.

Catalina's eyes widened, she sprang in the air, holding a hand out, and draining a bit of blood from both of them. "What the hell…?" Cadmus felt himself losing blood, "What the hell was that?"

"I just drained some of your blood." Catalina smiled as she landed, "It's very effective when I'm facing multiple targets."

"I see that…" Phaedra mused, "My sire warned me of the skills of Assamite…"

"Want to give me a crash course?" Cadmus asked, "Because I know next to nothing…"

"They work with blood, similar to the Tremere, I suppose, but they're known for lacing blood and poison together. I can't say I remember much besides her warnings to just avoid them."

"Do not compare me to the Tremere." Catalina said, "We were actually a _real_ clan, unlike them."

Cadmus clashed with her again, "Just make sure her sword doesn't cut your flesh."

"Unlike them?" Phaedra asked, "Oh, do go on. I love history." She swung again at her lower legs.

"Come on, you really don't know?" Catalina asked as she defended herself, "Tremere were mages who sought immortality. They experimented on vampires until they became them."

"Ah hah…well, each clan has some skeletons in their closet." Phaedra said.

"The Tremere have more than most, trust me." Catalina said, "You're better off joining us. Working for a flock of Tremere will only result in them betraying you once they find out that you're not useful to them anymore."

"Jeez…this chick sure has a chip on her shoulder about the Tremere, doesn't she?" Cadmus asked.

"Oh, I would not fit in with the Anarchs, sweetheart, but I am flattered." Phaedra swung her axe down again. Catalina drew another sword and blocked Phaedra's axe. She was now using both swords, her poisoned one and her standard one, to block Phaedra and Cadmus's axes.

"How good are you at dual-wielding?" Cadmus smiled, "Cause as long as it's two of us against one of you, you can be whatever the hell clan you want, but your fate will still be the same…"

"Leave it to the Cam to gang up on someone." Cadmus heard a familiar voice as Skelter approached, "Wait…Cadmus?"

"Baldy?" Cadmus asked.

Skelter hesitantly looked over Cadmus, then he looked at Phaedra, "Catalina, there's no use." He turned back to Phaedra, "But we might as well get rid a' her."

"Oh, am I not as valuable as Vanderbilt?" Phaedra asked.

"Yeah, pretty much." Skelter took out his pistols.

"We might as well kill them both." Catalina said, "I can drain their blood and make this ridiculously easy." She said, as Cadmus stood protectively near Phaedra.

"No, we can't hurt Cadmus. He's Anastasia's sister, for the hundredth time."

"So you're suggesting we kill this Nagaraja, _without_ harming Cadmus?"

"Exactly." Skelter looked over at Phaedra again, who was smirking.

"I'm not going to let either of you hurt Phaedra." Cadmus stood firm. Catalina rolled her eyes, running at Cadmus and clashing with him again.

Skelter grit his teeth, then used his war-form to charge towards Phaedra. It was a timed battle, essentially. He had to kill Phaedra before Catalina did anything to Cadmus. Phaedra held him back with the handle of her axe, but not for long. She landed on her rear when he swept her to the ground with a foot, then gasped as he bit into her chest.

"Phaedra!" Cadmus shoved Catalina aside, tackled Skelter off of her. As the two of them rolled around on the wooden planks of the pier, Catalina ran at Phaedra with both her swords out. Phaedra hardly had time to get to her feet, but it was just enough to block her. She grit her teeth and actually took the offensive, lunging forward to kick Catalina in the gut. Catalina jumped back, holding a hand out and draining blood from her two Camarilla foes.

Cadmus grimaced from his fight, wrestling around with Skelter was difficult enough. Add onto the fact that he was losing blood every so often. Skelter grunted as he held Cadmus down, "Your sister…is doing great…she's happy…didn't get any…" He huffed as Cadmus rolled over and thudded his head against the sand, "…injuries from the big battle…"

"You guys are going to lose…" Cadmus warned.

"Just remember that…even if we run…we ain't done with you fuckers…"

He frowned, "If you're going to win…please do it soon…I can't…I can't live like this…"

"Then join us already."

His eyes went from Phaedra back to Skelter, "I wouldn't be much help. Trust me, I'm old news…"

"You'd be twice as good as just about anyone we got back home."

"…Anastasia's happy?"

"Happy as could be, with this damn war."

"…I bet she'll be happy when Killian's dead."

"Real happy."

He thought about it for a moment, then he saw that Catalina was gaining an edge on Phaedra. He drew a knife and tossed it at her, ditching Skelter to go fight with her. Catalina gave a growl as the knife stabbed through her and caused her to bleed slowly. She clashed with Cadmus furiously, using both swords.

Skelter got to his feet before he used his war form again to attack Phaedra. She held up her axe again as she stood back, not so sure about how to approach being offensive with him.

Cadmus looked back, it was obvious he was worried about Phaedra's ability in fighting a Gangrel in war-form. He could tear through them with ease, usually, but most of them were Sabbat wannabes who were much less skilled than Skelter. Rarely did they have the tact to combine high levels Fortitude and Animalism with their Protean. They usually just rushed to master Protean to embrace the beast within them. Catalina's offensive swordplay was getting the better of him as he thought, even with a knife in her, she was quite skillful.

Phaedra jumped back out of the way and summoned a specter, figuring that would be enough to ward Skelter away. However, he activated Fortitude, and the deep slashes the specter would have left in him were more like paper cuts. Skelter held a paw out and summoned two wolves for her to deal with as well, in case she was doubting his skills.

"Phaedra!" Cadmus looked back.

She held an arm up as they bit onto her, but she knew there wasn't anything she could do to them. One latched onto her arm and the other clawed and bit at her stomach and thigh. It started looking messy for Phaedra, and didn't help when Skelter continued to slash at her. She held her axe up to defend whatever she could, feeling her strength slowly dwindle away.

"Phaedra!" Cadmus ran back to assist her.

His eyes widened as Catalina's sword plunged through his chest. Originally, a move like this would be impossible, given how heavy Cadmus's coats were, but he had a sneaking suspicion that the poison could burn away thick materials with ease. He went extremely pale as he felt the poison begin to burn through his body, having no idea how much time he had left. Probably mere minutes. Catalina's eyes widened, she too was surprised the attack connected.

"Cadmus!" Phaedra cried out.

Skelter stopped and turned, his eyes wide, "Catalina, what the hell did you do?" He boomed, running over to Cadmus, "We…we gotta get you to that healer."

"I could call her." Phaedra said weakly.

"This is our chance." Catalina clenched her hand into a fist, "We can take out the Nagaraja now."

Cadmus fell to the ground, the wound on his chest bloody and purple, "Is…is this how it's going to end…?" He coughed.

"No." Skelter scooped him up, "You're calling her. The girl."

"Yes, of course." Phaedra reached into her top and flipped her phone open, her fingers slipping over the buttons, as her hands had a bit of blood on them. She nervously closed her eyes as she listened to the line ring.

Catalina closed her eyes as the line kept ringing, "It'll be too late by the time she gets here…Santa Monica is the furthest city away from all the other major Kindred hubs." She said, "He'll die from the poison much quicker than that…"

"Damn it…" Cadmus clenched his fists. For knowing next to nothing about their clan, the Assamites were going to be the death of him.

"Not if we meet her there. Where does she live?" Skelter asked, setting Cadmus in the sand and holding his shoulders so he was in a kneeling position. "We can meet her half way."

Phaedra shook her head, then her eyes brightened as the line picked up, "Rainy?"

"Hello?" Rainy's voice asked, "Phaedra?"

"Yes, hello dear. I'm going to need you to come to the Santa Monica pier as quickly as you can. It's poison."

"Poison? Did you fight the Follower of Set again?"

"No, it was an Assamite."

"Right, I'll be there as quick as I can." She hung up.

"Even if she meets us halfway, it'll be too late." Catalina said, "It'll still take about, twenty minutes…"

"Is there anything you could do?" Skelter looked at Catalina.

"No."

He feverishly looked over at Cadmus, then back at her, "Is, is it like a snake bite? Can we suck some of it out?" The mere suggestion made Phaedra grimace.

"No." She said, "If anything, the poison would just spread to you."

Skelter sighed, pacing back and forth, "He needs to sit up. Sit up and hold still, relax. The poison'll spread faster if the wound is level with his head." He turned to Catalina, "You're an idiot."

"I think the idiot is the one carrying around a member of the Camarilla bridal style while we could have easily killed these two morons by now."

He put a hand on his forehead, "I don't care if he calls himself a Cam. I don't care if he attacks us, and allies with people who've killed us. He is an Anarch to us. He's family to all of us, we are all family, am I understood? This isn't some dumb war that can tear us apart. We will not be killing our brothers and sisters, that is exactly what they want us to do. I don't give a damn if he's a half-cousin to a single member of our movement, if he's family, he's family. We need to be together, or we'll fall apart. If he dies, you can be sure as hell that you won't be allowed in our movement ever again. This is no different than killing another wayward Anarch."

"Funny, because Nines said the same thing to you regarding Killian." She crossed her arms, "So are we allowed to just…pick and choose who's 'part of the family' or not? Are there any other members of the Camarilla I'm not allowed to kill? Should we just, be Camarilla then?"

"Killian crossed lines that made it clear how little we mattered to him. Killian isn't part of our family, he excluded himself. How would you like it if Cissy quit our movement, joined the Cam and we had to kill her?"

"You know, these little biases are why we're having so much trouble making an impact against our enemies."

"We have so many problems making an impact because there's only seven of us at most that give a damn! We can't afford to lose those numbers!"

"Both of you need to stop arguing." Phaedra insisted, she was sitting next to Cadmus, holding him up, "You're stressing him out. Stop." She gently rubbed Cadmus's shoulders, "We're not letting him die. It's final. Help is coming, when it does, we'll move on and pretend this never happened."

Skelter shook his head and paced away, Catalina looked away and crossed her arms.

"The gift of Caine's curse is wasted on you." A deep, brooding voice said, as Remus walked through the sandy beach, "Toiling your precious time bickering about tiny squabbles…you insects couldn't even _begin_ to imagine what _true_ children of Caine do to craft their legions of power." He said, "I suppose it's something the younger generations just do not understand…"

"Who's this?" Catalina got her swords back out.

Cadmus, who had been unconscious during most of the argument, awoke in a flash. His eyes quickly popped open, as he scanned the newcomer.

"We ain't got time for this." Skelter activated his war-form, then utilized Fortitude as he rushed forward to claw Remus to shreds. Remus chuckled, drawing his cursed blade as the powers of Obtenebration and Potence overcame him. He growled, very much like a beast himself, taking Skelter's claws easily and slashing into him.

Skelter growled as he stumbled back, surprised how deep Remus's sword could go. He shifted back into a human form with two pistols, "Take Vanderbilt and get the hell out of here."

Phaedra gently lifted Cadmus and started carrying him off.

"Oh, I do not think so, Cainite." Remus said, waving a hand at Phaedra. A large patch of shadowy tentacles came up and attacked Phaedra. Some of them ensnared her limbs, others whipped her with a vengeance. Remus himself kept slashing at Skelter.

Skelter was used to dealing with many Potence users. Namely Killian, and Killian had a lot more muscular strength and confidence behind Potence, compared to this man. But this man had one thing that Killian did not. Experience. Skelter didn't even want to think about how old this Kindred was, but it was evident in his swordplay and how his Obtenebration pretty much blocked everything that he was old.

Catalina was sick of standing around, so she assisted Skelter, coating one of her swords with poison and attacking Remus. This, like the other attacks, were doing nothing to his shadowy armor. Skelter shook his head, "We gotta get out of here."

"He's not going to let us escape…" Catalina said.

"And there ain't any way in hell we can kill him. He's too old." He turned back to the battered Phaedra and Cadmus, "We might have to use her as a distraction."

"So we're ditching them?"

"I think that's our only shot."

She nodded, "I'll lead."

Remus howled at the sky with rage as they escaped, "Cowards! Blasted cowards…I had planned to kill all four of you as a little warm-up exercise…" He said, his sinister, almost animalistic eyes zeroing on Phaedra, who was still having quite the time with the shadowy tentacles.

She turned to him, reaching for Cadmus and gently lifting him so at least his head was above the gash, "I'm afraid I don't recognize you…" She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand as she felt blood come up.

"I am Remus Stone. I am one of the leaders of Lafayette's Sabbat, and this is my city. You're trespassing." Remus said.

"Ah, I see…so, you're one of the leaders then. Very interesting…well, since we're not welcome, we'll be leaving then."

He chuckled darkly, "I just let two of my prey escape. Do you think I will stand for another deserter?"

"We'll be nothing but a waste of your time. We're already half dead, there would be no pride driven from our defeat. It'd be like scavenging…"

"You've sullied your last night, Nagaraja. I will pluck your fangs tonight…"

Phaedra felt Cadmus stir, and then gradually break away from her embrace. He pulled his axe out, and a fantastically bright green glow came off of him. There were a horrendous amount of bags under his eyes. Remus's eyes grew with delight, that or an ecstatic hunger. "Cadmus…" Phaedra's voice was gentle, "Please…don't…"

"Find…Rainy…" Cadmus said, struggling to stand tall, "He's a…LaSombra…" He said.

"Magnificent." Remus's creepy grin grew, "You're standing with liters of Assamite poison within your body. Truly a testament to rare strength…"

"I'm not leaving you here." Phaedra insisted, "Rainy is coming. She will be here, my search for her wouldn't change anything. I will stay with you."

"You need to make sure she knows we're here…" Cadmus coughed.

"She will know."

He reared his axe back, and Remus gave a roar in response as his sword and Cadmus's axe met. Lightning would spark over and shock Cadmus occasionally, but he would only mildly flinch. Phaedra winced, taking her own axe to aid her friend. Remus clashed with them both with ease, "You two will be dead by dawn!"

A gunshot hit the back of his head, though it did nothing, it unnerved him, "What the devil?"

Smoke came from Rainy's pistol, she quickly ran to Cadmus and Phaedra's aid.

"Rainy!" Phaedra gasped, "You take Cadmus and run, I will hold this one off."

"I am not going to let you escape!" Remus brooded, going to summon more tentacles to hold her off.

Cadmus shoved him, breaking his concentration, "Come on!"

Rainy nodded, the three of them escaped the beach while fighting off the pursuing Remus.

* * *

Slade's door flung open, "I have kept you waiting, too long! It's almost midnight! The servants are asleep!"

Who else stood there but Dragomir and Genevieve.

"Hark Banquo! Duncan lives!" Genevieve cheered.

"Dragomir!" Slade sprang up from his position on the couch and nearly tackled him with a hug.

Dragomir have a loud laugh as he hugged Slade back, starting to cry, "My hero! I can't apologize enough…"

Tess sat up and smiled, "It's so good to see you two again…"

Slade gave Dragomir a squeeze, "Yeah…things have…really changed…"

"I sensed a change…" He held Slade's face, then kissed his forehead and sighed, "But, something must be addressed."

Slade immediately wiped his forehead off, making a mildly disgusted face and sitting back next to Tess, "Yeah, you got that right. What the hell happened? Why'd you leave?"

He took another heavy sigh, "I had some more dessert."

"Yeah…I think you mentioned something like that." Slade said, "But why?"

"I was Dominated."

Slade's jaw dropped, "Dominated? By who?"

"A man who…" He grinned, "I'm going to throw at the Prince."

Genevieve gasped and grabbed for Dragomir's hand, missing a few times before she finally found it, "Macbeth is in the castle, my king. Macbeth is in the castle!"

He squeezed her hand, "Macbeth?" He asked, then grinned, "Yes…yes…yes, I had figured as much. The way he prayed about the Camarilla…" He snickered, "He will die."

"He's in here?" Slade looked surprised, "What are you going to do, Dragomir? You have to be careful. This…this is the Jyhad…everything has to be planned carefully…"

He folded his hands in his lap, "Yes…yes, you're right…I will think it over more. Perhaps, he could become a slave for me, for his life. But then the question becomes, what will I tell the Prince?"

"I don't know…" Slade said, "A lot of clans in this Camarilla have…you know…they'll be able to see…"

"Yes. I'll have to kill the man then. For my life to be saved."

Tess finally looked up from the floor and looked over at Dragomir, her voice soft, "I'm sorry."

He peered at her, then took his glasses off and wiped them down with his coat, "This is going to be a changing time for you, Tess. I feel it. It won't be as painful for Slade as it will for you."

"What…?" Her eyes went wide.

"I said you're forgiven."

"Wait…what do you mean…what's happening?" Slade asked.

"It's nothing." Dragomir assured. "I need to speak with others."

"Right…part of your revenge plan…" Slade said, "But…you'll stick around?"

"Yes. I'm off to speak to Vanderbilt."

"Cadmus, huh? He might know a thing or two about this."

"I figured so." Dragomir stood up, "I will not leave you again, Slade."

He nodded with a smile, "I'm glad to hear it."

* * *

 **A/N:** After a good few weeks, at least, getting stuck in traffic and driving through random roads, Dragomir finally made his way back! Thanks for reading!


	65. Chapter 65

**A/N:** Here's chapter sixty-five! An update on how the phantom fares…Enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs

* * *

It almost brought him back to a familiar time, when LaCroix lived. Victor stepped into the library, and no one else was there but Iphigenia, sitting at one of the couches. She looked up at him and smiled, "Good evening."

It was certainly a rare occurrence to have Victor in one of the libraries now. He was usually away, in his secret chamber. And now thanks to that occurrence quite a few weeks ago, Iphigenia knew exactly what he was doing. Perhaps he forgot a textbook or a material needed to continue one of his experiments, that would be the only reason he would be in here now. "Hello, Iphigenia."

She turned a page, "How've you been?"

"Quite satisfactory." He said, "I'm not sure how much you heard about the Phantom's Mask."

"Not much at all. Delilah simply told me it was terrifying."

"Such a description suits her, don't you think?"

Iphigenia chuckled, "Yes, I think so…"

He sighed, "Supposedly we're trying to make efforts to take Santa Monica back…though there have been obstacles…"

"Mmm, I can imagine. Who knew the Sabbat would want such a distant city…"

"It's not only that. There have been numerous Anarchs spotted. Mister Vanderbilt was sent out in an effort to reclaim the city, and he almost lost his life to an Assamite Anarch. There is also a LaSombra in the city." He said, "That would be the first notable LaSombra since mister Caesar…"

"So they're still pulling cards from the deck…" She mused, "Let's hope they stop soon, I'm not sure how we go about handing a LaSombra."

"They're quite simple for Tremere."

"Blood Boil?" She smirked.

"Most Tremere spells can bypass their little shadow armor, the Tenebrous form, it's called."

"That's a relief to hear, at least." She crossed her legs, "Halcyon's been doing well, too. I thought you would like to hear that, after all the work you've gone through for her."

"Yes…" He sighed with a smile, "That was quite some time ago, wasn't it? When winter had just started its reign…"

"Yes…finally, she has someone else caring for her besides Jeanette. Though, she is still ghouled to Jeanette, there is a very pleasant Ventrue that's been spending time with her. Sam, his name is."

"Hmm? I was told that there were only three Ventrue in our entire organization…have we since recovered some, since LaCroix's rule?"

"Well, he mentioned that he was an assassin, not as well-known as the others. He's always walking her home, keeping her out of trouble."

"Hmm, our organization is grander than I perhaps thought. Leave it to Strauss to leave a few secrets hidden from even his own members. He's just that secure a man."

"Of course. It didn't surprise me. He helped her fend off muggers and others that…I'm sure tried to assault her…"

"She sure likes to get herself into trouble."

"I'm convinced she lives for it." She snickered.

He nodded, "Yes, well, I need to be off. Work needs to be done."

"How are your experiments?"

He stopped at the doorway, "They're progressing quite nicely. Victory will soon be upon us."

"Good. Delilah wanted to thank you."

"Did she?"

"Yes, for the opportunity you gave her. She felt bad about losing her battle, but appreciated the gesture."

"Failure is merely part of the journey. It's important to learn from mistakes, and overall I believe the experience has helped her grow."

"As do I. It was very considerate of you."

"It was nothing. It's for the strength of the Camarilla."

"If you ever need any help with your experiments, I'll be available."

He smiled, "I appreciate the gesture."

"Well, good luck then." She looked back down at her book.

* * *

"You're gonna get your head cut off one of these days." Damsel shoved a blood bag in Skelter's hand.

He tore it open and drank it, "It ain't my fault." He turned and glared at Catalina.

"Yes it is. If we just did things my way, they'd both be dead." Catalina said, "But we did things your way, and we had to run away."

"We are not killing Vanderbilt."

"That's what this was about?" Nines asked, leaning against the wall.

"She poisoned him. I don't even know if he's alive." Skelter said, "We had to run, a LaSombra turned up."

"Oh, thank god…we _finally_ killed someone…took us freaking long enough." Sirius said. Anastasia, on the other hand, looked as though she was experiencing cardiac arrest, so the reactions of this development were mixed at best.

"It's…it's not like we left him alone." Skelter said, "There was another Cam there, she was taking care of him. That Nagaraja."

Sirius stiffened, "God damn it, then he probably lived."

"Not 'god damn it'…" Anastasia growled, with a fist up.

"I honestly don't know what to think of this anymore." Catalina shook her head.

"Look, Vanderbilt's had a few sour run-ins with us in the past. But he's not your average Cam. He's his own force. That we don't attack." Nines said.

"He led the helicopter assault against us when we tried to assassinate Victor." Catalina said.

"Yes he did." Nines said, "Or at least, he was part of it."

"He's never really gone after anyone in particular, right?" Damsel asked, "He's probably just doing all this for the Cam."

"Still, we shouldn't just wait around until he does take one of our own." Catalina crossed her arms, "We should kill him before it gets too dangerous."

"Yeah, didn't we say that we might as well just start killing people now?" Sirius asked.

"We can't." Anastasia said, "He's my brother."

"I don't care." Catalina said, "There are extremely easy targets, like Anastasia's brother, and Killian's father, that we're just letting live…because reasons."

"I'm not going to let you kill him." Anastasia fumed, walking over to the booth where Catalina was sitting, "You'll have to go through me first."

Catalina didn't seem bothered that Anastasia was up in her face, "That can be arranged easily. It's your _own_ fault your brother joined the opposite side. So either drop it or just join the Camarilla."

There was a horridly long pause. They were waiting for a certain mediator to end things, but given she was one of the people in the center of the argument, it was hard to mediate much of anything.

"Just stop." Nines said, "Enough fighting. We'll ignore him unless he causes a major issue. Our main focus should be the weaker Cams anyway. We learned the hard way we can't go charging in taking out Primogen or people like him."

"Then what do we do?" Catalina asked.

"What do you mean?" He asked, "We don't do anything. Skelter said, he could already be dead. If he's not, great. He's not our priority. We need to start weaning off the weaker members, starting with the Tremere."

"Starting with the Tremere?" Skelter asked.

"The fledglings that don't know Blood Boil are our biggest threat. Because they're following after Strauss and Madison, doing everything they can to get there. If we can get rid of them, we'll save ourselves trouble in the future."

"So we're going to go after Tremere fledglings?" Catalina asked, "I could get behind that." She said, while Anastasia again looked like she was going to have a meltdown. Skelter stood next to her and put an arm around her shoulders, trying to calm her at least a hair.

"Should I draw up a map of their routes?" Sirius asked, "Anyone specific in mind?"

"I'm not sure of their names." Nines said, "Hell, I'm guilty of ignoring them entirely. But that'll bite us in the ass. If either of you could trace their names, routes, anything, it'd be beyond helpful."

"Alright, so I guess we'll sniff out some Tremere fledglings and neonates." Sirius said.

Damsel nodded, "Good plan, Nines."

Sirius peered out the window, "Uh…guys…don't mean…to…to kill the mood or anything…but…I think a Sabbat guy is outside…"

"What?" Damsel's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

"Killian." Nines grabbed for his gun and motioned his head for the door. Killian lumbered forward and busted the door down, his fists lit up with Potence.

"Yeah, you guys go or whatever…I could stay here and watch the place…" Sirius swatted a hand.

"Hold on guys…Skelter might want him to live…" Catalina said.

"C'mon, everyone else." Nines urged as they flooded the door and looked around for the infiltrator.

Cedric's eyes were already lit up red with Auspex, and his body green with Fortitude. He held his scythes out defensively, surveying his seven opponents.

Killian stepped back, "Shit…someone with a sword or claws…that's our only bet." He said. Needless to say, all eyes went on Catalina.

Catalina rolled her eyes, drawing her sword and slashing him with it, although the only result was her sword shattering into pieces, "Uh…"

"Shit…" Nines narrowed his eyes, "How the hell are we gonna land an attack when his Fortitude is that good?"

"I'll drain some of his blood." Catalina held a hand out, sucking some of Cedric's blood. Cedric responded by accessing Necromancy, summoning a horde of the dead to fight the Anarchs.

Anastasia turned into her bird form, protecting herself with Fortitude, she went in to slash at Cedric with her claws. It caused a little bit of damage, but Cedric was rather articulate with defending himself with his scythes.

As soon as the doorway for Protean opened, Skelter took it. He activated his war-form and charged forward to claw Cedric as well, or at least create an opening for Anastasia.

With both scythes, Cedric was able to fight off both Skelter and Anastasia at once, not letting the window of an opening occur anytime soon. And if he did receive a minor scratch, another spark of blue fire would open up on his body.

Catalina squinted ahead, wanting to drain more of Cedric's blood, but too busy dealing all the zombies, ghosts, and skeletons. Nines grit his teeth as he pushed some zombies aside, then fired for Cedric, curious to see what bullets would do.

Another blue flame was lit on his shoulders as the bullet caused him to flinch mildly. He proceeded his battle with the two Gangrel with caution.

Skelter stumbled back and held out a hand to summon a pair of spectral wolves. Cedric was attacked, with most of his zombies focusing on the remainder of the Anarchs. He flinched and cried out as they mauled him, eventually his whole form was coated into a blue fiery aura, mixing with the green aura of Fortitude.

"What the hell is all that fire?" Nines growled.

"I have no idea." Catalina looked fearful.

Skelter summoned another pair of wolves for Cedric to deal with, seeing how they were likely the most successful thing so far in the fight. Cedric seethed with rage, he slashed at Anastasia with his scythe. The amount of wet, fleshy noises pretty much spoke for themselves when Anastasia was felled. Skelter's eyes widened as his instinct kicked in. He lunged forward to tackle Cedric to the ground without a second thought.

Cedric fell back, slamming on the ground, his scythes too long and awkward to hit Skelter from behind. Skelter grabbed him by the throat with his hands and tried choking him, or maybe just breaking his neck. Cedric wrestled back for control, popping his mask off and sinking his fangs into Skelter's neck. He grit his teeth and kicked at Cedric's stomach with his beastly hind legs.

"He's trying to diablerize Skelter!" Catalina pointed, "We need to get him off!"

Killian pushed through the crowd and reared back to kick Cedric in the side with Potence. Cedric fell off, putting his mask back on and diving for Killian next with his scythes. Killian held his arms out and ducked low to catch the handle of the scythes, trying to break them.

Catalina ran in for assistance, trying to drain Cedric's blood again. Cedric in response summoned more undead servants, using it to cover his escape.

Damsel grunted as she finally kicked down the last one, "Is everyone alright?" Skelter spit blood to the side, not bothering to thank Killian. He instead went to Anastasia's side and checked to make sure she was alright.

"Oh my god…" Catalina looked at the holes in Skelter's neck and the unconscious Anastasia, who had blood and gore everywhere, "Look at what _one_ member of the Sabbat did to us…"

"This is why our focus is on the weaker forces. We'll let the Sabbat and Camarilla take each other out." Nines said.

* * *

"I always forget that this is the way you decorate your room." Phaedra sat at the counter across from Cadmus, "Very classy. It almost doesn't suit you."

"Yeah, that's because I don't do much decorating." Cadmus crossed his arms, "It was like this when I got it."

"Ah, I see. It's nice. Don't worry."

Angelique walked in and gave Phaedra a wary look before she sat down at the counter, next to Cadmus.

Cadmus looked back and forth between the two women, "You two have met before, right?"

"I think so." Phaedra smiled, "It's nice to see you again."

"Mmm hmm." Angelique crossed her arms and sat back.

Phaedra crossed her legs and tapped her nails on the countertop, then she looked up at Cadmus, "It's a miracle you pulled through."

"I know." Cadmus said, evidently what she said made him think for a few minutes, "It was really stupid. I never really fought an Assamite before, and I almost died…over…nothing…really. I'm just glad I'm still here."

"As am I…I was truly worried." She sat up, "But I'm sure there's some type of civil war going on with the Anarchs about you. They were practically at each other's throats last night, those two."

"They were." He nodded, part of him not believing how truly close he could be occasionally when it came to switching sides.

"Who was there?" Angelique asked as she looked up at Cadmus.

"Skelter…and this Assamite chick…I think her name was Catalina." He said, "Then a LaSombra showed up."

"What were they doing there, is my question." Phaedra said, "It was a Sabbat unit, wasn't it?"

"What were the Anarchs doing there?" He asked, "Beats me. Maybe they wanted the city for themselves…though I have no idea what the hell they'd do with Santa Monica."

"Maybe it was for Jeanette." Angelique said, "She's probably upset about the loss of her city."

He gave a shrug, "That LaSombra is going to be trouble though." He said, "He seemed as powerful as Caesar, maybe even stronger. This might finally turn the tide in Lafayette's favor…"

"Let's not be so hasty." Phaedra assured. "We must have faith in the Prince, I'm sure he knows how to handle things." She sat back and smirked as they were a pause, "So I'm sure she can't go on the bottom."

Angelique's cheeks flushed bright red, "That isn't true…" She muttered bitterly, which made Phaedra laugh quite a bit.

It took an embarrassing amount of time for Cadmus to realize what Phaedra was even talking about, then he scowled, "Phaedra."

"I'm simply worried for her. She's a tiny little thing."

Angelique crossed her arms self-consciously. "I'm worried about _you_." Cadmus said, "We were talking about battle plans and then your mind went down the damn gutter again."

"I didn't think there was much else to say of the matter."

"…maybe not…"

"It's good to see you're taking care of each other." She said sweetly.

He nodded, "I remember my sister saying something like that…"

"I almost wish I could have a ghoul." Phaedra said, "But that's the very reason I was sired. It's better to be Kindred of my clan than a ghoul."

"Yeah, I could see the logic behind that."

"Perhaps I'll ghoul a cat. I adore them…"

"The cat would have to eat human flesh."

"Yes, I know. I can't see that being much of a problem. It wouldn't have to eat as much as me."

"It's still creepy."

She had a good laugh, "At least I wouldn't be so alone. They like to cuddle at night, I could very much use something to hug."

"You're kind of pathetic." Angelique said.

Phaedra snickered, "Yes, I know…"

"I mean, if you were with someone like Rainy, then there's still hope." Cadmus said.

"You're right. I suppose I like to think of things like this to take my mind off of all this stress."

"Well, you've gotten a lot better at combat."

"Have I?" She asked, "That's good to hear, thank you."

"It's sort of hard to gage when your opponent is someone ancient, like Madame Vaska, but I think you're improving."

"Yes, I seem to…run into enemies that are seemingly invincible or…have unimaginable skills in Animalism…"

"Have you ever fought Lafayette?"

"Not yet." She sat back, "I hope I never have to."

"If you do, make sure his hands never get near you."

"Right. Vicissitude?"

He nodded, "It's different in the other ranged Disciplines in that Lafayette needs flesh to flesh contact in order to do it." He said, "Huh…guess that doesn't make it ranged…does it?"

She chuckled, "No, I suppose not. I recall how…terrifying it looked. A miracle we have Rainy."

There was a tapping on the door.

"I'll get it." Cadmus got up and answered it. He blinked a few times in surprise, then he gave a big smile, "Dragomir?"

"Hello. I come bearing…" He looked around, "Damn, the gifts are gone."

Phaedra looked amused as she looked over the man standing in the doorway. "I thought you went missing." Angelique said.

"Yes. That is true." Dragomir said. "But when is one defined missing and found? Where is the line drawn!?"

"You were defined missing when Slade told us you went missing." Cadmus said.

"Ha, ha!" Dragomir slapped his knee, "Yes, I suppose that's what he's good for." He leaned against the counter and looked at Phaedra, "Your blood. It smells familiar to me." He lowered his glasses and looked over her again, "Yet your appearance does not."

"Phaedra." She said, "I don't recall ever meeting you before."

"Your mother." His eyes narrowed, "Who was she?"

"My mother?" She asked, "You…knew my mother? Kokinos, was the last name. I never knew the maiden name."

"No, no, I don't care about your earthly family. Your mother. What, what does our society call them? Sire?"

"My sire? Pisha. It was the name she went by, at least."

He paused, "Perhaps if I asked the little weed what her name was, I would be able to answer my own question…" He mused, then turned back to Cadmus, "I need your help."

"My help?" Cadmus asked, "Wait…why did you leave the state? What happened? Why'd you ditch Slade? What happened to Genevieve?"

"It is a long story. My solace is safe. Happy. Here. I'm not sure where she went immediately, but she was with me when I arrived to the city." He pounded a fist on the table, "Macbeth is guilty of murder, and needs to be sacrificed before he takes his own life."

"Uh…" He said slowly, "I'm really trying…here…"

"It's the man. The man in the suit. I didn't grab a name." Dragomir said, then he sighed, "I'm quite bad at that, aren't I?" He looked back at Phaedra, who snickered.

"The man in a suit?" Cadmus asked, "Was it a Tremere?"

"No. He had the Ventrue pomp. He smelled as green as his tie."

"Ventrue?" He asked, "There's only like…three Ventrue in the entire damn tower. So that would mean Derek."

"Derek?" He asked, "The name suits him. He had me feast on a Gangrel Anarch."

The room went silent, "…what?" Cadmus eventually asked.

"Yes. I'm sure you see now why I ran." He crossed his arms and leaned against the door, "At first I thought my life was over, but I will not let him win. No, instead, I will claim the victory. Turn the chess board around. It was his doing! It was his fault, not mine! He is the one to blame! Therefore he will die. I was merely a victim."

"Who did you diablerize?" Cadmus clenched his fists, "Who?"

Dragomir adjusted his glasses, "I know not her name. She gave me cat powers. Big cat. Stealthy cat."

He took a deep breath. He nearly flew off the handle, but when someone says 'Gangrel Anarch' without any clarification, he always assumed the worst. "So you have Gangrel blood in you now?"

"And Brujah. She was a guilty woman herself, that Gangrel."

His eyes shrunk, "So you have three clans for the price of one? Nine Disciplines?"

"Yes."

Phaedra sat back, "That's…quite terrifying…"

"Well, I'm not very skilled with most of them." Dragomir clarified, "I fear them. Some of them."

"Damn right you should." Cadmus said, "You have three different people vying for control in your body, including yourself, constantly. If you're not careful, you could revert into one of them. You could become the Gangrel you consumed. You also inherit the clan weaknesses of every Kindred you diablerized, so that basically means you'll frenzy at the drop of a hat. And then there's your humanity, which is probably dangerously low at this point."

"Yes, I've learned these things…" He mused, "From a Sabbat, no less." He grumbled, "Regardless, I need a devout follower of the Prince to guide me to freedom."

"But…Dragomir…the penalty to diablerie…is death." He said, "Even if we convict Derek, Strauss might think you're too dangerous to be left alive."

"I don't think we can convict Derek." Phaedra said.

"Why not?" Dragomir's eyes widened.

"Because he's the responsible guardian for Ella. If he were to be executed, I don't think that would be very good for her at all." She said, "Her mind is already going through many changes. If she were to learn that someone who she was beginning to rely on was ordered to be executed for a crime…I think she would lose a good deal of trust for all we stand for."

"But killing Dragomir isn't a substitute." Cadmus said, "I'd say he's way more useful than Derek. Derek is just about as useless as Tess. He hasn't made waves, and he hasn't done anything in the Jyhad to benefit us. We could find a new nanny for Ella easily."

"Yes, I understand. He is evil, at heart. He's threatened me and Rainy. But I think caring for Ella might be a chance at redemption for him."

"The man needs to die if I am to find a chance of survival." Dragomir said.

Cadmus thought about it for a few moments, not exactly thinking his night off would turn out like _this_. "He threatened you and Rainy?" He looked at Phaedra, "I haven't really seen him be too confrontational…"

"He didn't like us very much." Phaedra said, "I brought Rainy into the red tower and he threw a fit."

He clenched his fists, "He's got some nerve. I'd be dead twice now if it weren't for Rainy, and he treats her like _that?_ " He growled, looking at Phaedra, "And yet you want him alive."

"I think it would be the best for Ella."

"And who is this Ella?" Dragomir leaned in.

"Ella's a hunter who was Embraced on the battlefield by someone in the Sabbat." Cadmus said, "She's a Cappadocian, and her generation is really low."

"Fresh meat?" Dragomir asked, "Good for her. But my sire died days after my Embrace. By the Prince's hand! And I turned out just fine!"

"We need her to be better than fine." Phaedra said, "Besides, I think it will change him. I think it will help him grow."

"I'm still going to give him a piece of my mind." Cadmus raged, "He needs to be taught a lesson for what he did. Even if we let him live, he's still culpable. He needs to be punished."

"Yes…" Dragomir brooded, "Let's hope the Prince decides to be very generous tonight…"

* * *

 **A/N:** Someone's bloodthirsty…what will Derek's fate be? Thanks for reading!


	66. Chapter 66

**A/N:** Here's chapter sixty-six! Who will live, Dragomir or Derek? Enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs. There is also some friskiness, if you're not a fan, feel free to skim over it.

* * *

A terrifying knock on Derek's door jolted him from his computer. He stood up and went to the door, opening it, "Mister Vanderbilt, how can I help you?"

Cadmus's scowl was worse than it ever had been in a while. Flanking him were Phaedra and Dragomir. Cadmus reared a fist back, punching him in the face with strength equivalent of a Brujah.

Derek stumbled back, his eyes teary as he blinked them open and spotted Phaedra and Dragomir, "…dear god…"

"He's not going to save you." Dragomir walked in and laughed for a good long while.

Cadmus crossed his arms as he stepped inside the room, "Do you know how LaCroix's rule ended?"

One of his eyes twitched, "Do not compare me to that animal." He spat out, then pointed at Dragomir, "Why are you even allying with this fiend? He isn't part of the Camarilla! He could be giving our information away!"

"Do you know who helped us take out the head hunter Grunfeld Bach when we were freeing the archaeologist Johansen?" Cadmus asked.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Derek spat out.

"Do you know who came up with the idea to save all of our lives when we were in Hallowbrook? Who indirectly defeated Andrei, the _sire_ of Lafayette?"

"I have no clue!"

"Do you know who helped me in my time of need with no questions asked whatsoever?"

Derek crossed his arms, "I think I'm sensing a theme…"

"And do you know who came up with idea to blind LaCroix's Sheriff which was rampaging in the open streets?"

Derek glanced over at Dragomir, "And who's to say he hasn't been such a saint to the Anarchs, too? And the Sabbat?"

"Because this is where my family lies." Dragomir said, "I don't have the commitment needed to be relied on in a place like this. But I will help those who need it."

"And you thought you could through him away…like slime, like garbage!" Cadmus yelled, "You thought you could get rid of the hero who got rid of LaCroix?!"

"If he's so valuable, then why isn't he part of the Camarilla?" Derek seethed.

"Are you telling me your _only_ justification for doing that is because he was an Independent?" He asked, "That you can just…do…disgusting and abhorrent things to other Kindred just because they're not aligned with our sect? I guess that does explain your behavior to Rainy…"

"Well, needless to say, this will be brought to the Prince." Phaedra said.

"…and, and what will he care? I made a half-wit diablerize an enemy of ours. I hate to break it, but one cannot submit to Dominate unless the command given goes along with their will. If I were to Dominate either of you to diablerize someone, it would fail. It would go against your morals. Clearly, if it worked for him, it stands to define a bit of his character."

"The way I see it, Strauss has to kill one of you." Cadmus crossed his arms, "All depends on how the story is told." He said, as a large grin spread on his face, "Guess who I'm going to pick?"

"Well, fine, then. I'll leave."

"Leave the city?" Dragomir asked, "He'll find you."

"Not even that." Cadmus said, "You can't get past the three of us."

"Fine." His eyes narrowed, "Then let's go speak to the Prince."

"Why? So you can muddy up the story with your lies? Just stay here, you'll be dead within the hour."

"That is entirely unfair." He snarled, "My side of the story must be presented!"

"You don't have a side of the story. You were just being an idiot."

"Nonsense." Dragomir slowly stepped towards Derek, staring him down through his shades, "Your life will be spared. In fact, you were not involved in this affair. The Ventrue guilty was from Las Vegas. Her name was Maya Kayode." He snickered, "That leaves you, Mister Derek, as my personal servant."

"… _what?_ "

"Life or death, it is your choice."

His eyes narrowed, "Fine. I will take up this bargain."

"Excellent. I knew you would not disagree." He turned and faced Cadmus and Phaedra, "The three of us slayed this Ventrue together. She is dead."

Cadmus narrowed his eyes, "But what's stopping him from rebelling later? He'll have to be on a tight leash or something…"

"I'll take care of it." Dragomir said, "But I appreciate the concern."

He nodded, looking at Dragomir, "You'll have to go to the Prince then, to clear your name."

"Yes." He paused, "Would either of you be interested in joining me?"

"I'll come." He said, "Once we're in there, you gotta be careful. This is probably going to be the most difficult conversation you'll ever have in your life."

"Yes…yes, I'm sure." He mused, "Thank you."

"I'll come too." Phaedra offered, "Unless you'd like me to stay."

"You're more than welcome to come." Dragomir said as he headed for the door, "Now, let's try to save my life.

The walk to the top of the tower was silent. It felt a lot longer than usual for others, and especially to Dragomir. But, that was probably because he was used to the elevators.

He knocked firmly on the door without hesitation, but he did wait to hear if Strauss offered a response. Cadmus entered first after Strauss's beckon, looking a bit surprised at the company, "Mister Vanderbilt, Miss Kokinos…to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"We brought a guest." Phaedra motioned to Dragomir.

"Yes, that is correct. I am offering a plea for my life." Dragomir fell to one knee.

"Mister…Haracha…is it?" Strauss asked, "It's been quite time since we've last met, neonate. Before LaCroix's death, if I recall. What can I help you with?"

"You see, sir." Cadmus said, "Dragomir diablerized an Anarch…gaining quite a few new powers."

"Diablerie?" Strauss asked, "I'm sorry neonates, but the punishment for the diablerie…is death…"

"It's not that simple." He said, "A rogue Ventrue Dominated him into doing it. Perhaps she was disillusioned with the ways of the Camarilla." He said, "The three of us have since killed her."

"Very good." Strauss nodded, getting up and starting to pace, "This leaves the question on what to do with Mister Haracha, however."

Dragomir followed Strauss's pace with his beady red eyes, they were visible since he was facing down. "Perhaps having me in the room throws your perception. If my death would ensure the rule of the Camarilla, then by all means, go ahead." His eyes landed on the floor again, "But if you give me my life, I will continue to aid you. I do not have the mental capacity to handle frequent requests, therefore it is best I do not ally with any sect, but the Camarilla has every friend I've ever made. My humanity has suffered but my will has not. I will grow if I'm given the chance. But your rule is final, and that too, I understand."

Strauss folded his hands behind his back, looking out the window, at either the night sky or the metropolis below. He must have been thinking pretty intently because quite a few minutes passed by before he spoke up again, "Then I believe it's time for you to join the Camarilla, Mister Haracha." He smiled.

Cadmus and Phaedra exchanged a glance.

Dragomir adjusted his glasses, "I'm not sure my…work ethic…will satisfy you. I find myself….frequently distracted."

"I promise such a problem will be mitigated in my Camarilla." Strauss said.

There was about three seconds of silence, "Then I will loyally do as you wish, my Prince."

"Excellent." Strauss folded his hands, turning to face the trio, "We should do what we can to keep you relatively…hidden…in case other Kindred notice the blood in your veins. The tasks I will assign you will be few and far in between. And you will do best to be reclusive for some time until your aura returns to normal."

"Thank you, your highness."

* * *

"It's been a while since we actually hung out. I think it's way overdue." Damsel poured Anastasia a mug of blood before she shoved a load of laundry out of the way for them to sit on the couch.

"Me too." Anastasia sighed as she sat on the couch, "I could really use it…"

Damsel melted into the couch and closed her eyes, kicking her feet up on the table, "So what's up?"

"I don't know…these meetings are getting more and more stressful…"

"These newbies are really getting fired up about this shit…" She muttered, "They sure got a lotta' balls, coming in here only months ago and telling us to join the fucking Cam. They hardly know what this movement's about!"

"We should kick them all out."

"Well…I don't know about that." She said softly, "Honestly, 'Stasia, I think you were one of the few people who joined our movement and went along with everything. Even I threw a big fuss. I threw a fit just about every week, before I really settled in. It took me like, half a year. I know it's dangerous for us to be dealing with these kids when they seem so…volatile, but we don't really have a choice. We can't afford to cut our numbers. We have reinforcements, but it's our team at the Last Round that really gets shit done."

She clenched her fists, "I hate that Assamite bimbo so much…"

"Hey, just relax. She didn't mean anything…I'm sure she's just overwhelmed with all this. She's trying to do her best. She doesn't get how we work yet. How we're not as black and white as the Cam, we understand family ties and more, human-like feelings…she'll catch on eventually."

"It's not only that. Cissy does nothing and I know your opinion of Sirius."

"They'll get there. They need to settle in." She sighed, crossing her arms, "And Sirius…" She crossed her legs, too. "Something's up with him. He was tasked to find the spy, and didn't. Call me picky but I think he's our guy. There's something off about him. I brought it up to Nines and he keeps pushing it off."

"Should we like, spy on him?"

"…would you be up to it? I'd be down for it."

"Sure, I guess. I just can't really picture him in the Camarilla." She said, "He hates that Nagaraja lady. I don't really know why, she seems nice, she's friends with Cadmus…but, he really hates her. I don't think he'd want to help the Camarilla as long as she's there."

"Yeah, I guess…but he could have another ally there. Maybe he's not a Cammy, but he could be helping one out."

"Like that zombie guy you were talking about?"

"Yeah…I dunno, fuckin' weird of him to _smile_ when he saw him show up."

She shrugged, "I guess we could spy on him, then."

She nodded, then sighed, "How's Skelter?"

"He's fine." She said, "I guess that LaSombra was pretty powerful. So is that grim reaper guy…it's like every time we attacked him he got _stronger_ …"

"Yeah, no shit that whole Phantom's Mask thing was about him…he's terrifying…"

"I also called Cadmus the second Catalina bragged about killing him. He's okay…thank god…jeez…knows how to put on a show he does. He's always been a show off like that, that's probably why he likes the Camarilla so much, a bigger audience…"

She snickered, then laughed, "Ugh, could you imagine? If that was it, I'd be so pissed. Nines is always talking about having him here. I guess Skelter brought it up to him, and now he can't get the idea out of his head. He'd be great here, wouldn't he?"

"Yeah, it would be so much easier…but…I guess it's kinda selfish on my part." She said, "Cadmus spent months trying to 'get me out of the state to safety' and now here I am basically trying to do the opposite to him…"

She snickered, "Who knows, maybe he'll change his mind when we start dusting people."

"Killing Tremere won't be easy though. Even the younger ones are tough."

"I know. But we'll crack through them eventually."

She nodded, "I hope so."

She sat up and rested her elbows on her knees, "I think Nines is gonna break things off with me."

"He is?"

"He might. I don't know." She sat back, "It's just…he hardly talks to me anymore. I think I'm too annoying for him."

"Well, I'm sure a lot's been on his mind…you know, we haven't had a lot of time to like, catch a break yet. There was the Phantom's Mask bullshit, and the failed assassination bullshit…and…all that other crap…we haven't had time to chill…"

"Yeah…that's a good point." She seemed to relax, "Maybe I just…didn't go about it right…"

"Didn't go about what?"

She gave another sigh, "Did you ever have like…bad sex? Is that a thing…that happens to normal people? Please tell me it's a thing that happens to normal people."

"Eh, the people I had shitty sex with I didn't typically hang around with for long."

"See, that's what scares me…" She muttered, "I've hardly been able to look him in the eye. I feel like a complete bitch…"

"Did you guys have bad sex?"

"God, it was terrible. It…" She looked flustered, "It hurt. And I was horrified. I…I honestly don't think I ever want to do anything like that ever again. I can hardly stand to take my clothes off to shower without thinking about it."

"Jeez…I'm sorry…" She said, "Does he know about this? That you feel this way?"

"Oh, he knows. He was just as embarrassed as I was." She kicked the table with frustration, "God, but at least he had experience. He knew what the hell was going on, and I was just…I was just luggage. And I hated it. Never again." She huffed, "And I think that pisses him off. I think I stabbed his ego a little too hard."

"So…was that your first time…?"

"…yeah. I'm probably just…not built for it. Whatever. Not the only thing fucked up about my life. If he's pissy that we can't fuck, then fine, he can find a new bimbo. I'm not doing it again."

"So that's it?"

"That's it."

"You're single now?"

"What? No. No, I'm just not having sex. I'll still be with him if he wants to…but…I don't know. He doesn't seem interested anymore. But, you made a good point, there hasn't been a lot of time to settle down."

"Maybe just talk to him about it. Again. Sometimes it doesn't hurt to be repetitive."

"Okay…" She said reluctantly, "I really don't want to bring it up…god, it was so embarrassing…" She covered her face with her hands, "I made him keep his shirt on for fuck's sake…"

"Oh yeah…the hair…"

"Whatever…I'll talk to him…" She reached over and hugged Anastasia, "Sorry to bring it all up…"

"It's okay." She hugged her back, "We're friends, aren't we? This is what friends do."

Damsel grinned, "God, I'd be so screwed if it weren't for you."

"Good thing I'm not going anywhere."

* * *

Prospero wasn't sure when May started walking next to him, but he recognized the sound of her heels from anywhere. "You wouldn't be interested in coming back to my place tonight, would you?"

"Your place, huh?" Prospero asked, "Sick and tired of the nice room in the tower, are ya?"

She smirked, "Yes, sure. Maybe I just want to go on a road trip with you." She teased, "No, I miss Angel. And, my sister too, I guess. She didn't text me last night, I'm a little worried. But, sometimes her medication makes her a little dopey, she forgets what she's doing and just goes to bed."

"Oh my god…I forgot that your place was on the other side of _the world_ …"

"Yes, that's right." She grinned, "Excited?"

"Well, it all depends on who's driving…"

"If you drive, and you're a good boy, I'll give you a treat on the way there."

He chuckled, "Now I'm curious."

"Something in the shape of my mouth, I was thinking."

"I could work with that."

She hummed as they made it out the doors and started walking to the parking garage, "How was your day?"

"Uh…fine…I guess…" He said, getting a bit quieter, "I hate it when they ask me what happened at the Phantom's Mask…"

She rolled her eyes, "Ugh, whose business is it? Not theirs. Call me next time somebody asks, I'll give them an answer."

"I mean…I just…feel…useless…she…she used me like a goddamn doll…"

"When I meet her, she'll wish she never even fantasized about you."

"I know you're mad…but…it doesn't change the fact that she's hundreds of years old…and you're well…a ghoul…"

"I don't give a damn…" She muttered in a huff, pausing at her car, "Check, please."

"Seriously? Why do I have to check now?" He asked, "You're not a model anymore, you're basically a secretary…only immortal…"

"I like watching you spank my car."

"…you do…?"

"It gives me something to think about at night."

"…can't I just…spank _you?_ "

"Ugh, not in _public_."

"And yet, spanking a car is perfectly okay."

She rolled her eyes, peering her eyes around to see if anyone was nearby. Then she rested her hands on the hood of the car and leaned in so her rear was sticking out, "I'm going to come, just warning you. You better be ready to put something in there."

"I'm gonna need more directions."

"What don't you get?" She snapped, "Spank me, and then… _fuck_ me…." She said softly, "Before someone comes." She looked over him, "And if you're not ready…then use your hands."

"Easy with the tone there, missy." He said, rearing a hand back and spanking her a few times.

She gasped initially, not expecting it. But, then she bit her lip and moaned softly, slowly melting down so she was leaning forward on her forearms. She started moving her hips in a tempting fashion, which made him quite thankful she was wearing a short skirt with, likely, no panties.

"Say something sweet, to balance out your prior saltiness."

She shuddered, "I love you…?"

He peered around, making sure no one was around. He then let his engorged shaft rub up against her behind as he unzipped his pants, "That sounded like a question."

"Ah—ah!" She shut her eyes, "I l-love you with all my heart, you bastard…"

"Ooh, so close."

"Prospero!" Her nails grit into the paint of the car.

"Yeah?"

She caught her breath and pushed her rear back a bit, just so she could feel him press up even closer, "I love you with all my h-heart…"

"Cute. Very cute." He said as he plowed into her, shoving her against the back of the car and going in with a raw penetration.

"Yes…!" She cried out, before she covered her mouth with a hand and shut her eyes. She tried to keep somewhat quiet after her outburst, but really struggled with all the new angles Prospero was hitting.

He gave a deep sigh as he squeezed her close, trying to be careful not to be too rough with her against the car. As she finally fell from her climax, she practically draped herself over the hood, moaning still as he slowly pulled out of her, "I want so much more of that when we get home…"

"I'll say." He zipped his pants up, "That was basically a drawn-out tease for me…"

She slowly stood up, weak on her legs, "I'll give you that treat in the car if you're still up for it…" She went around and unlocked the car, getting in the passenger's side.

"Rest up, first. You look exhausted." He said, getting in the driver's side. "Maybe nap for part of the ride."

"Mmm…" She reluctantly pulled her seatbelt on, "If you insist…" She leaned her head up against the window and fell asleep within five minutes.

But it didn't last very long.

There was traffic. Traffic right out of the gate, right in downtown. Red and blue lights shining, the sound of a police siren too. May shifted up and peered around, "What's going on?"

"Beats the hell outta me." Prospero said, already tired of repeatedly braking and starting up again, "Some kid probably got in an accident or something…"

As they got a bit closer, May rolled down the window and popped her head out, waving down an idle police officer, "Excuse me. What's going on?"

He adjusted his hat, clearly ogling her chest, "Uh…suicide, ma'am." He then noticed Prospero and leaned in a bit more to speak to both of them, "I mean, no one's dead yet. Thankfully. We're tryin' ta' get 'er down."

Something about that didn't click well for May. Something in the back of her head flicked the panic switch, "Suicide?" She asked, "Suicide?" She unlocked the car, then opened the door and got out, "Where?"

"Uh…right up there, ma'am." The man stepped back and pointed at a skyscraper nearby.

The following scream produced from May could be heard from nearby states.

* * *

Practicing with Tess lasted a little longer than usual, but she was making progress. It was on his way to a taxi that Slade saw the hullabaloo, and then noticed a familiar figure standing at the top of a skyscraper, a three police cars circling the building.

Tess dropped her bag and gasped, putting her hands over her mouth, "No…"

Slade's jaw dropped, if it were anyone else, he would be cursing about the inability of kine to survive and how useless they were. But this was clearly different. "You need to go up there, Slade." Tess said.

"Me?" He asked.

"I think you're the only one that will get through to her."

He swallowed hard. Fight or flight was clearly starting to take effect. Lucky for him, fight prevailed, "I'm going." He said.

"Go, go!" She urged him along, staying on the ground as he pushed through cops and anyone else in the way with his Presence.

He was quick to get to the top with Celerity. She was standing there, her toes hanging off the concrete ledge, her entire body quaking with sobs as she held herself.

"Hey! April!" Slade cried, inching down the same ledge with her. This was the last place he expected to find his long lost high school friend and love of his life. He was first reminded of when he, Tess, and Killian were on that mission for Isaac. Under the iron fist of LaCroix, they needed the sarcophagus from Gary, but Isaac wouldn't reveal Gary's locations unless they found a tape for him.

The entire thing was a mess. Killian and Slade fought and basically destroyed the Internet Café. One could say it started a rivalry that would never end, and the night started with Slade accidently running into April.

It also reminded him of his prom. The one where he danced with her. Sweet, gentle April. And he lied to her face about who he was, "What the hell are you doing up here?" He asked.

She moved her hands away from her face. Really, she looked awful. Pale, thin, red swollen eyes, her cheeks wet with tears, "…Slade…?" She whimpered. The way she spoke his name, despite her voice's hoarseness and weakness, sent warm feelings in his chest he had completely forgotten about.

"What…what in god's name happened to you?"

"Why…" She gasped out between sobs, "Why do you hate me…what did I do…?" She cried, "I'm sorry I moved…I'm sorry I left you, Slade…"

"Just get away from the ledge." He said, "Come towards me." He motioned to himself, "Then we can settle this once and for all."

She looked down off the edge. Slade felt his heart lurch as she stared off the ledge, like she was seriously contemplating ending it.

Then she turned and she ran towards him, and it was the warmest embrace Slade had felt in ages.

* * *

 **A/N:** Surprise! Yeah, April couldn't take much more…thanks for reading!

Also, a quick thank you to all of you who are reading and following and leaving positive feedback. I am just blown away by the fact that people are still reading and reviewing Power Struggle. So I hope you all can get the most out of this series, Power Struggle and New Prince, New Problems. And look forward to more in the future!


	67. Chapter 67

**A/N:** Here's chapter sixty-seven! More big developments, and some shifting relationships…enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs.

* * *

The cup of hot chocolate in April's hands smelled absolutely delectable. The blanket over her shoulders looked terribly cozy as well. She closed her eyes and took a sip of her drink as Tess set down a plate of chocolate chip cookies in front of her, "There."

She was taken to their arguably vacant Hollywood apartment. They figured it would be better there than having her accidentally meet some of the Camarilla's vampires.

"Thank you, Tess…" April hugged the blanket closer and smiled, "Are you sure you don't want any…I…I can't possibly eat all of these…"

"Take as many as you'd like." Tess said.

April could hardly bear to look up to her right and see Slade, sitting next to her, "I'm….I'm so…so sorry…"

"Why were you up there?" Slade asked.

She stared down into her mug, it seemed she was quite torn, "I…I don't…I don't want to talk about it…"

"April…" Tess spoke up eventually, "Would you like me to leave you and Slade in private?"

She looked up at Tess and teared up as she gave a little nod.

"It's okay, sweetheart." Tess gave her a hug before she headed out.

April sniffed and hugged the blanket closer, "I'm sorry…" She whispered.

"I was surprised it was you…at first…"

"I know…" She whimpered, "I just…didn't understand why you lied to me…"

"…yeah…"

She finally looked up at him, her deep brown eyes reminded him of tea with a good dose of honey, "Do you want me to go back home…?" She asked softly.

"So you knew I lied to you…back in…jeez…had to be Christmastime or something…"

She teared up, "Why…?"

"…some things are just…beyond my control…"

"What do you mean…?"

"Look, why do _you_ think I did it?"

"…because…I left you…I left you, and Dragomir, and Tess…and….you hate me…"

"April."

"…what…?"

"That isn't true." He said. But what _was_ he going to tell her? That he was a vampire of the night, and that he drank blood and couldn't be out in the daytime?

"Then…what is?"

"Look…something really bad happened to the three of us." He said, "It was so bad that…we figured that lying to you would be better than involving you and putting your life in danger."

Her eyes widened, she looked completely shocked, "Are…you sick?"

"In a way."

"Are…are you going to die…?"

"No, I should be fine…I just…it really affected all of us…" He said, "You wouldn't even recognize Dragomir…"

She faced forward, then finished her drink and set it down, grabbing a cookie and nibbling on it, "I'm sorry…I'm so…so sorry…"

"So why were you up there?"

"Because…I wanted to die…" Her voice faltered.

"Is it because of us?"

"Because…I was trapped…I couldn't leave the house, I couldn't get a job, I couldn't make any friends…and…and…I thought you hated me…"

"No, none of us ever thought that. We thought it would be stupid to involve you in this life we had forced upon ourselves. We figured you were having a better life, but, I guess we were wrong…"

"I don't care if your life is hard…I…" She looked back up at him, "I love you, Slade. I want to be part of your life."

He swallowed hard. This made the memories of his feelings for her come back more than anything else. He felt the tears burn in his eyes as he closed them, "I…I don't know how possible that is…"

She reached her tiny hands out to hold one of his, squeezing it firmly, "I don't care what you think, Slade…I love you. And I'll go through anything you have to go through right along with you."

She still looked underweight and as if she had been on a lot of medications, but it was the girl Slade loved back when he was mortal. _"You have two choices then."_ He remembered Dragomir saying, back when he called him almost six months ago, _"Take her into this world with us, or let her live and die as innocent as she's ever been…"_ He brushed as many tears out of his eyes as he could, "April…"

She closed her eyes and gave a warm smile as tears tumbled down her cheeks. She looked just so blissful, just holding his hand. But there was still Tess. He thought, as the scene piecing itself together in front of him couldn't look any more perfect. He could do what Dragomir said, turn April into a ghoul, or Embrace her. She was the girl he danced with at the prom, they were the closest throughout high school. But, he was dating Tess now. And now was perhaps when the cruel punchline to the joke finally stepped in.

She leaned in and held him in a warm hug, resting her head in his chest. He hugged her back, forgetting the large temperature difference between Kindred and kine. He closed his eyes and held her close, rubbing her back slowly. She melted into his arms, then lifted her head and planted a kiss on his cheek.

How badly did he want to kiss her on the lips, to feel her mouth respond to his as their lips met. To answer her loving call with one of his own, to share an intimate moment with her, finally, after ditching her for all this time. So he did.

She squeezed his hands as she kissed him back, gently and softly. And, yes, her mouth did taste like hot chocolate. He stopped it half-abruptly, looking away, "I should go…" He said, "But…but we can swap numbers…and see each other again real soon…"

"Can…I live here, with you?"

"Uh…yeah…no one's…really living here at the moment…we're kinda just in and out…but…yeah…sure…"

"Thank you, Slade…" She closed her eyes and squeezed him tighter, "Would you mind if…I brought some of my things tomorrow…and…my sister's dog…?"

"Sure thing…"

She kissed him again, "I love you, Slade."

"I love you too."

* * *

"She's with Slade now. Thank god." May said, "If I ever see that boy, I'm going to wring his scrawny neck. Ugh, I guess that would make April kill herself again…" She crossed her arms, "I just can't get over it."

"Huh…so Slade is the guy who your sister liked…" Prospero said, "Hmm, I actually worked with him quite a bit. I feel like if I knew that, it would have saved us a lot of time…"

"What do you mean, you worked with him?" She looked up at him.

He shrugged, "I did." He said, "For a while, at least a few months, on this and that. Phantom's Mask, a few meetings. I feel like if you told me his name, this would've been solved a hell of a lot earlier."

"I had no idea he was a vampire."

"I guess it's a small world."

"…I don't know if I should trust her with him then…"

"What do you mean?"

"He could be feeding on her or…using her…"

He shrugged, "He's an upstanding member of the Camarilla. It's not like he's an Anarch or Sabbat asshole, he's a good kid. Didn't they know each other in school?"

"Yes, they did…" She sighed, "I suppose you raise a good point. I just worry about her…"

"After her little performance on the top of that skyscraper, I wouldn't blame you."

"I don't know what I'd do if she died. I…I devoted so much of my time for her…I killed our father for her, I'd be so…so pointless without her…"

"Huh…it's surprising how out and about you are about it now…"

"Well, only to you." She muttered.

The sound of high heels were heard from behind, "Prospero? Hello, darling."

May turned around and scowled, "Ugh, that's her, isn't it!?"

"Hmm?" Prospero looked back, "No, that's Phaedra."

"Phaedra?" She asked.

"Yes, that's right." Phaedra held a hand out, "Pleasure to meet you, dear."

"Mmm…yes. May. May Virgo."

"Wonderful." Phaedra looked back at Prospero, "A ghoul of yours?"

"Little more than that." He crossed his arms, "We're an item."

"Really?" Her eyes lit up, "She's gorgeous."

"I'm not a pet." May crossed her arms.

"Of course you're not." Phaedra said, "I didn't intend to say it like that, forgive me."

"Are you a friend of Prospero's?" May asked.

"I like to think so." Phaedra said, then she looked up at Prospero, "I was out looking for dinner. It's good I found you, I might need help if someone comes after me."

"I think just as many vampires are after me as they are after you." Prospero said.

"It's good we stick together, then." Phaedra smiled.

May scowled, "Why do I feel like I'm going to die now?"

"Come on, now, you should have more faith in me than that." Prospero said.

"I just feel like…the horse in a western shootout…"

"I didn't know you watched western movies…"

"We'll keep you safe, darling." Phaedra assured.

May raised a brow, "Why are your teeth so…pointy?"

"I ate glass as a girl. Damaged my teeth."

"I…I don't think that's true…"

Phaedra laughed, "It isn't. It's a clan weakness of mine."

"Uh huh…maybe if you wore lighter lipstick, they wouldn't stick out as much."

"Oh, you really think so?" She asked, "I like the black…."

"It looks nice, but…a little…frightening."

"I'll certainly take your consideration into account. You seem quite up to date with fashion."

"Well…I am a model. Was." She looked up at Prospero.

Phaedra chuckled, "I see it now."

"Ah, I see the Brujah representative of the Camarilla is perfectly fine, wandering around the streets with two ladies at either side of them." Lafayette clasped his hands together, "Let's see which of them I can turn into precious furniture quicker…"

"I'll take care of the Nagaraja…" Poe drew his sword, while Gottfried nodded beside him and began searching for other opponents.

"Oh…good…we're already outnumbered." Prospero said.

"How about…I run and call for help?" May asked, trying desperately not to lose her nerve.

Phaedra on the other hand, drew her axe and ran towards Poe, "You've been causing me a good deal of trouble."

Poe snickered and quickly dashed out of the way, slashing at her from behind, "Did I break one of your nails?"

She jumped back and summoned a specter, "No, you've taken a city from the Malkavian Primogen. And now she wants me dead."

He wormed his way around the specter with ease due to his Celerity, "And it shall stay our city. Your time owning the city has long since passed, filthy hag."

"Enough." She swung her axe down on his head.

He sped towards her, pinning her down in a matter of seconds due to his strength, "Let me make sure you understand this." He said pointedly, "You will never defeat me in combat, not ever. And I will kill you. You are going to die, because you are filth, and your existence is a mockery upon the few virtuous souls still alive in this world. Your halfhearted attempts to escape me in the past may have worked out for you before, but now it's truly over for you…"

She looked truly confused, "I'm honestly concerned as to where all this hatred stems from…we hardly know each other and you treat me like I've ruined your entire life…"

"I treat the foul and the untrustworthy all the same. With vengeance."

"What makes me foul and untrustworthy?" She asked, "Because I'm in the Camarilla?"

He was thinking about something, his hands and hers were locked, so he knew that if he let go, she would lop some flesh off of him with her axe, but he had no way to damage her. Not to mention her specter would hit him if he strayed in on area for too long. He licked the backs of his fangs, "I suppose there is the Sabbat's specialty, but then I would inherit your unholy taste for human flesh. Honestly, your kind makes the dung eating beetles look proud and noble…"

She smirked, "It isn't so bad. The streets of L.A. have been a lot cleaner than I'm sure they have been in ages. Though I'm not sure if the raccoons like me."

"Because you look like one in a dress. It must confuse them."

She laughed, "Oh, is the eyeshadow really that bad? I didn't think so. It's so hard when you're as pale as I am."

He dashed off of her to avoid the specter's attack, then he circled back around in an attempt to slash her from behind. She quickly got to her feet and avoided the attack out of sheer luck. She then summoned a horde of zombies to slow him down, perhaps, while she ran in with her axe.

In one fluid flash of motion, all the zombies gave deadened screams as blood poured out of them instantaneously. Poe twirled his sword as they all fell over at once, heading for Phaedra again. She hissed as a deep wound opened in her side, "That wasn't very nice…"

"They'll be more where that came from! Ah, ha, ha, ha, ha!" He dashed at her again.

She held up her axe and blocked the next one, "If you're aiming for downtown next, you're a fool."

"Wouldn't toppling the last domino of a movement be the next logical step?" He grinned, "Or are you unwise in a battler's mindset too?"

"I'm sure I am. But I don't think you'll succeed at all. I don't think the Prince will have any sort of problem taking care of you and your movement."

"As strong as he most likely is, he's one Kindred. A singular entity has its own checks and weaknesses, that of which we will exploit."

"Mmm, I'm sure of it." She pushed against him and lunged forward to take the offensive, something he had really never seen. Nonetheless, he dashed away as usual, in a roundabout way to hit her at an awkward angle. She stumbled forward as another gash opened up. It hit her then that she had yet to lay a hit on him. She grit her teeth and summoned more zombies.

And down they fell, almost the second after they were summoned. Poe cackled with insanity. His pinpointed accuracy is decimating new targets was either something skilled or concerning depending on the viewpoint.

Her eyes slowly turned over to where Prospero and May were, worried about how they were faring.

May tried to run for help, but Gottfried suddenly flashed in front of her, rearing a fist back. She screamed and held her hands in front of her face. It was actually the fact that she tripped and fell over herself that ultimately saved her from getting hit.

Prospero, with his own Celerity, came in and fought with Gottfried, matching every Potence-laced punch. Which left May safe, for now. At least, until she heard, "My, my…" Lafayette held his hands out as they glowed red, "I love how beautiful they can be. That means I can make them that much uglier…" Her eyes widened with horror as she let out another scream, scrambling to her feet to run.

Lafayette laughed, chasing after her on all fours. A long story short, Phaedra wasn't going to get any assistance any time soon, not with all the carnage about. She held a hand out to control her specter. Seeing as it couldn't do much for Poe, she summoned it onto Lafayette instead. She then turned her attention to Poe, "It's rather unfair, you know."

"What?" Poe barked.

"You're using your disciplines against me. And yet, I am not."

"You whine as much as a child."

"Let's make it fair, is my mere suggestion. I'm curious."

"It's my birthright, you rotund imbecile. You were Embraced by the…dung clan for all its concerned, and I was Embraced into the great Ishtarri. To the victor goes the spoils." He smirked.

"Well, I suppose that's nothing but the ego speaking."

"It'll be more than that once I'm stomping on your disgusting ashes…"

"More than your ego? Huh, I'm not so sure about that."

Perhaps tired of chatting, he dove in to stab her once again.

She gasped as he more or less skewered her right in the midsection. However, she grabbed his hand before he could pull it out, then locked eyes with him, "Oh, I don't think so. You've given this to me now, it's mine. I'll be taking it now."

"You didn't think I saw this move coming? It's the only thing you're capable of doing."

"Yes, I know. Well, I still have another arm free." She grinned, which turned into a snarl as she swung the axe down to chop his arms off, it seemed.

His body began to glow green, as the axe slice hardly did a thing. Poe then took a deep breath, "You really don't know when you're outplayed, simpering fool." He sent the blood rushing through his system, rearing a fist back and punching her in the face. As she fell back he took grabbed his sword handle and ripped it back out of her body.

She grunted, wiping the blood from her mouth and holding the immediate wound in her stomach. She didn't think everything should be spinning as much as it was. She cast another stray glimpse at where Prospero and May were from where she lay, hoping they were still alive.

"Damn it…" Prospero looked back, seeing Poe about to finish Phaedra off, "We gotta get the hell outta here!"

May ran over to Prospero's side, holding onto him for dear life, "Let's just run." She panted. He nodded, going to assist Phaedra in their escape.

* * *

"So she seems better?" Tess asked as she sat back down after putting the cookies away.

Slade stated out into space for a while. April had left for her things not too long ago, and soon she was going to live with him. Live _with_ him. "Uh…uh…yeah…yeah…yup…a lot better…" He said, after what had to have been at least five minutes.

"Something's off…" She gave a suspicious smile, "What's wrong, Slade?"

He really hated how easily his eyes could tear up recently. It was completely unlike him. He looked around. The entire Hollywood apartment just took him back. Back to when they were bumbling college students. Back to when Tess and Dragomir were first Embraced and he was still human, not noticing the change. He supposed he was always the last one like that.

Back to when Killian practically broke in and nearly wrecked everything over VV. And back to when Dragomir and Genevieve would visit occasionally to discuss plans of ousting LaCroix. It was really apparent that this was a place for humans, not vampires. Evident by how cramped it was compared to the red tower. How much larger the kitchen space was. And how poorer equipped the lighting was for the dark.

"Slade…?"

He fell back on the nearby couch, perhaps what he had just done was now finally getting to him.

She gently rubbed one of his shoulders, "You can talk to me."

He slightly moved away, wilting like a plant, "I…I really screwed up…"

"It's okay Slade, what did you do?"

"…you told me…so many times…that…us being together…was chancy…and I didn't listen."

Tess's eyes narrowed in confusion before it cleared up. She looked away, then smiled, "I nearly forgot about you and her, at the prom. The two love-birds." She faced him again, "I get it."

He looked confused, "You…you do? But…what about us? What about all those things I told you about staying true to one person? I basically just…lied to you…"

"You didn't lie to me. You didn't cheat on me, or hurt me, or blindly leave me. What you and April have is…is very wholesome. It something, better than what we have, I think." She smiled, "You'd be better in her arms. Just make sure to…at the very least, ghoul her. And mention it to the Prince."

"But what about you, for pity's sake…"

"I'll…move on." She said slowly, her eyes flickering down at her lap, then back up to him. She gave a playful smile, "Shouldn't be very hard for me."

"I…I don't know to say…" His voice faltered, "I…I wanted to be with you…and I completely forgot about April. To the point where she almost killed herself. It's my fault, it's all my fault. How the hell could I have forgotten about April?" He clenched his fists.

"Relax, Slade. With all the things the three of us…well…four of us…have been through…" She took his shoulder, "This little fall can't split us apart. You're still my best friend. Whether we're dating or not, I'll be there for you, and I'll care about you. That's all I really want."

He nodded, "I'm sure you'll make someone really happy, someday."

"Thank you, Slade." She hugged him.

He hugged her back, "And I'll be there for you too. Just keep your friends close, even the ones you met in the Jyhad, and if people like Cadmus or something give you trouble, then let me know."

"Of course. Were you planning on living here with her, or living in the red tower?"

"I guess I'll have to take her to the red tower and tell Strauss that we'll have a new Toreador ghoul soon."

"Then I'll just live here. It should be no problem."

"I'm sure Strauss would give you a room of your own, Tess. It'll be safer that way."

"Alright…I'll ask him about it."

* * *

 **A/N:** Alas, the Virgo family is fully thrust into the World of Darkness…so who will ghoul Angel? Thanks for reading!


	68. Chapter 68

**A/N:** Here's chapter sixty-eight! To be honest, both of us have been awaiting these chapters for such a long time…and, yeah, in case you really have a terrible memory and forgot that one of us is obsessed with Jeanette and Therese…here. Here, just take it. I can't keep it in my head anymore, I'll start acting like her.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs.

* * *

Thin fingers plunked down onto the keys of a grand piano, letting a rich chord fill the air of the stuffy room. A slight crack in the wrists as the hands lifted from the keys and rested on another set, another warm sound filled the room.

"Very good. And you see how that works, there?" The pianist opened her eyes to meet the finger of her instructor. It landed on the page, next to the two half notes. "One, two, then three and four."

She gave just the tiniest bob of her head. She heard him sit back as she kept staring at the measure of music. "You're quite good with mathematics, Therese. A real natural! You'll be a real help to your husband when you get older. Who know, maybe he'll be a Prince." He smiled and shook her shoulder gently.

She finally looked up and met his gaze with a little smile, "Thank you, sir."

"Keep at it." He stood up and pointed to the piano, "Keep at it." He picked his hat up from the end table and put it on. She noticed it was a good way for him to cover his balding.

He walked over to where her father was standing in the corner of the room. She faced away from them, looking at the keys of the piano as she practiced hitting the two notes. Sometimes she wondered if it hurt the keys as much as it hurt her. It was a stretch for her little fingers, and a tad uncomfortable, but she made it work.

But more importantly, she listened to their conversation.

"She's getting quite good. Math comes to her like second nature, sir. Real shame she isn't going to school. I think she might even be able to get up into one of those good colleges, you know. The focus on her is astounding."

"I will not have her attend school." His chilling deep voice was impossible to mistake or mishear over the sound of her playing.

"Uh…" He cleared his throat, "Yes, well…it _is_ your choice, sir. What are your plans for her, might I ask?"

She could feel his stare. She bit her lip and closed her eyes, pressing her fingers down on the keys again. Her pinky slipped and hit the wrong key, sending a terrible tone throughout the room. The sound reminded her of the children she saw a few years ago, throwing stones at a cat until it died.

It was the first death she ever witnessed, with her own two eyes. She still cried about it.

Her father didn't offer a response, either. Until he said, quieter, "I haven't thought of one."

"You should start thinking soon." Her tutor said, "She's got a lot of potential. You let it go to waste, and who knows who will suffer."

"She's the last thing left." He said bitterly.

There was an uncomfortable silence. Therese's hands slid away from the keys and landed on the trim of her dress. She felt something burn in her chest, like fire. Her fingers tore the fabric, leaving tiny tears all over the edges, trying to sate the burning.

"I am sorry…about Kate…sir…" The tutor cleared his throat, "And sorrier yet about the baby. But, you mustn't let it linger over your head, you know. It's only going to hold you back."

"You're dismissed."

"…yes, sir." He gave a short bow and left the room. She heard the front door open and close.

And then, she heard her father walk closer, "You sounded magnificent, dear."

She gave a little nod as her foot started tapping, "I'm sorry…"

He gently held her shoulders and shook them firmly, putting a halt to her fidgeting, "You must stop this apologizing."

She closed her eyes tightly as she felt them tear up, "Then why…why won't…you send me to school…? I want to learn…"

"You _are_ learning." He let go of her. "Schools keep us separated. We cannot have that."

She turned and looked up at him, his dull gray eyes were like the color of the horizon during a monsoon. "Why can't I go outside anymore…? What have I done? I want to make friends…"

"You have everything you need in this house, Therese." He stated, "You have books, food, clothing. And everything else you could ever imagine, in that powerful mind of yours."

She gave him an empty stare, her mouth agape. Was it that easy? Then she found her voice, "You go to work." She said firmly. "And have the tutor watch me. So then, why must I stay here while you work? Why can I not go to school as you work?"

"No, no, no." He shook his head, pacing away from her, "Schools are dangerous! I will not risk sending you out, am I understood?" His voice had that booming ring to it whenever he grew angry. That resonating sound that felt like thunder in her head. "You are not to leave this house, Therese!"

She winced as the tears streamed down her cheeks, "Yes, Father…"

He paced back and forth, his empty glare landing on the floor. She wondered if it would speak back to him. "Go to your room and prepare for supper."

"Yes, Father…" She stood up and scampered off to her room. Hunger didn't come to her that night, so she got under the covers of her bed and cried. "Why doesn't he love me…" She asked herself softly, before she sat up and looked at herself in the mirror perched on the wall, right next to her bed. Her delicate hand landed on the glass, "Is it because…I'm a girl…?"

She quickly decided that couldn't be it. Fathers loved their daughters, they coddled them. They were the true heir to the bloodline. It had to be something else.

Did she look too much like her mother? No, he loved her mother. So what reason was there for him to cage her in?

The idea struck her like a chime. She fell back in her bed and looked back up at the ceiling. There were two knots in the wood there, and a gash. But they were a face, to her. A morbid, horrid looking face, with dark tears leaking from its eyes, red waxy blood-colored residue coming from the gash. He watched her when she slept. He fought her nightmares off. He was a damaged thing, and she knew she wouldn't last very long in her dreams without him.

She let her eyes close as she cried too. It was an act of love, his quarantining. It was because she was truly, the last thing he had left. And he couldn't afford to lose anyone else.

* * *

That night, Therese had a dream. She was out on the street, listening to the horses clip-clop by and the gaudy laughter of some men at a nearby tavern. "Therese?"

She turned around and saw a girl standing there, wearing the same thing Therese wore. "Hmm…?"

"C'mon! Let's go play!" She gave a bright smile. The girl's face was the same as Therese's.

"Play…?" Therese wasn't catching on, "What about Father? Where is he, I've got to go inside!"

"He's at work." The girl said, then skipped closer to Therese, taking her hands, "What's wrong? Are you confused…?"

Therese gave a slow nod, "I…I don't know who you are…or why you look like me…"

"Why…that's silly! It's me! Jeanette!"

"Jeanette…?" Therese's eyes grew wide, "That name…"

Jeanette's head cocked to the side, "Your sister! Mommy had twins, remember? Me, and you?"

Therese felt like her whole body was numb. How could she forget Jeanette?

"C'mon, let's go play!" Jeanette grabbed her sister's arm and tugged her along.

"Jeanette, we mustn't." Therese insisted, "Father—"

"What about him? He's working away! Let's go outside and play!" She started running, dragging Therese with her.

"Jeanette!" Therese screamed as Jeanette just kept running. She tried to pull back until Jeanette took her over a hill.

It wasn't the same city anymore. It wasn't even a _town_. It was a castle. With knights, and a handsome Prince, standing out on the balcony of the castle. The grassy fields extended for ages, the townsfolk strolled by and waved at them, like they too, were inhabitants.

Jeanette turned to her, now she was dressed like a fair maiden, her body all grown. She looked like one of the princesses from the stories her tutor had read to her at night. "Let's see who can win over the Prince first!" She started running, letting go of Therese's hand. Therese slowly walked forward, looking around. She couldn't believe her eyes. It was absolutely beautiful. She could live here forever!

She ran across the moat, listening to the sea serpents in the water snort and growl at her. She entered the stone tower, taking in the scent of the stone, the wood, the food. A ball was going on, a masquerade. As the guest danced and sang along to the music, Therese was pulled into the dance and given a mask of her very own.

A warm smile appeared on her face as she started laughing. She was passed between countless dancers, each mask varied widely, none of which frightened her at all.

Jeanette ran down the stairs, grabbing her sister's hands and dancing with her, "Where do you want to go next!" She asked over the sounds of the party, no mask over her face.

"I…I want to stay here forever!" Therese exclaimed, pulling her mask up over her face so she could meet Jeanette's gaze, "It's glorious!"

"But…it's…without toilets."

Therese put a hand over her mouth and laughed. And she laughed, and laughed. It felt amazing, just to hear her own voice in the little tower, to hear Jeanette laugh with her. She took her sister's hands again before she met her gaze. Then, her eyes hardened a bit, as she stared into Jeanette's eyes.

"What's the matter, dearest sister?" Jeanette asked, looking worried.

"Your eyes…they are green."

"Are they?" Jeanette asked, "Yours are gray!"

"We can't be twins then…"

"Why not?" The answer was so thoughtless, so simple, so carefree. It was like the castle, like the music, like the dance.

Therese squeezed her hands, "Have…you always been…have you always been here?"

"Of course, dear sister." Jeanette hugged her, "And I always will. You are not alone! You were just hiding from me! Let's go back home."

"Yes, dear sister." Therese nodded quickly as she took Jeanette's hand and walked back with her. As soon as they walked inside, and walked into Therese's bedroom, she woke up.

* * *

It was cold out. She didn't know how Therese fit into this coat, but it was too tight. It made it difficult for her to move. And the hat was no better. It was unappealing, outdated and purposeless. It didn't keep her warm at all.

She sunk her fingers into the snow as she heard the front door open. "Therese!" She heard his dreadful voice, "Get inside, this instant!"

She packed the snow into a ball, then turned around and whirled it at him. It smacked him right in the face. She put a hand on her chest and laughed, pointing at him, "Daddy, you look so silly! Ah, ha, ha, ha!"

Her father marched out in the blizzard and seized her arm, dragging her inside. "You good for nothing brat!" He spat, throwing her to the ground as he slammed the front door, "These games must end!" He roared.

"What games?" She cocked her head to the side, her pigtails bounced along with her.

"This _Jeanette_ nonsense! You are to stay in the house like a good girl, complete your studies, and get to bed!" He brought his hand down and struck her, "You are a shame to our family, mocking the deceased!"

Jeanette pouted, rubbing her cheek, "I haven't died. I'm right here."

Her father stepped forward and grabbed her coat by the collar, "You will stop, this instant." His voice was the only thing that made its way into her mind. That, paired with the look on his face. His ghastly eyes, the bags beneath them, the gaunt look to his cheeks, his bared teeth. He looked like a zombie.

She swallowed hard as tears streamed down her cheeks, "I'm sorry, Father…"

He dropped her, "Get to your room."

"Yes, Father…" She bowed as she ran off to the staircase. "Jeanette…" She said quietly, tearing her hair from the pigtails, "Father doesn't like you…you must stop…you must go away. I can't be having fun any longer. I can't be wasting my time with you. You're going to get me into trouble!"

Jeanette was silent. It was all the more disturbing for Therese.

* * *

"That's…that's good. You're making progress, but…the markings there, you see them? They're dynamic markings. I was sure you recognize them. Now go on, try again. With the markings."

Therese let her head droop a bit as she plucked the keys to her liking, not even glimpsing at the music there. The knots of wood on the floor seemed to twirl, like whirlpools. She wanted them to swallow her whole.

Her tutor gently reached for her shoulder, which made her tense and jump out of the way, "Therese…?" He asked, "What's happened?"

She stared at him, her eyes darting all over his face. He looked tired. Worn. Lonely. He was being used too, wasn't he? By her father? He must've been in more pain than she was in. She bowed her head, then sat down again slowly, "Forgive me…" She whispered.

"Yes…of course…" He said slowly, "Are you feeling ill? There is a sickness going around, I wouldn't want you to catch it. Have you been staying out in the cold?"

She shook her head and spoke so quickly, it was like a river of thoughts she had rehearsed, "I've been staying inside. Like a good girl. I'm a good girl."

He gave a little smile, slowly, nonetheless. "Yes, you are. A wonderful pupil. Now, let's try that again, shall we?"

She turned back to the piano, glimpsing at the music before she tried again. She hit a few wrong keys, her foot fumbled between the pedals, and the tears in her eyes fogged out her vision of the music in front of her. "Let's take a rest from music for today." Her tutor's voice poked through, "I think you should rest, dear."

She shook her head and bit her lip, "I c-can't…" She closed her eyes, feeling Jeanette giving her a snide stare from behind, "I must make him happy…"

"Your father?" He asked, "I don't see any reason for the man to be dissatisfied with how you've been progressing. You've made incredible advances towards all subjects, in just a matter of months."

"I just…" She opened her eyes, they were swollen from crying, "Must make him happy…Jeanette's been upsetting him…"

"Jeanette…" He asked slowly.

"My sister…" Her cold gaze met his warm dark eyes, "Jeanette…she's been playing out in the snow…and playing with other kids that go to the school…"

He looked beyond concerned as he sat back, "Your…your sister…was never born, dear…she…she died when you were born."

Therese blinked a few times, "No. No, she's alive. She's…she's right over there!" She whirled around and pointed, then gasped, "Jeanette?" She whispered, getting up from the piano and looking around, "Jeanette? Stop playing! Show yourself! Jeanette!" She screamed.

The teacher gently held her shoulder, "Therese, you must go to bed. You're sick." He started pushing her towards the stairs.

Her head whipped around to face him, "But…Daddy hasn't come home yet…I haven't…" She trailed off as she heard the front door open and slam shut. "Daddy…" Her eyes were like saucers, a whirlwind of emotions filled her head.

The tutor looked nervous, "Therese, your Daddy…" He swallowed hard. How does one explain this to a six year old? "Your Daddy's drunk, alright?" He spat it out, "Go to bed, let him…sort himself out."

She pushed against him and screamed, "But I have to help him! I have to make him happy! Jeanette makes him cry!" The tutor stood back as he watched Therese rush off to find her father. He held his forehead and paced towards his private quarters.

Therese had bruises on her face, on her arms, and her legs. Ever since Mister Voerman had started drinking, she had been appearing with more and more wounds. He couldn't take much more of it.

He packed up his things, and he ran. He ran away, like a coward. He knew Therese wouldn't make it far at all. And he cried for the poor girl, but there wasn't anything he could do.

He was a slave, after all.

He had no say. It was a miracle Mister Voerman let him near his daughter. But, the only thing he could do was run, before he witnessed something that would get him killed.

* * *

Phaedra's phone was being used as a walkie-talkie, some might say it was ridiculous, but Cadmus just wanted to remind her of the battle plans.

"We're spread thin right now. I'm trying to get the perimeter. Just check and see who's in the Asylum." Cadmus said.

"I'm not sure sending me into the crux of our problems is a wise idea." She stood before the battered doors, which looked even more abused than usual.

"Chances are Polonius and Gottfried are in there…think you can take them both?"

"Not at all." She hung up and pushed the doors open. The entire downstairs was vacant, it wasn't until she went onto the second floor that she was met with Poe and Gottfried.

The latter was silent, as usual, but the former smiled, "I had figured you would show up here at some point." He said, "Here for a last minute redemption?"

"The Nagaraja will fall tonight, my love, and we will deal a sickening blow to the Camarilla!" Ebony said from one of the corners of the room.

"It's strange…" Remus started from another corner, "I hardly recognize you walking _towards_ your opponent, rather than away from them."

"Ah hah. So this really has become a haven." She mused, her eyes flickering around at all her opponents, "Interesting. But I like closed quarters." She shut the door, then smashed the handle off with her axe so nobody could get out.

Remus gave a deep chuckle, "I'm not sure where you foolhardiness ends. You've just sealed your own defeat…and your Final Death."

Ebony cackled, waving a hand and causing Phaedra to throw up, while the two clansmen of the Laibon sped at her and started attacking her while she was vomiting. This left Remus to power himself up with Potence and Obtenebration. She was floored, initially. Her mind started running through various operations as she felt herself already start to bleed.

Killing Remus was impossible. She'd have to do her best to just avoid him, he was out of her league, for sure.

Gottfried was fast, and powerful. But he was built, too. If she lobbed her axe in him and made a hit, it wouldn't likely slow him down all that much. He really seemed to follow most of Poe's commands anyway, so she'd hold off on him for now.

Poe knew her too well. Her fighting, at least. He learned how to counter her, defend her attacks, and land an attack of his own. If she spent her time just fighting him, she'd make it nowhere.

That left Ebony. She was a Tremere, with skills Phaedra didn't know yet. She could know Blood Boil, she could even know Lure of Flames, but she could also just have Purge under her belt. She had no idea. All she knew was that Ebony was going to be the one to indirectly, cause the most problems. Purge would keep sending her to her knees, and rendering her vulnerable to the other three fighters. She had to at least try and get rid of Ebony, if she wanted a chance to think straight without vomiting.

As soon as she could get to her feet, she summoned a specter to hopefully, distract at least one of the other three.

"I see. Your necromantic skills are decent at least." Remus said, ordering one of the others to take care of it, "You may as of yet have room here in the Sword."

"She can't join us!" Poe snapped, but Remus ignored him. Gottfried meanwhile fought the specter, or at least kept it busy since killing the ghost was impossible.

She held her axe tightly before she charged forward, towards Ebony. Ebony snarled and waved a hand, causing Phaedra to throw up again, she was stabbed in the back while this occurred. One sword belonged to Poe, and the other was both cursed and charged up with Potence.

She grunted, falling to her knees. She swung her axe out at that level to hook Ebony's feet and knock her to the floor. Ebony cried out as she fell over, she waved a hand, and a shield of blood quickly coated her body, she then pulled out two pistols.

Remus snapped his fingers, and a horde of shadowy vines began to grab at Phaedra, while Poe came in for another attack. She whirled her axe back at them, pushing them away so she could advance towards Ebony and swarm her with a small army of the undead.

Poe cut them all down to size rather quickly, he then charged at Phaedra again. Remus attacked from another angle, while Ebony began to shoot at her. Phaedra was quite overwhelmed, unable to escape unscathed. She did her best to push away from the others with her axe, and keep focus on Ebony. Poe was quite determined to protect his lover, and with Celerity, it was easy to block Phaedra's strikes. This left Remus an open angle nine times out of ten.

She turned her attention to Remus, trying to push him back. She knew she would make no progress, and she knew she would get stabbed from behind, but she had to at least get him out of the way, temporarily. She also knew Poe would attack from behind any minute, so she redirected her specter to chase after him. Hopefully, Gottfried wouldn't intervene.

She whirled around as soon as she pushed Remus a good distance away. The thought didn't even process in her head before she acted. Her feet somehow ended up on the bed, using it to spring off and tackle Ebony to the ground.

Ebony grunted, completely defenseless as Phaedra pinned her relatively tiny body down. Her guns were also pressed down, so she couldn't even fight back. Phaedra's grip on her axe tightened as she reeled back to lodge it in her skull.

She screamed and writhed in agony on the ground. Not many were able to tell on whether the blood was leaking from Ebony's head of just from the blood shield. Poe and Remus were quick to strike Phaedra off of her afterwards. Phaedra tumbled back to the ground, pulling her axe along with her. She gave a muffled cry as they both dug their blades into her.

There were windows to jump from at least if it got that bad, right?

She tried getting to her feet, using her axe to push the others away. "It over, filthy Nagaraja!" Poe laughed, "This place will surely be your deathbed!"

"Such a shame…" Remus said, "That you couldn't see the wisdom of our ways."

"I want payback for what she did to my head!" Ebony screeched.

Poe looked back, "Continue keeping that ghost busy."

"Yes, sir." Gottfried nodded. Phaedra gripped the handle tightly before she ran forward without hesitation to hack Ebony's head clean off.

Poe and Remus crossed their swords in front of the Tremere, blocking her, "I don't think so." The former glared. Ebony meanwhile started firing at her.

Phaedra blocked as many bullets as she could with her axe, eyeing over the opponents that blocked her way. She grit her teeth and swung her axe down between both their blades to knock them apart.

It disoriented them rather quickly, sending the two of them stumbling back. But Remus quickly recovered by summoning another round of shadowy tentacles, while Poe dashed at her with his sword. Phaedra pushed through the attacks like nothing, but really, she felt her energy dwindle down to a thread. Maybe a thread of a thread. The windows were really looking tempting. She gave a rather shrill battle cry as she reeled her axe back to carve into Ebony.

Ebony backed away, firing as fast as her pistols would permit her, "Stay back!"

Phaedra grit her teeth as the bullets littered her body, _"Muori."_ She reeled her axe back to sever her head from the rest of her body.

Ebony's body turned to dust. No sooner did Poe fall to his knees, "No!" He screamed.

Gottfried's head snapped up, like a secret switch was pressed in his code or something. He turned away from the specter and dashed at Remus, punching him in the face with such force that he cracked the wall he crashed into. "Imbecile!" Remus growled, "She's your target, not me!" He pointed at Phaedra.

Gottfried punched him again once he peeled himself off the wall, then he picked Poe up and slung him over his back. Poe's eyes were listless, sad, and dead as Gottfried began to leave with him. He looked at Phaedra, "Come on."

Phaedra was hardly conscious herself, "… _what?_ "

Remus gave a shrill shriek, running up from behind Phaedra to presumably end her with one Potence-laced stab. Gottfried dashed in and protected her by punching Remus in the face, Remus coughed up blood and fell back.

Though, he got up rather quickly, "Traitors! You're both traitors to the Sabbat! You will be hunted down and killed mercilessly for this!"

"Good luck." Gottfried said as he began to dash off.

"Wait!" Phaedra gasped out, chasing after him, "What on earth is going on!?"

Hundreds of shovelheads were there to greet them as the exited the Asylum. Remus kept screaming to kill the three escapees, but this led them towards an ill fate, put mildly. Gottfried destroyed anything in front of him with Potence. In some cases he punched them to smithereens, other times he ripped them in two, all the while he kept a close grip on Poe.

This would calm Phaedra, but she knew that Remus was behind them, cursing up a storm.

She battered some back with her axe, doing her best to help, at least, for now. She knew this could very well be a trap, some sort of sect even _darker_ than the Sabbat that Gottfried was leading her towards.

They eventually ran into Cadmus, who was leading a battalion of fresh young Camarilla soldiers. He looked very confused once he saw Gottfried and Poe, followed by Phaedra, followed by Remus. "Fight Remus!" Gottfried said as he passed Cadmus by.

Cadmus blinked a few times in sheer confusion, "Uh…what's happening?" He looked at Phaedra.

"I have no clue." She admitted breathlessly, "But you're best off listening to him."

Remus charged in with a howl, but Cadmus blocked it with his axe, "Hey there, pal." He smiled, "You didn't really have a chance to fight me at full strength yet, let's change that."

Remus snarled, swinging in a blind rage at him, but Cadmus's Fortitude perfectly countered Remus's Obtenebration. Cadmus looked at Phaedra, "Go. I'll take the city back."

She nodded, "Thank you, Cadmus." She wearily turned to where Gottfried ran, chasing after him.

* * *

Gottfried led her to downtown, by foot. The closer they got, the more lost Gottfried looked, like a confused animal. He soon looked at Phaedra, "I think this is a safe enough distance."

"Yes, I think so…" She agreed, "We're…miles away…I'm sure the sun will rise in an hour, at most." She looked out at the horizon, then back up at him, "I…believe I am due some answers. Somewhere safer." She looked up at him, "I have a room at the red tower. We could talk there."

He reluctantly followed her, "I'm not sure this is the safest decision…"

"I'll tell them you're with me." She said as she walked him inside, "The last man to argue with me about inviting non-Camarilla guests nearly ended up executed himself." She led him to the staircase and began to ascend.

He followed her up the stairs. Once they entered her room, he laid Poe on the couch. He hadn't said a word since they were in Santa Monica, he laid there with his eyes wide open, as if he were in a trance. Gottfried himself stood in the center of the room, crossing his arms.

She gave a shaky sigh once the door was closed. "Ugh. I need a bath. But, I'll wait." She opened the refrigerator and took out a bottle of blood, snatching a few of the wine glasses on top of it and pouring herself a glass, as well as one for Poe and Gottfried. "Here." She handed it to him, "And…if he comes to, there's one for him as well."

Gottfried looked at the glass as it was handed to him, he took a seat in one of the chairs and set the glass down on the coffee table, "I appreciate it."

"So…" She sat on the couch, leaving plenty of room for Poe, "Gottfried, yes?"

"Yes."

"So…" She drank most of her glass, "What happened? I killed Ebony, and then…?"

Poe abruptly sat up, "I'm going to go…" He said, his voice softer, drawn-back, gentle. It was a shadow of what it once was when he was abusing Phaedra and other members of the Camarilla.

"Poe, don't." Gottfried said, "The sun's going to be up soon."

"…not soon enough…"

"Would you like some blood, dear?" Phaedra asked, motioning to the extra glass.

"No." He closed his eyes, "I don't want blood. I want to leave. Right now."

"Relax." Phaedra sat up, "Where would you possibly go?"

He opened his eyes, "Perhaps the beach. It has one of the nicest views of the sunrise."

"Suicide is beyond dishonorable." She raised a brow, "You're much better than that, I thought."

"How dare you." He narrowed his eyes, "You kill one of the only other people I care about, then question me when I want to join her."

"She hurt a lot of people. Beyond me. They all have, the Sabbat." She stood up to pour herself another glass, "That is why I felt you did not belong there. Either of you. Though, I can't exactly place why."

"And you eat people. Remind me what the difference is?"

She chuckled softly, "I only consume those who have passed without my assistance. I scavenge. My sire, she was a hunter. I did not take up such habits." She turned back to Poe, "My humanity is strong. And I think that, yours is too." She downed her second glass.

"…we're not allowed here, are we? If I approached your Prince, his Sheriff or whatever would eliminate me, right?"

"No. He would question you." Phaedra stood up against the door so he couldn't get through, "So, would someone like to explain to me exactly what happened?"

"No." Poe said, "We're leaving." He said, and when Gottfried didn't say anything, he corrected himself, " _I'm_ leaving."

"Leaving your friend?" She briefly looked back at Gottfried, "I don't think he would like that. I think he would worry about you." She said, "He carried you all the way back here. On foot. Even before that, he listened to every single command you gave. And it's not like nature made it that way either. He's nearly twice your size. If he wanted to, I'm sure he could tear you to shreds and turn you into a nice little coat, but he would never dream of it, would he?"

"Then I'd be dead, at least."

"You're not going to die. Throw a fit all you'd like, I refuse to let it happen. You're a curiosity to me. Both of you." She looked at them back and forth, "The very least I'm going to do is keep you around to hear your story."

"So we're your lab rats?"

"No. I'm not a scientist, I'm an archeologist. You're my stone tablets."

"The last person I'm sharing anything with is some stranger, so let me go." He frowned, "I hurt people, and killed people just like Ebony did. So why do I live when she dies, hmm? You can't just coldly murder one of us and then do a complete one-eighty on me."

"She was an escapee of the Camarilla. Supposedly she belonged to us before her former Tremere lover rebelled, and she decided to follow in his footsteps." She smirked, "I suppose that made you her sloppy seconds."

"And you want to be the trashy thirds, don't you?" He raised a brow, "Well, maybe if Gehenna happened. I'm not going to be alive in a night or two, for one."

"If I have to, I'll lock you in here and childproof the place. And before you chastise me for treating you like a dog, I'd like to mention that I've been doing the very same for myself." She sounded mad now, her accent was just a tad thicker, "I've had to lock myself in my own room for six days out of a week, because you were hunting me. Because, for fear of my life, I couldn't go hunting whenever I liked. I had to have an escort, in case you appeared. So if I do have to lock you in here, at least I can promise you that you'll survive. Because I did, and I'm so much more pathetic than you are, aren't I?"

"Well now's your chance to kill me for all that I've done, isn't it?" He held his arms out, "Go on. I made you miserable. Finish me off. Or tell your Prince to kill me. I'll turn myself in. I'll jump into a fire. I'll wait for the sun to come up. I want to die and leave this place, I don't want to be here with you for any longer."

She snickered, "No."

"So I'm your prisoner?"

"No." She held her forehead and moved away from the door, glimpsing at the clock. An hour until sunrise. "Fine. You win. Go do whatever it is you want. But I will come back for you." Her eyes glimmered like shining rubies, with sharp edges.

"You'll never find me again." He slipped through the door and escaped.

She held her forehead, "He's like a devilish little cat…"

"He does that a lot." Gottfried said, "I'm sure he'll be back."

"He'll…be back?" She asked, "He won't kill himself?"

"That's how it usually goes." He said, then he shrugged, "But if it doesn't…well…then it doesn't…"

"If he isn't back in…forty minutes or so, I'm going after him." She sat on the couch, "I did kill his lover…"

"She wasn't really his lover. She was just using us. She's not what this is about…"

"Then what was it about her that made you snap?"

"I knew Poe's spirit would be broken if he saw Ebony die. He was doing this stint just to impress her, and now the nightmare's finally ended."

"To impress her, hmm? He really liked her, then."

"More like she took advantage of her charm and used it to lure us into the Sabbat. For Poe, it worked."

"Sounds like something I would fall for too…" She muttered.

"You killing her provided a window, in which he and I could escape from the Sabbat."

"That is a relief to hear." She said, crossing her arms, "How was it you two even got here? I thought your clans usually resided in Africa."

"We were born and raised in America."

"Ah. California?"

"Closer to the Midwest." He said, "During the Depression."

"The Depression? Ah, ha, I've found many Kindred in these nights that share that same fragment of their past…"

"For us…that was almost the easy part."

"…is that so…?"

He nodded, "That's why Poe's acting in the manner that he is."

"…what's why? What happened to him?" Her eyes narrowed.

He took a deep sigh, as if he was contemplating on whether he should go on or not. But, Poe wasn't there to stop him, "We were…in a very…terrifying…compromising…and unbecoming position…for a long period of time…"

"Forgive me." She said, "You don't have to go into detail if it's…too painful."

"Though it might shed some light on the situation."

"Yes, it would. It's entirely up to you."

"It happened over fifty years ago…"

* * *

 **A/N:** Heh, heh, cliffhangers…Thanks for reading!


	69. Chapter 69

**A/N:** Hello everyone, and welcome to chapter sixty-nine! This chapter will explore Poe's history. Yes, Gottfried's response to Phaedra is an entire chapter. Because why not. It is very dark in nature, so bear that in mind as you read it over. Without further ado, let us dive into Poe's bloody and grizzly history.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, or any concept owned by White Wolf, I do however, own my OC's. And as before, disturbing content is ahead.

* * *

They were never tied by blood. In life or in death. But perhaps it was what made their bond stronger. They didn't have to rely on mere blood ties to protect one another.

That's what Gottfried told himself at least. It would be the only way for them to survive the Depression. They couldn't afford to turn on each other now. Their mother was dead, and their father was just about killing himself to try and feed the three of them.

Gottfried too, worked long and hard. As hard as he could, being so young. He and Poe were only nine when the stock market crashed, and Gottfried knew their father couldn't work alone. Poe was different, however. He still had a joyful, childlike innocence, even the heat of this desperate poverty. Their father wanted Poe to have just a little bit more time of being a kid, he didn't want him to be crushed by the weight of the Depression at its full force yet.

That's why Poe was outside playing with a basketball, in a dirt arena with a hoop that was a few feet high. Gottfried meanwhile was leaning against the stone wall of their house, watching Poe smile, laugh, and play.

"Gottfried! Gottfried!" Poe laughed, "Watch me make this shot!" He threw the ball with all the enthusiastic naivety that someone would at his age. When it went through the basket he cheered and jumped up and down.

Gottfried cracked a smile, "Good job, Poe. That was a nice shot!"

Poe laughed and ran around in a circle a few times, running up and giving Gottfried a hug, "Did…did you want to play with me, Gottfried?" His smile faded.

"That's alright Poe, I'm having fun just watching."

He gave him a squeeze, then he rubbed a thumb up and down Gottfried's arm, "Your skin is so dark Gottfried…even darker than dad's, I thought dad and I were dark."

He only looked mildly surprised, he supposed he would have to address it sooner or later, as this was the third time Poe brought it up, "Well…there's a reason for that, Poe…"

"Hmm?"

"I'm uh…I'm not…really from this family…see…I'm adopted."

"Adopted?" Poe asked, "We adopted you?"

He nodded, "As a baby." He said, "That's why I look a little different from your parents. Why my skin's darker." He said, it actually clarified a lot more than he thought. Too much, in fact. It explained why he was already out at work, while Poe was kept in the dark about the Depression. It explained why Gottfried was so quick-witted and polite at such a young age while Poe still had his big heart and his playful spirit. It explained why Gottfried was the obedient little worker while Poe still had time to play.

He supposed it was favoritism towards the biological son but, given how hard it was to live with clothes on their backs and food every night, Gottfried wasn't one to hold grudges, not at this age, at least.

"Gottfried…" Poe looked sad now, somber, "Can you tell me about mom?"

Gottfried smiled, "Our mother was a wonderful woman. She was very kind, and she loved you to bits."

Poe smiled as he leaned his head on his shoulder, then it faded as tears came to his eyes, "Was she happy?"

"Incredibly."

"Why…why did she have to get sick?"

"It's okay Poe." Gottfried squeezed him, "She may be gone, but you have me, and your father. We'll always be here for you, Poe. Just remember that."

* * *

They didn't feel like they were back on American soil, neither of them did. They were still wondering when their next battle was going to be, even though the war had all but ended. Japan held out a bit longer than expected, but it was nothing a pair of atomic bombs couldn't fix.

It left Poe with an extraordinary sort of pressure. One that perhaps wouldn't ever leave him. Of course, scaling a beach-based battle in which all of his enemies had the high ground would most likely be something he would never forget.

He simply didn't _understand_ how Gottfried felt so normal about everything. He was acting as if everything was the same as usual, while Poe just felt this crushing pressure, like he would never be the same. His heart clenched with nervousness as they approached the table awaiting them.

"It's going to be fine, Poe." Gottfried said, "War's over. Now is the easy part."

Poe swallowed hard and nodded. At least Gottfried was there to help him. He was always there to protect him, since they were born.

The man at the table had a fellow attendant standing beside him, "What about Tarpinian? Sirius Tarpinian? Where's he?" The man at the table asked.

"He's still in the infirmary. Nazi took one of his eyes." The attendant said.

"Alright, very well." The man at the table said, dismissing the attendant, he then looked ahead at the duo, "Poe Bloodworth? Gottfried Idowu?"

Poe gave a timid nod, while Gottfried said, "Yes, sir."

"Alright, let's talk about tuition assistance here." The man said, "What school were you guys interested in?"

The meeting droned on for a while. Poe would be shocked if he had said more than six words. Gottfried and the attendant at the table did most of the talking, and laughing, and enjoying themselves, as if nothing had happened.

"Did you pick a good school?" Gottfried asked, jarring Poe from his thoughts.

Poe gave a quiet nod, just enjoying the fact that they were outside, away from all those people.

"I know what you're _really_ thinking about." He joked.

"You do?" He asked.

Gottfried smiled, elbowing him, "Why don't you go see her? I'm sure she probably missed her little warrior."

Poe gave a nod, regretting that he had to go _back_ to the large crowd of people to find the person he wanted. The last thing he wanted would be to grab someone's shoulder and rejoice with a reunion, only to find out that he grabbed the wrong person by mistake.

But she was smarter than that. She hung out in the back, leaning against the wall, so she was away from all the bustling people. Poe felt such a sense of warmth within him once he spotted her, like all the pressure had finally gone away. Her shoulder length black curls, almond colored eyes, and black and white striped dress were as familiar to her as ever. He sped at her to give her a hug, nearly lifting her off her feet. She giggled and hugged him back, taking it a step further and holding his face to kiss his lips.

Every time Poe thought the kiss would end, she would keep pulling him in for a deeper kiss, "How's my big strong man?"

Part of Poe felt like that could almost apply to _anyone_ , given how slim and petite she was, "Celia." He held onto her as if she was his only sense of balance left, "I've missed you so much."

"I missed you too." She said, "Come on, let's go to the park." She didn't even wait for him to answer, she just yanked his hand and started running.

"Celia wait!" Poe swallowed hard, being drug along, "We don't have to run!" He protested, only to be countered by her giggles.

The sun was setting slowly out in the park, Poe and Celia were observing it from a bench they were both sitting at. Well, they were both sitting at the bench until Celia decided that she should lay herself over Poe's lap. She took both his hands and rested them on her stomach.

Poe's cheeks lit up, "Celia…you shouldn't…position yourself like that…on me…people are watching…"

"What are they going to do, see that I'm in love?" She smiled from where she lay, "You owe me attention for all that time you were away, mister."

Poe wrapped his arms around her and gave her a squeeze. The two of them had met a while ago. A few years before the war started, and Gottfried always said that they completed each other. He was meek and polite, she was free-spirited and sweet. Gottfried always said it was the testament of a true relationship. (Thought Poe figured he was joking, it was always hard to tell when someone with a heavy, deep voice like Gottfried's was kidding).

"Celia…" Poe shuddered, "I missed you when I was out there…a lot…"

"Mmm-hmm." Celia sat up in his lap.

"I just wanted to hug you. And see you."

She gave him a gentle hug, "I know. I'm here for you now."

"…I want to get married…"

Her eyes widened, "You do?"

"Of course I do." He said, "We've been together for a while. What? Did you think I was going to live by myself? I'd be miserable…"

"I know." She giggled, "You always lived with your brother, right?"

He nodded. Their dad didn't make it long once they came of age. Celia didn't even get to meet him. So it was just Poe and Gottfried fending for themselves for a while.

"Well Poe." Celia said, "If you want to get married, there's this little thing you have to do…called _proposing_ , to see if the girl wants to get married to you or not. Then you have to plan the wedding, then—"

"I know that." Poe said, "I just…wanted to confirm that we were getting married."

"Aw…that sort of ruins the fun of surprising me. Now I know the proposal is coming someday…"

"Well, sorry to inform you that a boring and practical person wants to marry you…"

She giggled, then laughed, "That's okay, I like boring and practical." She kissed his cheek.

* * *

It was much too noisy, and then all of a sudden quiet. Poe felt very constricted in his black suit, looking down the aisle as everyone from both his family and Celia's more or less stared at him. He knew it was supposed to be a happy moment, the happiest of his life. Leave it to him to feel nervous, however. He supposed he was always a killjoy like that. Part of them thought it was shocking that Celia wanted anything to do with a straight arrow like him. A highly introverted one, at that. But here they both were.

Gottfried was standing beside him, being the best man, he would say something encouraging once in a while, but Poe's mind was in too big a blur to really comprehend it.

And then the organ rang with a chorus of notes as it began to play again, signaling Celia's arrival. She strode in wearing a white dress, as well as sandals on her feet, unlike the kitten heels Poe was used to seeing her wear every day. Of course, nervousness was the first thing Poe felt, but it was a happy sort of anticipation. Not fear. A smile was soon brought to his face, one that he suspected was as big as hers.

They both calmed down a bit once they were facing one another. If it weren't for the priest urging the ceremony onward, Poe would have never opened his mouth again, for he couldn't stand how beautiful she looked. He still couldn't believe the two of them were getting married. And this followed him after the wedding, through the reception, and on their way to his house.

Perhaps it was better that way. Being an introvert, Poe probably wouldn't have enjoyed the festivities anyway. He danced with Celia when others demanded him to do so and that was it. The two of them snuck away as soon as they could.

That's probably what he loved most about her. That she got him. He was repressed, standoffish, and stuck-up in a way. He would rather a few close friends than a giant mass of them and was all in all not a very social being. The fact that this alone didn't drive Celia away surprised him. But then again, he supposed it would be Celia and Gottfried all his life, and no one else. Celia and Gottfried. He could get used to that.

Poe shut the door behind himself once they entered his house, "That was fun, wasn't it?" Celia asked with a smile.

"Of course." Poe said, growling at his tie, "I just need this thing off of me as soon as possible…"

"Did you…want me to leave the room?" Celia asked.

Poe looked at her, and all her beauty. The dress must have been half of it. Poe has never felt like this before. The undeniable urge to be with her and hold her close, and be as intimate as truly possible. To share himself with her in an embrace that might take up the entire night, making her feel good.

So that's what lust is.

He dove for her, kissing her aggressively and feeling his hands up and down her curves, stopping to sigh for a breath or two occasionally.

Celia's cheeks went bright red, "I thought this was what the honeymoon was for." She joked with a smile.

"You should just be happy that I'm doing this without seven months of planning first."

She giggled and rolled her eyes, "You really want me? Aren't I…small?"

"Yes." He kept kissing her, "We need to go somewhere, quick."

"Let's go upstairs then." She smiled.

* * *

Poe brushed a bead of sweat off his forehead as he arrived home, closing the door behind him. Celia smiled at him, "How was work?"

"Fine." Poe said, "Hot."

She put her hands on her stomach, "I think there's two in here." She said.

"Two?"

"I feel like I'm having twins."

"Twins?" He asked, "How do you know that for sure?"

She shrugged, "I don't know. Gut feeling." She said, "Pun intended." She laughed.

"You should sit down. You're starting to get heavy, I don't want you to hurt yourself." Poe said.

She did as she was told, sitting on the couch nearby, "I'm fine, Poe."

"Lay against the cushion." Poe said, sitting next to her, "Legs on the couch, come on."

"But I need to make dinner."

"Absolutely not." He said, "I'll cook for you."

She smiled, "Sometimes I wonder what would happen if I…ran for miles…in the desert, for twenty-four hours…and then when you found me, I'd run away. I'd make it so you can't pamper me. It'd probably drive you nuts."

He rolled his eyes, "I do it because I love you."

"But I can move…Poe…I can do Celia-things. I'm just pregnant."

"But it's blazing out there, just let me make you dinner."

"Fine, fine." She said, "I knew were you sweet Poe, but I didn't think it would be this bad."

He smiled and kissed her cheek, lying beside her, "What can I say? I like it. I like this." He said, "Being married to you…about to have children…it's…it's…romantic…" He quieted down.

She snickered, "There's how normal men think about life, and then there's you." She said, then she kissed him on the lips, "I wouldn't trade it for the world, though."

"You wouldn't?"

"Mmm-mmm, it's nice to see you so happy and relaxed finally." She said, "I'm glad I can make you so happy."

He smiled and kissed her on the lips, for a while, running his hands up and down her sides, and holding her close. "Poe…" She sighed as they both stopped for a breath.

Poe felt himself blush, "Sorry…maybe I should go start dinner."

"Do you…want me…even though I'm this big?"

"…I'll get started on dinner."

"No, no." She latched onto his hands, her cheeks pink, "Get over here…"

He quickly obliged, kissing her endearingly as both their sighs gradually got louder.

* * *

"Daddy, I'm done with this one too!" Poe had another book added to his lap. His daughter had cracked yet another story, quite impressive for her age.

Poe smiled, "I think you're going to read every single book in the country soon."

"I will!" She bounced up and down, "I'll read every book ever!"

"Who's that making all that noise in there?" Celia asked, entering the room, "Lorelei, are you reading again?"

"Uh-huh!" She hugged Celia's leg, "Daddy said I'm gonna read every book in the country, mommy!"

"Oh, is that right?" Celia got to her level to give her a hug, then she smiled at Poe.

"Well, at the rate she's going it's possible." Poe said.

"Where's your brother?" Celia asked.

"He's in the living room, reading." Lorelei said, giving her mother one last squeeze before she darted off in another room to presumably keep reading.

"Alright, try not to turn it into a contest now."

"I won't!" Lorelei ran off into another room. She and her brother Lavern got Celia's skin, and Lorelei even got her hair and eyes, but Lavern got Poe's hair and eyes at least. They both had a huge affinity for reading, which a little surprising considering most kids wanted to play either pretend or with toys first and ask questions later.

They considered it a blessing, or at least Poe did. He assumed with all the smiling on her face Celia did too. Maybe if they had this much of an affinity for learning, then they would turn out alright. They already had a bright future. It made Poe even happier than he was when it was just him and Celia.

Celia guided him to the bedroom, her smile persistent as always, "It's so nice how Lorelei and Lavern get along so well. They both just read together, it's nice."

Poe nodded, "We raised good children."

She sat on the bed, "Lavern's pretty quiet for his age, like you."

He smiled and rolled his eyes, "You knew what you were signing up for when you married me."

"That I did, that I did." She said, "So how's Gottfried, have you been staying in touch with him?"

"Gottfried's been fine." Poe said next to her, "I'm in touch with him."

She squeezed him close, "What are you going to do when Lorelei asks for more books?"

"I don't know…" He rested his head on her shoulder, "Buy them for her…?"

She laughed, "She's going to be the best librarian when she grows up!"

"I wouldn't mind being a librarian either…" He muttered.

"Of course not, it would be right up your alley." She bopped his nose.

"Yes, I suppose it would."

She held him closer, rubbing a hand up his chest, "Speaking of…alleyways…"

His eyes widened, "The kids are downstairs…"

"Yeah, but they're reading." She swatted a hand, laying back and pulling him on top of him, "Just for a little while…"

* * *

The house was quiet, which was odd to Poe, because they were all getting ready for a visit to Gottfried's house. Why couldn't he hear his wife, son, or daughter? Having just dressed himself after a shower, he kept peering in every room, each time he saw no on in the room, it only perplexed him more.

Not a man of yelling, he didn't raise his voice when he peeked into each room, "Celia?" He asked looking in the kitchen, living room, bedroom, he knocked politely on the bathroom, but when no one answered, he kept looking, "Where did you all go? We're going to leave to go to Gottfried's…" He said.

"Daddy! Daddy!" Lorelei ran to the bottom of the stairs as Poe was going down them, "Lavern won't wake up!"

He furrowed his brows, entered the kitchen with her and picking up a teacup he left out, taking a sip of it, "Try to wake him up again."

"I did try. A bunch of times. But he won't wake up, and he's all red…"

Poe brushed it off at first, then his eyes widened slowly, his teacup shattered on the ground as he dropped it.

"I think he's hurt…"

He lowered to Lorelei's level, "Lorelei. You need to tell me where he is, right now." He said, as gently as possible.

Lorelei looked nervous, tears welled up in her eyes, she was shaking ever since he dropped the teacup, "In the basement…"

Now he was even more confused. The basement in their house was an absolute joke. They kept saying that they were going to clean it out and do something with it since their engagement. _Any_ one of his family members being down there didn't make much sense.

"Let me show you!" Lorelei ran off down the stairs to the basement.

"No! Lorelei, let me go first—"

The basement was surreal, like the bottom of an ancient temple. Torches were lit all around the room and there were a few ancient statues and pictures here and there. Sheers and cutting implements were lain on tables lined up across the floor. Poe had no idea when any of this was setup, perhaps Celia had some answers, after all, everyone in his family was in this room now.

Lavern's body lay on one of the tables, and to say it was decimated would be putting it lightly. It looked as if an animal tore it to bits and sampled from the small child. It was revolting to look at. Poe reeled back in terror, whispering quietly, "What happened…?" He asked, enough 'red' on his son to cause someone light-hearted like he to nearly blackout. Some of his organs were scattered about too. The fact that someone or something had the time to sort out his son's organs made Poe even more disturbed than before.

Lorelei was full-out bawling at this point, running to Celia, with the simple, yet confident ideology that her mother had to have some answers, Celia picked her daughter, up, as usual, a smile on her face. Lorelei squirmed around in her arms, looking from her to Poe, back to her, and finally at Poe with a face of pure horror on her face, sobbing louder than she ever had before, "Mommy—!"

It was a concept he hated. Specifically when so much torture was implemented until the act of the spirit physical leaving the body. He hated wondering how many strikes a being could take until they finally died. How many things could fall off before the living, breathing creature would be still forever. It's why he disliked animal abuse so much. They most likely didn't even know what was happening when the nine times out of ten bigger, stronger human took advantage of it. It usually led to a long and gruesome cycle of abuse and death.

For some reason, that's exactly what this reminded him, albeit a bit quicker than what abused animals would go through. The shining blade of the knife, soaking itself in blood. The eyes full of life, innocence, and joy, turning cold and dead. And then another strike, and another, and another. Then on the table, and again. Again. Again. The knife was later ditched for primal bare hands as the discarded body was explored.

Poe shuddered, growing pale. He held his head, quivering as his daughter's body now perfectly resembled his son's. This was a dream. No, it wasn't. It was real, everything felt real. He could see the horrid room around him, the one he swore didn't even exist until now. He heard the screams of his children in pain. He smelled, ungodly things. And he felt like he was going to have a panic attack, "C-Celia…?"

Celia's smile was different something about it was a little off. Her eyes were partially closed as well, giving her a much more sinister heir.

Was she stressed, feeling some sort of postpartum depression? Poe took a few steps closer, tears running down his cheeks, "C-Celia…why…?"

"I needed their organs." Celia turned to face Poe.

His jaw fell open. He had no way to respond to that.

"For Satan." Celia gave a dark snicker, licking the backs of her pronounced canines.

He shuddered, then he shook it off, grabbing her shoulders firmly, "Celia, listen to me. We need to take you to a hospital. We need to see what's going on." He didn't know what to think, fear clouded his judgment. He may have lost his kids, but perhaps he could cure Celia of her insanity. Surely this was just a fit she was having.

An orange glow came from her, causing Poe's fear to quadruple. He swallowed hard and cowered, sobbing quietly at this point, "What are you doing Celia…what…what's happening?"

She twirled her knife around her hand, slashing and stabbing Poe as he cowered, making it three different family member's blood on the knife.

Poe hugged the wall, as if he were trying to meld into it, "You're hurting me!" He said as he was cut.

The relentless attack continued until everything went black.

* * *

Poe thought that the pain would go away once he woke up again, but it remained, in more places than there were when he passed out.

It was _worse_ , if anything. His half-dozen knife wounds or so were left untreated, he could tell by how much they burned. There were bruises all over him, so his was most likely dragged here. Wherever here was. His limbs were bound by shackles and chains, suspending him in the air slightly. Celia was standing in front of him, with that same sinister smile on her face. Perhaps it was her real smile all along.

It was just him and her. He had so many questions to ask, he didn't even know where to begin.

"Where am I?" He asked.

Celia cackled softly, "In the underground catacombs beneath our well." She said, "A well was where the Baali were created, after all. It's our birthplace."

"The what…?"

She opened her mouth slightly and licked the backs of her canines to respond.

"What…are you telling me that you're a vampire?" He asked, already feeling exhausted at this new information, the heat from the torches and the fact that they were most likely miles underground didn't help with the heat, "Like Dracula or something? That's real?"

"In a way."

He thrashed in the chains, "This has to be a joke…please…Celia…the…the kids are okay…right?" He shivered, "They have to be. You're just playing a joke on me…"

He felt a whip strike his back, with enough force to rocket him forward. Or send him forward as much as the chains would provide. He didn't even know there was another person in the room. After flinching and crying out in pain, he stretched to look back and see who it was, but his neck ached so much that he couldn't hold the angle for long. He faced Celia again.

"Why are you doing this…why…?" He asked, breathless, "We're married…we're married, Celia."

"Look to your left." Celia said.

He peered to his left, seeing his left hand without its wedding ring, "I…I don't understand…I…I don't understand…"

"Marrying a stammering dunce like yourself was only the first phase of my plan. I needed children. I needed organs to harvest for Satan."

He would have responded, but he was too stuck in shock. That, and he was whipped again.

"So now I have my sacrifices for Satan, and I have a fellow Baali out of my idiot husband." Celia's grin grew, "Not a bad deal."

"But you loved me. We…we had a life together. We've…known each other since we were teenagers!" His voice rose as his eyes watered, "And we had children, for pity's sake!"

He was whipped again. The whip master was a girl, judging by her quiet laugh. Poe quivered in his binds, the blood from the first strike was starting to cool, but the blood from the more recent strikes still burned hot.

"Yes, I did love you. We did have children. It was wonderful." Celia mocked, "I needed to portray a naïve, sweet housewife. It hooked a social outcast like yourself in quite well."

More tears came to his eyes, both of sadness, and of anger, "So…everything you ever told me…was a lie?"

As usual, she showed no signs of morality, "You're the pawn, I'm the queen."

Who's the king? Was he going to meet him? "But what about our children?!" He snapped. For the first time his voice was whip like and unpleasant. "Why even have them if you were going to slaughter them like cattle?!"

"If they're of my blood, then all the greater a blessing I get from the great one." She explained, "Satan will be pleased. He rarely gets children's offerings."

"All they did was read and stay out of our way…" He sniffed, "They were sweet…respectful children…they were going to grow up into such good people."

Instead of a response from Celia, he was whipped a few more times.

He fumed in pain with each strike, "Lorelei…ran into your arms…for help…she wanted her mother to tell her that everything was going to be okay…"

"In a manner of speaking, everything was."

"How dare you!" He screamed so loud it echoed around the tiny stone room. Of course, this was rewarded with more strikes.

Celia laughed, "Enjoy your strength for now, my dear. Your anger, the fire in your heart. It will soon fade. It's happened time after time. This is only your first day here. As each night passes, your spirit will be weakened more and more, breaking and shattering like glass. Until you are nothing more than a husk of a man, the perfect offering for our lord Satan."

Poe howled and roared at her as she left the room, but he was only whipped more. He was beaten until he lost consciousness.

* * *

Blood choked out of his mouth as the tip of the whip struck his back for the umpteenth time. His vision blurred and his head hung low. He hated how right Celia was. How weak he had become.

He barely made a sound now. He stopped giving bloodcurdling screams after the fourth or fifth session. Aside from that he couldn't tell any sense of time whatsoever. Light didn't pour into the place, given how far underground they were. He could have been in there for years. He could have been in there for a day or two. He couldn't tell the difference anymore.

He was fed mush. A gross pasty substance that couldn't qualify as food. Not based on how it tasted. It kept him even weaker at least, that must have been their goal. He wouldn't be surprised if he was drugged by whatever this mush was.

Pain ran through his body constantly. Nothing was ever bandaged up, so each session just added onto whatever injuries were their previously. Soon he would be a corpse suspended a foot in the air, he supposed. How he envied the days where it was just the six or so stab wounds from Celia and a couple bruises. Now each whip struck the bone, just about, and he could feel it. Not to mention his arms and legs felt like they were inches away from falling off given that he was never moved from his shackles once.

It hardly gave him time to keep his emotional pain in check, and he felt terrible for it. Why was he even given a taste of the good, wholesome, married life, if this was how it was going to end? He supposed he deserved it, for not seeing it coming earlier. He didn't know how he would see it coming. Celia covered up all of her psychotic signs masterfully, right until that horrible night. The pained, fearful, final expression in Lorelei's eyes would likely haunt his nightmares forever, if he even had the liberty to dream. He often blacked out rather than have a fair and restful sleep.

"I do hope you're prepared." Celia said as she entered his room, or cell was more accurate. "You're going to be given our mark in the ensuing days."

His vision kept blurring until he finally focused in on her once more, "So…I'm…I'm going to become…like you…?" He coughed, "A Baali? I'd rather die…"

He was whipped from behind, "I'm sure you'll come around to it eventually." Celia said.

"No." He said, "Kill me. Kill me like the children." He said, his voice hoarse, "They may not have had an easy way out, but they didn't suffer like this. Let me join them."

She laughed, "I'm afraid not, my dear. You may be as bashful as a stray lamb, but there's a certain raw power in you. You are muscular and you're powerful. You've seen combat, and you're an excellent fighter. You fought the vicious Nazis, some of which with your bare hands."

"Yes…you make them look harmless…"

She snickered, "You've certainly dried out in here, haven't you? Your humor has, at least."

"I'm begging you…Celia…kill me…I don't want to be in here anymore. Please…a last wish…from your husband…"

She laughed again, but Poe could hardly hear her over the crack of the whip, "I merely pretended to be your wife! Did you not remember me telling you that? No one would want to be with a poor simpering fool like yourself. You're wet lettuce dear, a weak willed, withering tree. You look nice, sure, that would be the only reason a woman would find you approachable. Beyond that, you're wishy-washy and unable to make decisions on your own. Turning you into a Baali is a much better use of both of our times."

His breathing slowed terribly. Nowadays with each whip he received, he hoped it would be the strike to kill him. "You couldn't have been a Baali long then…whatever this…thing is…I don't remember your teeth being like that when I came back overseas…"

"Ah, how perceptive of you." Celia said, "I didn't actually become a Baali until the children were a couple years old, but I was their scout for a decade or so." She said, "We're in desperate need of new brood members." She crossed her arms, "But so many don't have the stomach for this sort of thing. They're too weak and frightened…almost like you. Their bodies are discarded and used for fuel."

He didn't want to know what 'fuel' meant. "So for your entire life…you were just this…slave to a supernatural race called the Baali?"

She scowled, and he was whipped a few times accordingly from behind, "You know what _really_ cemented my decision to join them was your absence…" She said, "You were out playing war with all the other countries. England…America…Nazi Germany…Japan…Italy…Russia. That war was going to go on for ages and I knew it. It was a perfect time to get a start on my Baali duties. I didn't think you would come back alive from the war, but when I did, it was a testament to your strength, whether you knew it or not." She said, "I knew I could trick you into providing me a new Baali servant and two sacrifices to boot, for the price of one."

His eyes leaked with tears as her explanation went on. He shuddered, knowing that his entire life was a lie at this point. He sobbed quietly, not really having the energy to do anything else.

When he did nothing but cry, she continued, "This will be a resurgence of the Baali clan." She grinned, "You should be pleased. You're part of a great movement to restore our brood!"

"Forgive me, I'm in a state of mourning." Poe said, "My children are dead, and my wife may as well be too…" He said.

"Very well."

"There's…" He rasped, "There's something you're forgetting about…Celia…" He said, "Something very important. I will be saved. Very…very…soon…"

She gave a deep cackle, "If you're referring to your friend Gottfried, I've already taken care of him."

For the first time in what could have easily been weeks or months, his eyes shrunk and he was awake and alert, "What?"

"He's in the room beside you."

"No…no!" He thrashed around in the chains, "Gottfried!" He screamed, only to be whipped a few more times, "Gottfried!"

Celia laughed, "Did you already forget how this all started? We were all going to gather up the kids and head to Gottfried's house for a little visit." She smiled, "So I knew if I tried anything, Gottfried would notice that we were not responsive and he would come sniffing about the place. I couldn't have that, so after I knocked you unconscious I took care of him too."

"He's my brother…" Poe seethed with rage, "Kill me…or turn me into a putrid Baali, but leave him alone…"

"I'm afraid not." She said, "He may be a stupid brute, but his physique is twice that of yours, and yours is already impressive to begin with. Like I said before, good Baali are hard to come by."

He roared in defiance, trying to break out of the chains, but it was hopeless. He was just whipped again.

"Ooh, the toy is angry…" A woman's voice cooed, as a handful of other women entered the room. They had some similarities to Celia, they were very thin and petite, with sinister looks on their faces. Their eyes looked lost and altogether as if they had lost any semblance of humanity or sanity. Fresh blood was all over their mouths.

Poe scanned over the five or so newcomers, the horrid smell pretty much answering what was on their faces, "…cannibalism…?"

"Oh, yes, you see, these five are about to be turned into honorary Baali soon." Celia said, "So I wanted them to enjoy the taste of meat one last time…"

"…you really are senseless animals…"

She rolled her eyes, "Those who are rejected to become Baali serve no purpose for us. Some of the bodies are used for rituals. The others for fuel."

So now that 'fuel' question was answered.

"Oh, I'm so stuffed…" One of the girls said, "He tasted so good…that man…and the man after him…" She licked her lips, "I wouldn't mind doing it again, one more time, before I'm turned…"

"I haven't been this full in a while…" Another said.

Revulsion was the only thing Poe felt now. Vomit began to crawl up his esophagus and he puffed his cheeks out, making a grunt. He tasted the disgusting gruel once again mixed with the burning stomach acid as his entire body quivered. He didn't want to think about what would happen if he threw up all over the floor in front of these monsters.

Unfortunately, Celia caught him. She took a few steps closer, "I know that face." She gave a sadistic grin, "Do you feel sick, sweetheart?" She said, as their faces were inches away from each other. All the other women laughed, "You should have seen this one." She said, "Sick to his stomach on the most simplest of interactions. No backbone. A complete coward, unable to function in society." The girls laughed more and more as Celia went on, "It's a wonder he made it through the war. He was probably hiding in Gottfried's shadow the entire time. All he wanted was to play family with a ditzy little housewife! What a fool!" She put a hand on his cheek, "Want me to make it feel better, dear?" She reared back a fist and punched him in the face, causing everyone else in the room other than Poe to burst out laughing.

Poe reeled back with a cough, rocketing back in the chains as she punched him, and then rocketing back forward again as he was whipped. She had to be some sort of supernatural thing, this Baali. She was such a tiny girl, but the punch nearly cracked his skull. She really was a vampire.

"I suppose that's enough for tonight." Celia snickered, "I will retire."

"Can we play with the toy…mistress…?" One of her followers asked.

"Very well." Celia's voice echoed from the hall.

Poe hated her clearance. And he hated the sound of the girls giving victory giggles as well. He wilted where he was as he felt his dirtied, bloodied clothes being ripped off against his will. As for all the other times, he closed his eyes, hoping that he would pass out or fall asleep before he could feel the girls playing with his body.

* * *

At least he was finally out of that cell. It was starting to smell something awful. That was about the _one_ good side to all of this, that he had to be taken to a different room to be branded. Like he was a prized cow.

It was rather wise of Celia to have about four or five women escorting him to these chambers. He would have surely tried to escape otherwise. Even though he was low on strength, he just wanted to die, and maybe trying to escape would kill him. But with three or four women grabbing onto him, he couldn't move away by himself.

Or if he still had hope he could find Gottfried. But he had no idea where he was at this point.

He was thrown on a cold stone slab, which served as an operating table. He was lying on his stomach, and his limbs were immediately chained up the second he was situated.

"Master Donatello, sir." Celia said, "It is time for him to receive the mark of the Baali. The mark of Satan."

He heard a snarly snap, "Is that so?" Donatello asked. He felt big hands remove his shirt.

Poe closed his eyes. His back was at least partially healed. Celia insisted he wasn't to be whipped for quite a few days. But it was only because they wanted the skin to heal back so the mark could be made out clearly, and not for any benevolent purposes whatsoever. He was sure there were hundreds of bloody scars all over his back anyway, despite Celia's best last-ditch effort to have him heal away all the pain.

"Please…please sir…" Poe rasped from where he was on the table, unable to see him from the vantage point, "Just…just let me go…please…"

"No can do…kid…" Donatello said, "You's gonna be one of us now. Face your destiny. Face your glory!"

Poe swallowed hard as he saw one of the man's big hands grab a knife, heating up the blade under a candle. He started squirming and thrashing, "Please! Please! I beg you, don't do this to me!"

"Quiet, kid." Donatello reached down for a dirty, wet rag, stuffing it in Poe's mouth. Poe felt sick, having _no idea_ what this rag was used for before. He made muffled noises as he kept squirming. But Donatello eventually held him down with an iron grip with one hand, and with his other hand, he started cutting into Poe's flesh.

Poe writhed in pain as he gave scream after muffled scream, feeling the searing blade cut the flesh away from his body and the fire enter his insides. His screams were agonizing and piercing, the only thing the cut off the volume at least _somewhat_ effectively was the gross-tasting rag in his mouth.

He hoped that Donatello would make a mistake. Cut him the wrong way, maybe he would bleed out and die. He hoped for death, mentally begged for it. His voice had been getting quieter and quieter in the passing days of his torment by his screams. But after this night, he would be surprised if he would even have a voice left.

He didn't recall when the pain ended, or when the burning feeling ended, or when the branding ended. He didn't remember the end of that night well. As with half the other nights he spent in this well, he blacked out.

* * *

Today was the day he would be turned into a Baali. He was told this for a while now, and Celia seemed excited. That made one of them.

He cried quietly, by now, with all the blood, sweat, and tears in his cell, on his chains, he thought they would rust away and he would fall on the cold stone floor. Maybe the shock of hitting the floor would kill him.

His other life felt like a dream at this point. His family, his loving wife. The romance they shared together. He wanted it back, but now it felt so fake. A man like him didn't deserve a family, a wife, love. Maybe that's why his other life felt like so much of a dream, because it was one. Just a silly dream, a silly goal that should have never been achieved.

He hated himself. Hated the man he had become. He just wanted to die and never exist again in this world. He hated the ridicule, he hated the pain, he hated how disgusting and dirty he felt. The whippings, the molestation, the branding, would it finally end when he was a Baali, or would a new period of damnation start?

He constantly wondered about where Gottfried was. It felt like centuries ago when Celia told him that he was in the room adjacent to his. Was that true? Or was it a lie to get his hopes up? Maybe Gottfried was dead by now. It was certainly a possibility. Celia told him with brutal honesty what happened to the rejects. Gottfried could have been dead, or eaten. His children could have had a similar fate. Though he never had a heart to ask the fate of his children's bodies. He didn't want to know, he just hoped they were at peace up there in the sky, in heaven, if there was one.

Celia entered the room, looking giddy no doubt, "The day has finally arrived." She smiled, "The brand burns strongly on your skin, and within a few moments, you'll be unshackled to take the trial of our clan."

"…Celia…I'm in no condition to take a trial, and you know it…" He rasped. He knew the woman holding the whip was right behind him, so he knew what would happen if he pulled anything funny. He knew how this game worked by now.

"But you must." Her eyes narrowed.

"Why don't you just kill me already?" He asked, "You had your fun and games, just end it. I want to join my children."

"I'm afraid I cannot let that happen." She said, "You will be Embraced into the Baali brood, just like myself. We will be bound together, my dear."

"I will die today."

"You will not!" She snapped.

He finally smiled, "This is the only freedom I have left, and you can't take it away from me…"

She clenched her fists, seething with rage, "I have worked long and hard on this masterpiece of a plan!" She unshackled him, as he hit the floor, she stomped on him, "You are not going to unravel it now by dying like a pathetic old goat!"

Poe grunted, as his smile grew, "I owe them this…on this of all days…"

Her foot stopped, "What…what do you mean…?"

"It's…it's their birthday…what…what are you going to get them…for their birthday?"

She quivered, shaken with guilt, she backed away, "No…no…that's impossible. You did not _count_ all the days up until their birthday. There's no way you could tell time in here! It's not their birthday, you old fool! You're just going crazy!"

He slammed a fist into the ground, the stomping feeling finally off his back felt nice, "Lavern…will get…the newest published book…seeing how he's probably read everything else…"

"Be quiet!"

"And for Lorelei…she'll get…I don't even know what book would be able to stop her. I'll give her a bookcase…an entire bookcase of books. You always said she was going to own a library…"

She hugged herself, "They…they were for Satan…I…I do not have any attraction to them…you brat…and it's not their birthday…that's impossible…"

"Deny it all you want." He said, standing tall. His clothes were in tatters, stained brown and red. What could be seen of his chest was that it was relatively spic and span. Completely free of injuries. His back was a different story. The satanic emblem of the Baali was on it, as were some chants for the devil, and inversed bible quotes. Along with thousands upon thousands of tiny scars, each one marking a day of his torture, a specific moment where he lashed out, snapped at the others, or even existed. Nevertheless, he stood tall and proud at this moment, and this moment alone. "I think their birthday present from their father is going to be him joining them in heaven."

She growled, "Come with me!" She started pulling him towards the trial room.

"No!" He roared, fighting her the whole way there, eventually some of Celia's followers showed up and held him in place, despite his thrashing, "Let me go!"

He was thrown into a large deep pit, landing on something soft which broke his fall, but it didn't change the fact that whatever he landed on smelt revolting. He scrambled around his surroundings, unable to see until the torches surrounding the pit were lit.

"Mistah Poe, it is time for you to be Embraced into our fold!" Donatello's voice rang from above the pit. His voice and Celia's were the only two voices he could recognize.

Poe felt a certain euphoria inside of him. He was finally going to die. He felt his body failing on him, he most likely wouldn't survive the trial.

"You must find the heart of our blood and drink from it, and then you will be a true Baali!"

Poe was confused. Blood in a heart? He didn't understand that. But once the light from the flames hit the pit, he saw what they all meant. The soft objects that broke his fall were decomposing dead bodies. Poe gave a scream, frantically trying to move even if it was just scrambling around.

"You must find the heart!" Donatello urged, as if nothing was unusual about this at all.

Poe curled up into a ball, "No, I will not." He rejected softly. He was _not_ going to defile any of these bodies any further by digging into them for a heart.

"Drink da blood from da heart to turn into one of us!"

Poe shook his head, laying completely still on the ground. With any luck, he would die soon, and the nightmare would finally be over.

Celia growled from above, "Get down there and motivate him, now!"

He didn't need to be a detective to figure out that 'motivate' probably meant beat and whip him until he complied. Nevertheless it still might play into his favor. Surely if they whipped him a few more times, he would die and it finally be all over, right?

The scurrying of feet could be heard as Celia's most likely freshly Embraced subordinates came down to beat Poe.

A hole was punched into the nearby stonewall as if a cannon blasted it. There were two culprits, one was covered head to toe in a tan cloak, and the other was a burly man.

"We're under attack!" Celia screeched. The small amount of Baali forces went to apprehend the two invaders rather than whip Poe.

Poe himself was quite confused, he didn't know who either of those men were, Donatello was the only other man in this covenant, he thought.

The burly man was able to fight off any Baali that got near him, freeing up the man in the tan cloak to run at Poe. Poe was scooped up, he vaguely saw the bottom half of the man's bearded, olive-skinned face. He bit into Poe's neck, and Poe screamed, "No! No! I don't want to be one of you! Please! Let me go! I don't want to be one of you!"

He was in a deep, dark sleep for a collection of hours or so. Occasionally he heard voices during his transformation.

"You are an Ishtarri now, free from the Baali curse. Achieve vengeance on those who hurt you."

"You have a beast now, within you. Embrace the beast, let it give you your vengeance for you."

"The Ishtarri are a clan of control, and a clan of power. Destroy those who caused you suffering and give in to your nature, childe."

When he awoke, he didn't need to breathe anymore. He felt so different, like he was finally set free from his pain, and yet he was in the same stony catacombs under the well.

The man in the tan cloak held out a golden sword for him, on his knees, "Take this and strike your vengeance quick, my childe."

Until now, he had always thought about fixing Celia. About saving her, from this darkness, even going as far as to keep the children's death in the dark and take Celia to a doctor or two. He never had a dark thought in his mind, he just wanted to either escape or die.

But that changed when he awoke as a vampire. As he picked up the golden, jeweled sword, a sickening grin appeared on his face. Something snapped within him. He was so crazed, he could nearly hear the snap within himself. His previous gentle soul was no more, and he no doubt wanted to indulge the beast inside him, to kill all those who wronged him in this dirty, unsightly well.

So he turned to the Baali, those who weren't wiped out by the two invaders, and he dove at them with his sword. The whip-holders were stabbed in a flurry of speed, with such rage, that most of them perished into ash after a few strikes.

The girls' screams were grizzly and horrific, but Poe wouldn't have it any other way. He roared and laughed as a frenzy soon tore into him and smashed their bodies into walls with his swords. Each of them suffered terribly and even though Poe got used to his Celerity quickly, he wanted to maximize the pain the torturers felt as much as possible.

Poe's cloaked sire watched on with a smile, as a fledgling, he was taking on multiple Baali neonates with relative ease. A prodigy in the Jyhad, he was.

Once he killed all the neonates, his eyes locked onto Celia, the only other Kindred left in the well, aside from his sire and his ally. Celia backed away and gasped, "No…no Poe…please…please don't…" She begged, as Poe stomped towards her mercilessly, enough blood on his sword to leave a red shine, rather than a golden one.

"Poe…" She gasped, "I…I love you…"

Poe gave a menacing laugh as he pushed her into the wall, practically smearing her. He kept cackling as her screams echoed in the bottom of the well until she turned to ash. Even when she was dead, Poe kept laughing and laughing, holding his two fists in the air and screaming for vengeance, for justice.

* * *

He had forgotten how the natural air felt against his skin. How cool the night air was. How freeing it felt. He stood at the outskirts of the town, seeing a few flickering signs of the night life in the distance of all the bars and strip clubs. His sire was standing close by him, as was his burly ally.

He also saw Gottfried sitting on a flat rock nearby, and he couldn't be any happier.

"Gottfried." Poe grinned and held his arms out. Poe's voice had gone through quite the evolutionary track in his adventures in the well. Now it was darkened, hardened, slightly bratty, as if brewing with something horrible in mind, "I'm glad to see that you survived."

Nonetheless, the new Poe most likely frightened Gottfried, or at the very least, unsettled him. He gave a simple nod back as a response.

"I have Embraced you into the Ishtarri clan. And your friend has been Embraced by my ally, into the Osebo clan." Poe's sire said.

"How wonderful." Poe brooded, "Now we can both achieve our vengeance for the rest of eternity!"

"A single Baali escaped the well after the attack." Poe's sire said, "I will give the honor of disposing him to you."

Poe and Gottfried bowed, "I think you for the opportunity." Poe smirked.

"The Ishtarri are a clan of information and gliding amongst the mortals. We stun those with our looks and we are deadly as we are beautiful." He said, "The Osebo are a powerful brood, known as The Pride. Your ally will be a valuable servant and disciple for you, as my ally is with me."

Poe's sire and his Osebo ally left not long after that. Leaving Poe and Gottfried to oversee the nearby city, "Come, Gottfried." Poe said, "We will achieve vengeance on all of those with black hearts! With those who lied, with those who hurt others. They will all die! They will all die! Everyone will die!" He laughed.

Gottfried gave a stoic bow, "Yes, sir."

* * *

 **A/N:** Now that we see Poe's history, it may answer some questions as to what his motives are. What he plans to do, what Gottfried amounts to in all this? How will this be resolved? What will Phaedra think of all this? What's in store for Poe and Gottfried? You'll have to read on to figure out. Thank you very much for reading :)


	70. Chapter 70

**A/N:** Here's chapter seventy! (horns, whistles, etc.) The trial looms overhead…yeah…the second one. Heh. Enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs.

* * *

Only when he was finished, did Gottfried pick up the glass of blood and drink it completely. Once he put the glass down, he said, "He wanted a wife, a family, and a normal life, and he was punished for it. Sometimes I think he was kicked into an adrenaline rush when they took him down to that well, and he's been high off it ever since…"

"He needs to know he did nothing wrong." Phaedra finally looked up from her empty stare at the table to meet Gottfried's gaze, "He needs to know that he deserves goodness. Especially as a war veteran. He was a hero, as you are."

"That's not the problem though." He said, "He wants his kids. Maybe even his wife to. And who are we to stop him from seeing them again?"

"Well, I suppose that's part of my character." She mused, sitting back, "I never believed in…any of that. Or maybe I've just never met anyone in my life who inspired me to." She said, "But, it is to my knowledge that those who…do cling to the ideas of heaven…feel that as Kindred, they can no longer go there."

"Even still, he wants to die. And what can I do to stop him?" He asked, "What am I going to do, say, 'no Poe, you have to keep living here…because…because!' That's why I didn't have the heart in me to tell him no, or to tell him he's going down the wrong path. Why I didn't tell him to stay away from the Sabbat, why I just…let him take charge. Because we both knew that _anything_ was better than the well."

"Because he has the chance to start over." She stood up and paced, "He wants a wife, a family, who's to deny him that? He can still have it, if he lives. It's a compromised life, sure, but if he finds a human girl, he could have children. Even a Kindred girl, and they could adopt. I'm sure the idea wouldn't be so farfetched to him, having you as a brother. He can still have the things that he's after, but he can't if he dies."

"I've told him stuff like that 'til I was blue in the face…" He said, "How come you want to make such a happy life for him, after all the hell he's put you through?"

"Because there was pain in everything he said." She turned to him, "There was anger, and hate. I can tell now why he detests my clan. But, every insult he hurled, I sensed a deep rooted pain in himself." She crossed her arms, "Besides, he wasn't that much of a nuisance to me. Frightening, sure. Overbearing. But he isn't the only reason I can't leave my room." She smirked, "You were both enough of a presence in my life for me to stop Miss Voerman from using Visions of Death."

"I wouldn't get the parade out too soon." He said, "Even if you somehow _magically_ convince Poe in the virtues of living, we still did a considerable amount of damage to this sect." He said, "The Sabbat wants us dead for what I did, and I'm sure your Prince won't be happy once he finds out that we're sulking around in his lobby. I appreciate the effort Phaedra, but we're just about finished."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that. Our Prince is surprisingly forgiving, especially to those with rare clans or special talents. If you'll serve the Camarilla, I'm sure he'll at least consider the idea of keeping you both around."

He thought about it, "Alright, but you'll have to find Poe first and talk to him, get through to him."

She nodded, dusting herself off. Her dress was tattered, again. Bullet holes, gashes, tears. It covered what needed to be covered, at least. "I'll try and return as soon as I can." She glimpsed back at the clock before she headed out in search for Poe.

He mentioned the beach, but the fact that there was no beach near downtown was a bit daunting. And what were the chances that he would return to Santa Monica? In one piece, no less?

She started searching nearby, hoping she wouldn't find his body anywhere. It was reassuring that she didn't, at least, reassuring enough for her to decide to move on and search another city. She was gambling with time, with less than an hour until the sun rose.

She had no choice then. Twenty minutes would have to be burned. Maybe she could try sleeping under the pier. It seemed like something Pisha would do. She pulled over a taxi, headed to Santa Monica, then paid handsomely.

The walk to the pier felt like it took ages. Especially when she tried to make herself look smaller and less threatening.

Especially when it started pouring.

The sand clung to her boots and felt quite painful against her heels as she approached the only figure there, "Polonius." She called out.

"You're too late." He answered.

"Maybe I am." She stepped closer so she was standing beside him, "There is no heaven for our kind. We're already dead." She looked over at him, "Walking corpses." She looked back out at the sea, "This life we're in now. It was our chance at second life. A second breath." She let a pause fill the air, let the sound of waves crashing take over, "Don't waste it. Don't waste what you've been given." She met his eyes, or at least tried to, "You have your shot to try again. You have to take it. It isn't easy. It's never easy."

"I don't want another chance."

"You don't?" She asked.

"No…" His voice faltered as he wrapped his arms around himself, "I just…want to be gone…"

"It was my mother's name." He paused to look at her. "She was Italian. My father was Greek. Celia. Celia Kokinos. I never knew her maiden name."

He stiffened at hearing such a familiar name after all these years, other than that, he didn't really say anything.

"It was the night before my wedding. She came into my room and prayed with me. She told me that…getting married, would change me. I would have my own perfect family like hers. She told me how hard it was for her to conceive me. How much she struggled. And how after my birth, the family was complete. The perfect family." She let the sea cry on, the wind and rain, too, "She told me to pray for such a perfect family. Because to her, praying to God was the only way for her family to stay perfect. She thanked Him for every small blessing she had. Every time her husband decided to ignore the mistake in her speech. Every time her daughter decided not to cause a scene at church, not to disappoint her father. And she thanked Him for giving me away to another family. She hoped to God that my life would be better than hers, because hers was hell. But it was what she deserved, as a woman, at the time. That was the perfect life, of a wife, when I was young. And yet…" She looked up at him, "You're older than I am."

"And?"

"And?" She smirked, "I can only imagine what it was like for you. For you to…to hold together a family that was…wholesome. Not perfect." She squinted at him through the rain, her hair lost its luster and was now strung out, dry yet, soaked. It whipped in front of her face in dark tendrils that she tried to brush away. His confusion had long since turned to bitterness, as he looked back out towards the sea.

So, she continued. "I wondered what it would be like. When I learned that families like that could exist. I wondered what it would be like to grow up in one. To raise one. I wondered if it was possible. Because it isn't. There is no perfect family, but there are the deranged." She left a pause, "You didn't deserve the deranged. Rarely does anyone ever." She looked back over at him, "Especially you. And I understand that's the reason you've given up. You've given up the impossible search for perfect."

Again, he didn't respond, but this time Phaedra could see why. It was hard to tell, with the rain, but she saw that he was quietly crying.

She held her arms out and shook some water from her dress. She was absolutely waterlogged. They both were. "Can we talk back in my room, so I don't have to speak over this and…neither of us have to stand in it either?"

He didn't answer for a moment or two, then he turned to follow her back to the red tower. They were both lucky it was overcast, and the walk there was fairly short. Briefly after they made it inside, the sun rose.

Her door opened and closed without a sound. In fact, to both of them, the silence of the tower seemed eerie. "Gottfried." Phaedra smiled, before she picked up a book from a shelf and handed it to him, "You wouldn't mind sitting in the bedroom for a few moments while Polonius and I chat, would you? It's that one, there." She pointed.

He gave a quick nod, leaving the room.

She sat on the couch, "Feel free to sit…I know we're both wet, I don't give a damn, I'll dry out the material later." He sat further away, giving her plenty of room. Mostly he was trying to fix his hair. "Are you alright?" She peered over.

He tried brushing his tears away, but this resulted in him practically splashing himself with all the excess water.

"I don't mind if you cry, dear. After everything you've been through…sometimes it's the only thing left."

"…how much did Gottfried tell you…?"

"Everything. Or, so I hope."

He stared at the floor for a while, sniffing and hugging himself. It was a good thing they were dead or they'd both have pneumonia by now.

"Would you like me to fetch you a towel, dear? Or, you could go take a warm bath, I wouldn't mind. I could fetch you a robe."

He shook his head. She raised a brow, then stood up and went into the bathroom. She left the door open so he could see her take a black towel and bring it in. On her way over to him, she took the glass of blood and handed it to him as well. He took the towel, slowly getting cozy in it as he wrapped it around his body, then he closed his eyes.

She smiled. A small smile, but nonetheless, seeing him comfortable made her happy. She hardly wanted to speak, she didn't want to disrupt him, but eventually she said, "Gottfried and I are here for you. To talk, to sit, to cry. You aren't alone, and we will help you. It's all we want."

"…you…stood out in that terrible weather for me…"

"I certainly didn't want you to die."

"…but I stabbed you…and hurt you…you would scream…and bleed…just because I was angry. I put you in constant danger and you were in pain."

"You were in more pain than I was."

"That doesn't make it okay."

"Well, I forgive you then. I was never upset about it. I was frustrated that I couldn't figure it out. I couldn't figure out why you were hurting."

His shoulders quivered for a while, until he started softly crying again.

"It's alright, dear, I forgive you. Don't worry about me. Don't worry about me being upset with you, or…anything of the likes. I'm not. I can assure you. I understand why you're upset with me…my clan…" She sighed, "My clan weakness is abhorrent. It is weak and immoral, and I wish hopelessly that I could change it. But I can't. It isn't something I enjoy, I just hope you realize that."

"Mine's no better…" He cried, "I gave into my beast. Look…look what it's done to me, look at what I've become! I made Gottfried give into his beast…I was a horrible, horrible person…"

"It is possible to change, if you want to. If you try. And I believe that you can, Polonius. We all do. We'll be here to guide you." She said, "I will talk to the Prince about both of you. Discuss matters. I will not rest until your lives are saved, and…it is likely you will get a position in the Camarilla, if all goes accordingly."

"Don't risk your life for us…Phaedra. We're going to die. Once the Prince finds out we're here, and all the damage we've done…there's no way he'll let us survive."

"You'd be surprised. I'll gather a team. I don't have many allies, but those that I do have are steadfast and stalwart. I will at the very least spare your life."

"But…why…?"

"Because I want to help you. You need a break. I'll give it to you."

He nodded, "I…I don't know what to say…Gottfried and I…if we're spared…we'll be very happy…"

She chuckled, "Good. That's all I could ask for." She stood up and shook herself off. "Blech. You don't mind if I bathe, do you? I feel rancid." She unzipped her boots and peeled them off, padding over to the door and leaving them there to air out.

It must have been a short bath, she came back in a black satin robe about fifteen minutes later. "Could I at least offer you another towel?" She asked as she sat next to him, this time just a bit closer, "You still look cold."

"You don't need to burden yourself."

"If you insist…" She mused, resting her feet up on the table, "Another glass of blood? Anything? Please, you aren't a burden." She smiled, "Tonight, you're a prince."

He shook his head, evidently, he didn't agree with the sentiment.

She chuckled softly, "If you insist."

"So…when it comes to resting conditions…for Gottfried and I…"

"Are welcome to sleep here. I don't get many visitors." She stood up, "I'll set something up for you to sleep. I'll bring him in too."

He gave a short nod, it looked like he was going to fall asleep in the towel any second.

She gave a warm smile. She simply couldn't resist. She slowly stepped forward and hugged him, very gently, in case he resisted. He squeezed her back, with a bit more surprising force than she expected. She felt wet tears on her shoulder as he rested his head on it. She sat back beside him and held onto him dearly, gently holding the back of his head as she stroked his hair, very gently.

She felt the tears stop after some time, and then she felt him put a little bit more weight on her than before, which struck her as odd. Then she saw that his eyes were closed and his arms were wrapped around her blissfully. She smiled and closed her eyes as well, enjoying the bit of warmth that clung between them from her bath. She knew he needed this, but had no clue just how much he'd like it.

And then it hit her. He was asleep. She peeked an eye open and kept petting his hair, slowly pulling him away and laying him down on the couch. She removed the towel, and instead took out one of her fleece blankets, wrapping him in it.

She then went to the bedroom, knocking before she peeked in, "Gottfried? Forgive me. I didn't meant to lock you in here. He's asleep. I can set up a few blankets and pillows for you on the floor, if you'd like. Or, you could take the bed. I certainly wouldn't mind."

"I'll be fine on the floor." Gottfried said, giving a large bow, "Words cannot describe how pleased I am that you were able to return with him alive."

"I'm thankful he seems…happy. He fell asleep in my arms."

He smiled, "He at least seems to be showing signs of improvement."

"Yes. I think he'll be very happy to see you tomorrow." She said, grabbing some blankets from a dresser, then a pillow from her bed before she waddled out to the living room and laid them out for him near Poe.

"I appreciate it, Phaedra." Gottfried said.

She held her arms out and smiled. He smiled and hugged her back briefly, before getting ready for bed. "Goodnight, boys." She smiled sweetly before she headed off to her bedroom, an oddly light feeling in her chest. Rainy would be proud, she thought.

* * *

The interview went by quickly. Mostly because Strauss was preoccupied with a trial that was soon going to take place, involving himself, the Prince, the Primogen, and Phaedra.

Slade didn't know the first thing about the details, but he heard it was about Phaedra allowing two former Sabbat convicts in their Camarilla. He didn't know how it would turn out, but, he supposed that was a benefit of not being a high-ranking member. He could just relax with April in his room in the red tower.

Luckier still was that the idea of a Toreador ghoul more or less slipped under the radar with all the chaos going on. So that was at least one hassle avoided.

April tucked her boots out of the way, "So…so…what happens now…?"

He took a heavy sigh, "Do you wanna know the truth? Why I was being so…untruthful before? Where the hell we all went?"

She blinked a few times, "If…if you…you can tell me…"

Instead of answering with words, he walked up to her and took her hand gently. He held two of her fingers and made him feel his pulse. Or lack thereof.

She blinked a few times, then looked up at him as her hand slowly drew back, her eyes worried, "I…I don't…I don't get it…"

Another heavy sigh, "I'm a vampire."

She looked like a statue, "A vampire?"

He nodded, "Everyone in this tower is."

She slowly sat down on the couch, looking empty, really. "But…you're still Slade?" She looked up at him.

"I mean, last time I checked, yeah." He said as he sat next to her.

She slowly cuddled up beside him and hugged him, "Then…what difference does it make?"

"Well I'm dead, and I live forever…"

"…but…I don't…" Her eyes grew worried again.

"That's why there's a step. Between vampire and human, called a ghoul. That's what the interview was about."

"A ghoul…?"

He nodded, "I would have to feed you some of my blood, and then it would stop you from aging."

She blinked, then nodded, a determined look on her pure face, "Okay."

"I mean, we don't have to do it right away…we can do it some other time. I'm just saying that it'll have to happen at some point."

"Let's do it now. I don't want to…to age another second without you."

"Alright." He got up quickly, looking around for a knife. He soon found one, "Okay…how do I…ow…damn it…guess that's how…" He said, as he cut his wrist open, "Alright, here you go."

"I just…drink it?" Her cheeks flushed, "Right from your arm…?"

"I mean, I could like…drain it in something…"

"Drain it?" She asked, looking panicked again.

"Yeah, like, put it in a glass or something…"

She looked at the bleeding wound, "W-Whatever is the most comfortable…"

"I mean, it's up to you."

She gave a little nervous smile as she met his eyes, then she looked down and took his wrist, slowly drinking from it. He held the back of her head there, not knowing what else to do. Honestly it felt weird. He was so used to hearing many of the Kindred and ghouls talk about the bond they shared as if it were nothing, but he couldn't imagine any of them doing this.

It was only a few more seconds before she moved her head away, then blinked a few times. Her face then turned red and she started giggling, "I feel so silly…"

"I know…it…it's weird…but…yeah…that's how ghouls work…"

She kept giggling, "I feel like this is something you'd see on…some…really wild music video…" Her laughter reminded him of school, when he'd say something that wasn't even all that funny, but she'd laugh for hours.

He smiled, "Just be careful not to tell any humans this, alright? Unless they're ghouls."

"Okay, I'll keep it a secret from May."

"How has she been?" He asked as he sat on the couch.

"She's been very good. She quit from modeling, she was worried about her age, and they were really running her thin." April sat down on the couch, "She found a nice man, Prospero. He visited a few times before they moved in together. He got her a secretary job too, she loves it."

"…did you just say Prospero?"

"Yeah…that's what he called himself. Why, do you know him?"

"…yeah…he's a vampire, April. One of the higher-ups."

Her eyes widened, "Do you think May knows?"

He shrugged, "She could be his ghoul. They're probably in the same building we are right now."

"Really?" Her big eyes somehow grew even bigger.

"I mean…Prospero is on the same side I am, the Camarilla. Everyone in the Camarilla typically lives in this building."

"Then…I could visit her! Every day!"

He smiled at her enthusiasm, "Yup."

"And…I could make her cookies…because she's not a model anymore, and she can get fat!"

"Not sure about that last part…but yeah…why the hell not?"

She giggled and hugged him, the excitement in her voice was beyond contagious, "This is the best day of my life!"

He hugged her back, "Me too, April. Me too."

He could see the life on her face again. He could see the excitement that was always there when they were in school, the sweet peacefulness. And even though it had only been a day, she looked much better. She practically glowed. Her tan skin seemed a little darker, her arms weren't as thin, her eyes were brighter and full of life. And her lips were even sweeter as they tasted his.

He kissed her back, giving her a gentle squeeze. Even so, he still felt occasional guilt about what he had done to Tess. Perhaps he would call her later to see how she was doing.

She rested her head on his shoulder and wrapped herself around him. To feel warmth like her again was something he could never have imagined. Her hair felt like little downy feathers to his neck, her hands gently rubbed his back.

"Tired?"

"A little." She smiled, "Where should I sleep tonight?"

"Wherever you want."

She closed her eyes, "Can…I sleep in the bed?" She asked, "With you?"

"Sure." He smiled.

There was a brief silence, "Can we go to bed now?"

"Of course."

She gave an excited giggle before she stood up and took his hands, heading to the bedroom with him. She took her boots off, then grasped at her oversized sweater, "You don't mind if I change, do you?"

"Not at all."

She opened a dresser and got out another large sweatshirt, (he wondered if that was all she owned), before she pulled off the one she was in and put the new one on. She then hopped onto the bed and got beneath the covers, "I wonder if I'll be able to sleep now…"

"Yeah…that's probably the biggest problem with being a ghoul…throws off your sleep schedule."

"Well…it's just…I had to take a lot of medications to sleep at night…because I always felt so lonely…"

He nodded, sitting on the bed and taking his tie off, "Hopefully you won't need those things anymore…"

"I won't." She sat up and hugged him, "Because I have you."

He smiled, "I'm really all you need?"

"You're all I needed." She pulled him down onto the bed and wrapped herself around him, despite the fact that he was hardly able to get changed.

He squeezed her back, "I'll always be here for you."

* * *

While Gottfried didn't entirely mind much, Poe looked absolutely miserable in his suit. He kept picking at the outer blazer, in some sort of desperate, feral attempt to take the thing off.

"Careful, dear, you'll tear the stitching." Phaedra warned quietly from the bathroom, she was pulling her hair up into its usual style.

"This is pointless…" He said, "There's no way seven votes are going to go into our favor…"

"They should. I'm going to have a word with a friend of mine. He should be here soon." She came in and put her boots on, "He's quite good at picking through arguments. I'll address my points, ask him to play devil's advocate, and it should prepare me for what the Primogen have to say."

"I just want it to end." Poe buried his face in his hands.

"Well, whatever happens…we appreciate it, Phaedra." Gottfried smiled.

"My first deal will be if you die, I do too. Though, that might swing Miss Voerman's vote even more…" She sighed, "It's her I've really been worrying about. I'm not sure there's anything I can say to convince her. Even if I were to offer payment for every damage to the Asylum, I'm sure it wouldn't be enough for her. I have the money to do so, too, but it isn't money I want to win her over with."

"Don't kill yourself for our sake, Phaedra. You mean a lot to this organization, whether you know it or not."

"Well, I refuse to deal with an organization that executes those who are aiming for a second chance." She clarified, before she looked at her nails and did a quick spin before both of them, "I seem presentable, yes? No holes in my gown?" She peered around for any.

Poe and Gottfried exchanged a glance, it was unclear which of them felt more unsure about this trial than the other.

There was a knock on the door, and Cadmus walked in, "The whole damn tower is talking about what you're doing." He looked at Phaedra, "But I think it's pretty cool. Too bad my vote and opinion don't mean a damn thing cause I'm not a Primogen."

"Yes, it is a shame." She mused, sitting on the couch, "Polonius, Gottfried, this is Mister Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt, this is Polonius." She motioned to Poe, "And this is Gottfried." She did the same.

Cadmus shook both their hands, "Nice to meet you." He said. Gottfried responded with a strong grip, while Poe barely raised his hand, timidly looking up and down Cadmus like he was a monster, before he finally gave in.

"Well." Phaedra said, "They're both guilty of numerous Sabbat acts. Including the takeover of Santa Monica. I've already concluded Miss Voerman will want to kill them no matter what I say. I'm interested to hear what you suppose the others might think."

"I mean, its seven votes, right? The Prince and all the Primogen?"

"Yes, that's right. There is no chance of a tie."

He nodded, "Victor will probably vote your way." He said, "Maybe Prospero will too. That just comes with the bonus of knowing both of them. If your argument is good enough."

"I hope it is." She sat down, "I'm going to mention the fact that Ebony played a part in their Sabbat affiliation. Other than that, they were captured by Baali when they were young, and saved by Ishtarri and Osebo respectively." She motioned to them, "They were influenced to seek vengeance on those who kidnapped and abused them. They were misled and confused, and are both beyond remorseful for the actions they took. They are currently willing to pursue a future in our Camarilla."

"That might sway less of them than you think."

"I know. I was wondering what I should add. And I'm not entirely sure what the other Primogen are like, anyhow."

"If you talk about how they saw the errors of their ways from the Sabbat, it might convince Miranda." He said, "Considering her latest partner is a former Sabbat. But no one else knows that, so keep it a secret."

"Cute." She smirked.

"And that leaves…the Toreador Primogen…oh boy…Gary…" He made a face, "And then Strauss himself…"

"I've heard about Gary. I'm sure he'll cause issues." Phaedra mused, "And the Toreador Primogen, I'm sure with enough persuasion, he'll vote in our favor." She turned to Poe and Gottfried, "Is there anything you'd like for me to add?"

Poe nervously shook his head and hugged himself, looking as if he were on the verge of a panic attack, while Gottfried gave her a nod, "Just do your best."

Cadmus crossed his arms, "They're not going to let me in there. But, I've seen how some of these have gone down before. Strauss will blab for a bit. You'll blab. Strauss will blab back, so on and so forth. Then he'll put it towards the vote. The more 'aye's' the better."

She nodded, then hugged Cadmus, _"Augurami buona fortuna, amico mio."_

He hugged her back, "It'll be fine. Not all Prince's take the democratic route like this, but I guess Strauss is different than a lot of ways we expect."

"Of course. It's wonderful he's giving us a chance." She said, before she turned to Gottfried and smiled, holding a hand out, "I'll do everything I can."

Gottfried shook her hand, "Don't blame yourself if this fails."

She smiled and gave a brief nod, then stood in front of Poe. Her eyes grazed him over before she gently fixed his tie, then tucked in a bit of the shirt peeking underneath. She patted his shoulders firmly then, like she was dusting him off. She looked him over again, then licked her thumb and stroked back a strand of wayward hair. "There you are."

He looked away, "Thank you…"

She held his shoulders and kissed the air next to each cheek, then she turned to Cadmus and gave a deep exhale, "I'm ready."

The walk there was silent. The knock on the door was firm and bold, without overdoing it. Phaedra turned to Cadmus as she waited for a response, "You'll stay here?"

Cadmus nodded, "I doubt they'll let me in, but…I can't help but not be curious." He smiled.

She smiled back, "I'll see you then. Let's go in." She turned and pulled the doors open for them, stepping inside.

The inside of the Prince's office had the Prince himself as well as the six Primogen. Although while their seats usually faced the Prince's desk, they were now facing the doorway, where Phaedra, Poe, and Gottfried were. It nearly resembled a school time drama. "Miss Kokinos." Strauss said, "I appreciate your efforts to arrive here on time."

"Of course." She smiled, "It was no problem at all. I thank you for having us this evening, all of you." She did her best to ignore the piercing glare from Therese.

"Yes, indeed." Strauss said, "Shall we begin tonight's proceedings?"

"Yes, sir." Victor nodded, acting as a scribe of sorts as he penciled everything down, "It is the eve of June twenty-third. Miss Phaedra Kokinos issues a plea to prevent the execution of Mister Poe Bloodworth of the Ishtarri Clan, and Mister Gottfried Idowu, of the Osebo Clan, for the damages they've done to Santa Monica. Let us continue."

"Very well." Phaedra tried to keep her pacing limited, "Are all of you familiar with clan Baali?"

There were a few exchanged glances. Therese rested her head on the palm of her hand, as her arm balanced on the arm of the chair, "I believe so."

"Excellent. So, you are then, aware of the satanic rituals. The burning, the fire, the Embrace itself. I want to prevent any sort of confusion."

In large part, it didn't look like the clan was ringing a bell for many of her peers, aside from Victor and Strauss. "Quite, familiar, Miss Kokinos." Strauss said, "However, it doesn't seem here or there. In what way does it relate to the trial?"

"Because I wanted to start from the beginning. For my subjects here tonight." She motioned to Poe and Gottfried. "They were captured, kidnapped, by Baali in their human years. They spent a bit over a year in a Baali dungeon, underground, being tortured, burned, brandished, and prepared for the Embrace."

Gary sat up, seeming a bit confused, "Then why aren't they Baali?"

"Because their lives were 'saved', I suppose. Though they did go through the Embrace, it was not of the Baali clan. No, it was from a rogue pair of Kindred, an Ishtarri and Osebo. These two encouraged their childer to seek vengeance, in any possible means, before abandoning them."

"And they chose the Sabbat." Therese chimed in, seeming _bored_ , "It was their choice. I see no clear reason to pity them for it. They chose the wrong side, so they failed." She sat up, "This is a waste of all our time."

Phaedra held a hand out, "They did not _choose_ the Sabbat, Miss Voerman, if I may. They were _tricked_ into it. A Tremere Antitribu by the name of Ebony swindled the pair into joining the Sabbat for their salvation. However, after her death, they both learned the error of their ways. They have both shown to me how much they desire change, and how sorrowful they feel of the actions they took. They never wished to hurt people. That is not their goal, that is not what they wish for in life. I have spoken to them extensively and saw for myself the potential within these Kindred. The desire for change, and devotion in their hearts that is yet to be rooted to a legitimate cause."

Strauss and Victor exchanged a glance at the mention of Ebony, "This is the same Tremere Antitribu who you killed that night, yes?" Victor asked as he held his pencil to the pad.

"Yes, that is correct."

"So what the hell are these Baali anyway?" Prospero asked, "There's just…an _entire_ clan devoted to Satan?" He asked.

"Indeed, or at least a bloodline." Victor said, "They embody fire, and the dark lord. Though their numbers have been suffering horridly ever since the Inquisition."

"It almost sounds like a fairytale…" Miranda mused.

"Indeed." Goddard turned a page.

"Well, were there any questions from the Primogen?" Phaedra asked with a smile.

"I got a question." Gary leaned in, "How old are they?"

"I'm not sure. Why does it matter?"

"How many years have they been working for the Sabbat? Just curious." There was some sort of toxicity laced in his voice, and that smirk on his face seemed shifty too.

She looked back towards Gottfried for an answer. "Since we left the well…which was…a little over fifty years ago. But it was never anything long term." He said, "We would usually be in a Sabbat movement for…a year at most, and then Poe's temper would get us excommunicated."

Gary snickered, "Interesting. So you weren't in California for very long."

Gottfried shook his head, "We moved here when Lafayette did. Few months ago, give or take."

"No further questions." He nodded.

"Very well." Phaedra said, "Then…that is all I have to say on the case." Her mind kept running, wondering desperately if there was something she missed, something else she could have added.

"You've us quite a mess to deal with, didn't you, Ebony?" Victor mused quietly.

Poe and Gottfried exchanged a nervous glance. They didn't even know if any of the Primogen believed the Baali _existed_ , not to mention their story. And now that the proceedings were over, the votes were going to start. A vote that depended on their very lives.

Strauss looked around the room, "Shall we being the voting procedure?"

"I think so." Therese sat up, finally interested.

"Very well. We shall start from the left of the room, and continue over to the right…"

"Aye." Prospero smiled.

"Nay." Goddard turned a page in his book.

"Nay." Was Therese smiling?

"Still deciding." Gary muttered through a hand that he put over his mouth, like he was really thinking about.

Either Victor _really_ agreed with what Phaedra was talking about, or he just wanted to say the opposite of whatever Therese said, "Aye." He said.

"Aye." Miranda smiled.

Gary sat back, "Nay." One of Phaedra's brows twitched as Gary poorly hid his snickers.

"That would leave your vote, sir." Victor looked at Strauss.

"Very well." Strauss rose from his chair, holding his hands out, "I do hope that you two members of the Laibon are interested in serving in the Camarilla. I want to see just as much power and vigor within the two of you working for us as you did when you were part of the Sabbat."

Poe and Gottfried exchanged a shocked, yet pleased glance, then they both bowed towards Strauss, thanking him graciously. Phaedra's smile was certainly bright as well, "Thank you very much, sir, it is extremely generous of you."

"I do what is best for our organization." Strauss said, "And surely these Kindred will do well on our side of the battlefield." He said, "If there are no other matters to be discussed, this meeting will be adjourned."

* * *

 **A/N:** And…the Camarilla gets two new members. I'm sure the Anarchs will be ecstatic! And let's not start with the Sabbat, who lost three members, and a city…yikes…Thanks for reading!


	71. Chapter 71

**A/N:** Here's chapter seventy-one! Some Primogen backstory in this one, hope you like it!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs. Also, the idea of Jeanette nuking out a backstory from a Tremere is from the Clan Quest mod. And the Tremere oath is straight from White Wolf itself.

* * *

'You should stop by the Asylum when you get the time. A conversation's far overdue, sugarplum. Can't wait to see you ;) ~ JV'

It was the first, and only email on his screen.

Why did he get this computer again?

Gottfried sighed. He was trying to make a good first impression to Strauss, and it seemed like he was going to be sent on this wild goose chase instead. He left the red tower, taking a taxi to the Asylum. This could easily be a trap, to get him killed, so he had his guard up. Even though the trial cleared his name, the owner of the club, and of the entire city, in turn, Therese Voerman, could still have it out for him.

Needless to say when he entered the club, he kept a sharp eye out for anyone, occasionally using Auspex at times to see who was Kindred and who was kine.

"Looking for someone?" The bartender was, unfortunately, not the large tattooed man. The Sabbat didn't agree with him or his replacement. But the woman standing behind the counter could certainly be defined as large and tattooed.

"Hmm?" Gottfried asked, holding a conversation with Auspex up was nothing but distorting to him. He regained his normal vision, "Uh…just…someone with initials JV…"

"JV?" She raised a brow, "Jeanette? Upstairs." She looked him over, "I'll buzz you up." She pointed, "Elevator's over there."

"Right." He said, wondering who the hell Jeanette was. He took the elevator up to the second floor, nothing but nervous as he did so. If this was a trap laid by Therese, she was doing an excellent job in doing so. Even if she planned to kill him and fail, who was he going to tell? No one was going to believe former Sabbat dirt like him. It would only risk Phaedra's credibility, and he wasn't going to do that.

The elevator dinged and he walked into the foyer, nobody there. His only other option was another door, or the elevator. And it sounded like there was nobody in the second room. Until he heard typing. Whoever was in there was on their computer.

Auspex came to his aide again. Whoever was on the computer was Kindred. It could have been Therese, it most likely was. He paused in thought, it felt as though he dead heart was going to beat again, and maybe even fly into his throat. Was Jeanette even a real person?

Perhaps if he was quick enough, he could escape death with Celerity. He knocked on the door.

The typing stopped. He heard a chair move, and then the clicking sound of heels before the door opened.

Yup. It was Therese.

She adjusted her glasses, but still looked up over them. "I wasn't expecting company."

He crossed his arms, "A person named Jeanette emailed me. Supposedly. I'm starting to think this was a prank gone terribly wrong."

"Jeanette?" She asked, then she sighed and rolled her eyes, "Jeanette is my sister. Who isn't here. I'm terribly sorry to…disturb your evening of…distasteful affections."

"My what?"

She put her hands on her hips, "I know exactly why you're here, and it won't be happening as long as I am here." She threw her head back a bit, but she still had to really look up at him, "I'm sorry, and goodnight."

"Goodnight Therese. This will the last of me you'll be seeing."

"Good. I appreciate the sentiment." Her gray eyes bored into him one last time before she shut the door.

It was on his way out the front doors when he heard a voice, "Sugarplum?"

"Hmm?" He looked back, "Who are you?"

She smirked, "The name on all the men's rooms stalls. The tattoos on the small of their backs, the whispers in the alleyways…" Her smile grew, "Jeanette. It's been a while. I heard you're a cape now, like my sister." Her head quirked to the side, her pigtails bounced, "Funny how things work out, hmm?"

"I suppose so."

She looked him over a few times, "You're a lot bigger than I remembered. Which is a little strange, don't you think? Considering all I remember is your fist in my face. You'd think I picture you to be a huge scary monster." She smirked, "Well…you are huge…and I'm sure you're a monster…"

"But I punched Therese, not you."

She crossed her arms, looking confused, "Did you?"

He looked equally as confused, then he smiled, "Oh, I get it now."

She raised a brow, "Get…what?"

"You're a Malkavian. I almost forgot. You two must share a body."

She chuckled dryly, "You better keep your voice down, Therese would get upset if she heard you say that." She winked.

"The way I see it, being in this city will get me killed by her, so I don't plan on making many comebacks."

"Oh please. She's a big softy. Write her two or three apology emails and she'll get over it. I'm sure a couple Benjamins wouldn't hurt either. If there's something Therese loves more than power, it's money." She snickered, "And she wonders why I call her Queen Victoria. Just the tip of the iceberg."

"I don't need her pity, or respect." He said, "Way I see, Santa Monica is so out of the way I could just stay in downtown and work for the Prince. That's all that matters anyway."

"Hmm. You make a good point. Well, I guess you could hope and pray that she doesn't hire another assassin." She giggled, "I'm sure she wouldn't. She wouldn't want to risk her reputation to her beloved Prince."

"That's right. I'm safe in the red tower. The trial said that I was to live."

"Good." She looked over him, "I think that was a good decision. A body like yours certainly shouldn't go to waste."

He made a face, "Yeah…I'll be going now…"

She laughed, "Why so soon? Come upstairs with me?"

"That sounds like a trap if I ever heard one."

"We can just go up the stairs. After your little Sabbat shin-dig, we haven't had many customers. Another reason Queen Victoria is extra pissy."

"It wasn't _my_ Sabbat thing." He said, reluctantly following her upstairs, "I was just following orders."

"Aw. So you were being loyal. You'll like the Camarilla then." She wasn't modest about covering herself as she went up the stairs at all. He was kind enough to look away. "Well, the Anarchs are like that too. And the Sabbat, too, I guess. Loyalty is everywhere, and yet…nowhere." She sat on one of the tables, crossing her legs.

"Yeah, I know how the Jyhad works. I was Embraced after the Second World War." He crossed his arms.

"Really?" She asked, "What was it like? I wasn't around for it. I want to keep listening to your voice."

"What? The war? It was…bloody…dangerous…ungodly…but of course, that was still sort of the easy part in my life."

"Tough times when war's the easy part, hmm?"

"You could say that."

She smiled, "Your voice sounds like someone I knew when I was a little girl."

"Charming."

"I never knew his name. He was my Daddy's slave. But we treated him like family." She paused, "Well, until he didn't _want_ to be part of the family. Then he ran away from us."

"Slave…" He narrowed his eyes, "So you must have lived in the eighteen-hundreds I'm assuming. Or earlier."

"Eighteen….fifty three? No, four!" Her eyes widened, before she sighed, "You're better off asking Therese. Heaven knows she still has her birth certificate lying around somewhere. If they even _made_ _them_ back then."

"I see."

"I can't really blame him for running. I wanted to, too." She confessed, "But he had it the worst. His room was right next to Therese's. I'm sure he heard everything." She said with a smirk, before she stopped and looked around, "God, sometimes I feel like she's standing right behind me, waiting to hit me with the nearest chair…"

"Something tells me she's not going to get over what Poe and I did to her city."

"Maybe she never will. She's a little grudgy. I'll put in a good word to her about you, m'kay? You're a sweetheart."

"You've only been speaking to me for a handful of minutes, at best…"

"That's the longest anyone's spoken to me in months. Besides Therese. But you know how that is."

"Therese didn't make it sound like you were a particularly lonely Kindred."

"No, I find plenty of things in my bed every night. But there's never any sort of _conversation_. She sees it as a sin but I see it as an ice-breaker." She looked back up on him, "I guess you're a little harder to crack."

"I'm not just some simple delicacy you can play with." He said, "Nor am I the thug your sister makes me out to be."

"Mmm…I see that now." Her head angled to the side, "So neither of us can really tell what to make of you then."

"No, but I have to say it was fun watching you switch back and forth and test me out like you're some kind of computer program, wondering which setting I'll respond to best."

She grinned and pointed her finger, "Tsk, tsk, tsk, careful with that mouth of yours."

"You don't scare me."

"Who said I want to?" She leaned in, "If I were alive right now, I think my heart would be pounding out of my chest..."

"Yeah…uh…very interesting."

"Well, can you blame me…? I have a seven foot monster looming over me with a voice deeper than hell…it's been a long time since I've had _this_ much fun…"

"I'm not seven feet tall…"

She giggled, which soon turned into laughter, "It looks like it from here!"

He crossed his arms, "Look, I have a very long ride home." He said, "So if you're finished with me…or what?"

"Finished with you?" She looked hurt, "I had no idea I was…wasting your time. I just wanted to play with one of the new kittens, I didn't mean to…tear your teeth and claws out. Fine. Go." She crossed her arms, "I'll wait another few months before someone else turns up and breaks my heart."

"If your heart gets broken every other month, then I would spend time trying to harden it first."

Her eyes glistened with tears, "I'm sure that's very easy for a war veteran to say."

"Perhaps."

She got off the table and headed for the stairs, "Just go then. I'll tell Therese you won't be coming back."

"Good. That's all I wanted."

* * *

"It's all washed and ready to go for the next…event, I suppose." Phaedra handed Poe his clean and folded suit, they were in her room, which almost seemed dated, now that the trial was over. Something about it seemed like home. "Hopefully there won't be anything else troublesome for a long time."

Poe looked at the suit blankly, holding it in his arms, "Thank you…"

"Of course." She smiled, "Did you want to stay for a drink? Or perhaps you'd like to go visit Gottfried?"

"I'm not sure where Gottfried is at the moment…"

"Oh. Well, why don't I fetch you something to drink?" She wandered over to the fridge and took her bottle out.

"Very well." He set his folded suit aside, then sat on the couch.

She poured him a generous glass, then poured herself one and sat next to him, handing him the beverage. She then held her glass out, "A toast?"

He looked at it timidly, "To what?"

"To second chances." She grinned.

"Okay." He gave a small smile back.

They tipped their glasses and drank. She rested her glass on the coffee table and leaned back, licking her lips of any leftover blood. "What do you think you're going to do now? What's the first goal?"

"I'm not sure." He said, "Await orders, I suppose."

"Well, I'm sure he'll give you a while to settle in. You'll find he's quite understanding with this sort of thing. What I'm saying is, you'll have at least two weeks, if not a month to yourself."

"That sounds like much too long…especially considering how dangerous this war has been…"

"Yes, I suppose you're right." She chuckled, "Perhaps I overestimated."

He closed his eyes, "I worry about fighting the Sabbat. They're out for my blood already…due to…what happened…"

"I'm sure you'll be safe. He won't send you off alone."

"But…that happened with you…"

"And…now he's learned not to do that." She snickered, "Trial and error."

He took a sip of his blood, "You were quite impressive out there…fighting four of us at once…"

"You think so? It was a miracle I survived. I wanted to do something before I ran…I was petrified."

"I think it was awe-inspiring. You should believe in yourself more."

She chuckled, "You're flattering me. Hopefully this won't go to my head."

"I just…want to make up for what I've said and done to you in the past…

She laughed, "Oh, please, don't worry about that. It's past us."

"It is?"

"Yes. I think so."

He nodded, "Okay."

She held one of her hands out, looking at the back of it and comparing it to Poe's skin, "When I was Embraced, I thought all Kindred went this pale. Then I saw my sire in better lighting and….learned I must have just been…very pale to begin with."

"Being Embraced into the Laibon might have a little bit to do with it."

"Oh, perhaps. It suits you well, I think." She smiled, "Very handsome."

He looked away, "That's…part of my clan…too…"

"Yes, that's true. I'd nearly forgotten about that. I think a Toreador would be jealous, your disciplines seem much more convenient than theirs."

"If they're attuned correctly."

"Yes, of course. It's half the battle, isn't it?"

"More than that, in some cases."

She looked up at the ceiling. "My sire told me to put more stock in Auspex than Dominate. I kind of…felt that that notion was silly, when I realized the strength behind each. But I suppose she had good intentions. I wouldn't have been able to Dominate any Kindred, being so young."

"It will be stronger as you age, at least."

"Yes, I'm excited. I'll crack fifty Kindred years soon."

"Oh…I see. We're more similar in age than I thought." He said, "What year were you born?"

She closed an eye as she thought back, "Nineteen thirty. Though, the Depression was different in Italy. It still affected us, just a little differently."

"What did you do when Benito Mussolini was in power?"

She raised a brow, "Oh. Him. Yes, I heard a lot about him at family dinners. Unfortunately, I was a child when I was in Italy. I spent most of my adult life in Greece, where I was later Embraced."

"Right…well…it's good that you missed most of that war. It…was horrible."

"Oh, yes, I heard…my father-in-law brought it up to me, on occasion. To update me." She said, before adding, almost sheepishly, "I wasn't allowed out of the house. It was hard to catch news."

He gave a quick nod. Maybe talking about all these events during the thirties and forties were making him feel nostalgic.

"What were you up to, at the time? The midst of war?"

He nodded, "For about four years or so…I don't know how it didn't bother Gottfried at all…or any of my other fellow soldiers…it was so…graphic…"

"I'm sorry to make you recount the terrors…" She said softly, "This was one of the many reasons you deserve something better."

"People don't inherently deserve anything." He said, "Regardless with what they go through. It's all about what work you put in for yourself."

"And you've put in more than enough."

"I've put in work to give others pain and misery they won't forget." He looked at his hands, "Sometimes I think it's a miracle your Prince spared me. That, or a mistake."

"I think it's neither." She looked up at him and smiled, "I've killed before. So has he. So has everyone who sat before you and judged you. And I doubt every person they've slain was deserving of it."

"No…I…I suppose not. It's the very nature of the World of Darkness…"

"You are not alone." She assured him, firmly taking his hand and squeezing it.

"I know." He said, "I have Gottfried…and…and…you…"

"And I'm sure you'll make many friends." She squeezed it again, "You just need to open your heart." She poked his chest.

"I prefer quality over quantity…"

"Yes, as do I." She chuckled softly, "But you will find more. I'm sure of it."

"I'm not sure I would like that."

She chuckled, "Why not?"

"I'm not sure…I'm more a recluse…I always have been."

"I don't think there's anything wrong with that."

He took a sigh of relief, "Thank you."

She giggled, leaning in to kiss his cheek, "It will be refreshing for people here in the tower who are sick of my constant talking."

"Well they won't see much of me."

"I suppose so. Unless I drag you along with me." She giggled.

"Then it would be for combat purposes. There would be no need for speaking, unless it's for defeating the enemy."

"Oh, I find myself talking to my allies quite a bit before combat. It's enjoyable, I think."

"Well, I'm different."

"Oh, you'll just have to wait and see." She teased, "Maybe he'll let us work together."

"That I would be perfectly fine with." He said.

"I would too." She smiled before she leaned in to kiss his lips. He kissed her back, quickly welcoming her in a hug as their arms wrapped around each other.

She ended the kiss after a brief amount of time, just testing the waters. She held onto him still, and kept her face just a hair's distance from his. Her eyes slowly drifted from his lips to his eyes, like she was asking permission this time, without words.

He reached up and rubbed the underside of her jaw, "You need to relax this when you sleep. It probably gets sore."

Her eyes drifted closed, "What makes you say that?"

"They just looked clenched and tight."

Her eyes slowly opened, "I'll keep note of it…" She sighed, more or less melting into his arms like a cat before she kissed him again. It was much more relaxed this time, her hands slowly crept up and rubbed his shoulders, too.

He held her close, kissing her back, and occasionally kissing her jawline, to more or less encourage it into relaxing a little.

She couldn't help but sigh as he kept kissing her, "…it feels wonderful, dear…"

"You're very thirsty for attention."

She batted her eyes bashfully, "It's been a long time…" She said, before adding, "For me, at least…"

"You shouldn't trust me so quickly. I could stab you in the back."

"After the tears you shed…I know you mean well…"

"They could have been false. You know how good my clan is at specializing in that."

She leaned in and kissed his neck, "Gottfried knows the truth." Another kiss, "He knows when you're lying and when you're telling the truth." A kiss, "He would convey it to me. He wouldn't be as thankful as he was."

"You're completely infatuated with me, aren't you?"

"I think I am…" She sighed romantically.

He gave her another squeeze, "I see."

She sat back and looked up at him, "If you don't feel the same…I understand…"

"No…I trust you. And…you saved my life…so I appreciate it."

"I promise, I'm no Celia." She assured, "I will never let anyone hurt you like she did, including myself."

"She said things exactly like that." He said, with an air of bitterness.

Her eyes glimmered with worry, "What can I do to prove it to you?"

"I'm not sure." He confessed, "I don't want to put you in this sort of position. You don't deserve it."

She rested her head against his chest, "The most I've done was the murder of my husband." She closed her eyes tightly, "And, I know, it sounds terrible, but he was…he was far from a saint. I was his ticket to fortune, nothing more. He used me as his sow…I needed freedom. I had to get rid of him and take his money to escape…" She opened her eyes and stared off at nothing, in particular, "Sometimes I feel guilty about it…I feel as though…I should have died that night…it would have saved him…saved my sire…" She closed her eyes, "But if I didn't go onto that dock and find the knife, I wouldn't have freed the trapped fish either…he just left them out to rot overnight…"

"Sometimes I just wish the Nazis would have killed me."

She held his hands and kissed the backs of them, "I think it's best…we're both here. We're here for a reason, at least."

"As do I…in a manner of speaking…"

She sat up, just enough so she could kiss him again. He kissed her back, giving her a slight squeeze occasionally. Her hands slid down and held his shoulders, "Did you want to stay here tonight?"

He thought about it for a moment or so, "I don't…I don't like being alone…I promise I won't take up much room."

She smiled, "No, not at all. I would simply love it." She held his hands, "…may I…make a request?" He swallowed hard and gave a nod. "Could you…kiss me again? Here?" She turned her head and pointed to her jawline.

He rolled his eyes and leaned in, kissing her jawline. He pat her head and muttered something about her being silly, but it was hard to hear through the pronounced kiss on her jaw. That, and her sighs, which she really tried to keep quiet. She clung to him like a second skin, relishing every second of it.

"You really like that, don't you?"

"I do…" Her eyes fluttered open, like she was in a trance.

"Now I know what to do to quiet you down."

"Mmm…mmm hmm…" She rested her head on his shoulder and seemed to be preparing herself for a nap.

He sighed, "What am I going to do with you?"

"Mmm…" She squeezed his arm and dozed off in mere moments.

* * *

He wanted to get stronger, but occasionally he found himself worn out. That, and his experiments left him with little time for himself. Oftentimes he would find himself completely exhausted by the end of a night. Making good progress, but still, he knew that his apprentices worried about him from time to time.

He wanted to crush the Anarchs, so badly. And the Sabbat, but he hated the Anarchs even more. For they were led by Nines Rodriguez, a man so detestable to him, that it shaped him into the very man he is today. His entire life of mortality was ruined because of Nines and his cronies, but now in his death, things were going to be different.

One could argue that he was already strong enough to take on and defeat Nines, but that wouldn't be good enough for Victor. He needed to take out Nines and every single ally he held dear. That's why he was putting himself under so much pressure.

As he shifted a textbook or two aside, a spare sheet of paper slipped out and gradually floated towards the ground. Victor snatched it up immediately. It was a picture of that diagram he drew of Therese, and Jeanette. Both of them sharing the same body.

It was surprising how much curiosity a sudden lost sketch had unearthed for him. Over the years he has many opportunities to observe the Malkavians, but few seemed to have it as poorly as Therese and Jeanette. He didn't really enjoy their company, but he was going to pick their brain for an evening. They just got their city back, right? They should be willing to talk to a curious Tremere. He took a cab to Santa Monica as quickly as he could, heading to the second floor of the Asylum.

When he knocked on the door, he heard a silence. She wasn't downstairs, was she? Or out of town? It'd be incredibly inconvenient if she was in the red tower the whole time.

But then the door opened. Jeanette stood there, her eyeshadow washed out down her cheeks, as usual, her bra poking out her top, her white thong peeking from her skirt. It was like she didn't change at all. Her eyes looked a little swollen almost, though, as if she'd been crying. But, her face lit up with a bright smile, "Victor?"

"Yes…hello…where is your sister?" He asked. Part of him way annoyed with routine now that he knew they were the _same_ person.

"Therese? I don't know. I forgot to ask." She sat on the bed, "I should have known you didn't come here for me."

"Did you two get into another fight?"

"Hmm? No, things have been peachy-creamy between us." She gave a small smile, "Sometimes she'll leave me little bags of blood on the vanity with a little passive aggressive note on it. It's adorable. I knew she had a heart in there somewhere."

"I simply came to ask her questions about the Malkavian clan…but…I don't see why you couldn't answer them."

"You wanted to ask _Therese_ about Malkavians? I'm pretty sure she thinks she's a defect. I'll tell you everything you need, much better than anything Therese could tell you."

"Is that so?"

"Here. I'll show you." She held a hand out, clouding his head in a purple mist. Victor gave a piercing scream, falling to the ground in a chasm of memories. All of them jarring and nonsensical in order. The purple dust from Jeanette's hand clouded Victor's mind, transporting him to another world entirely.

* * *

She was having him relive his life. That much was evident with the rocks hitting him as well as the insults. Whether it was intentional or not, Victor wasn't entirely sure he was enjoying it. He didn't care if it was illusion. The greatest part about his life was when he died.

His work was never good enough for them. He was always the last one done. He always did the least amount, and his was always the smallest. Be it hay bales, stocking rations, or fashioning weapons for the war, he was always last. It didn't help how thin and scrawny he was, it made him even _easier_ to be picked on.

"Man, Vick! Do you even do half the work we do?" One of his 'coworkers' loomed in his face. Throughout the years of tireless working through and after the depression, Victor had worked since he was a young child. And he was constantly insulted. The only difference now that he came of age was that the bickering was slightly more sophisticated.

"Hold on, half the work is giving him way too much credit! Look at what he did back there!" Another said, "Shit won't work at all!" The lot of them grouped around Victor like vultures.

"How does it feel to be the laughing stock of the entire industry?" A third said.

When Victor ignored them, the first one pressed on, "What's going on in there, huh? Hey, hey, moron. You in there?" He snapped his fingers in front of Victor's face, "Anyone home?"

"Nah, there's no point." The second one said, "Vick just thinks he can get away from us now, won't say a damn thing."

To fix this, they started shoving him around, "Come on Vick!" They yelled, over and over again, until he tried to lash out at them. This resulted in him being both laughed at and shoved to the ground.

"Come on, let's just go. We'll screw with Vick tomorrow, Manny's working on a new car." One of them said as they starting walking off.

"Is he? Let's go see!" The second said.

"It's gotta be something good if Manny's working on it!" The third said, which left Victor alone on the ground.

Victor clenched his fists in rage, as he tried to get up. Manny was the only name he ever heard when he was taunted. To consider him a rival would be giving himself too much credit. Manny Rodriguez seemed to have the Depression figured out, compared to him, at least. He was a hero when the Dust Bowl finally ended, sure, it was replaced by Hitler's rise to power and the Second World War, but people were convinced that Manny would save them from that too.

He was a spark of hope to the people. He was the sun while Victor was the moon. And he hated it.

It wasn't anything his umpteenth trip to the library could solve. It was the only thing he could do to put his mind at peace. Some reading. Maybe if he was lucky, there would be something good left for him to read.

The chair creaked as he sat at the table on the second floor of the rickety library he always visited. He cracked open his book and started reading.

"Haven't finished reading every book in the place yet, Victor?" A pleasant, soothing, British feminine voice asked.

His mind softened at hearing the name. His real name. Not _Vick_. He looked at the figure across from him at the table. A rather tall woman, in a gothic black dress, and high black boots. Her back length black hair matched her gown perfectly. Needless to say, the woman turned a few heads wherever she went. "I…haven't…as of yet…" He replied quietly.

She raised a red-nailed hand to her red lips as she chuckled, "Have those boys been giving you trouble?"

"Of course they have…" He said, looking at his raggedy white collared shirt. In a few places it was stained red with blood.

"Poor baby…"

He sighed, "Layla, I wish we could change the rules of this world."

"Oh?" She asked, "How so?"

Anyone else would have sent him to a madhouse for saying that, or would have questioned him for a bit. But since he and Layla have been doing nothing but reading in the library every night for the past six months, they've grown to know each other. Victor's size and limited physical ability made him hated by the other men, while Layla's outlandish way of dress for the time and her independence for herself did the same. In the entire half-year, she never mentioned a husband.

"Those with brilliant minds are cast aside…only brute force is wanted…I wish I could show them the value of my brainpower…show them all…"

She chuckled a bit more, "Is that so…?"

He nodded, "I don't want to be trapped in a factory, building…metal rubbish…when I can be spending my time doing so much more…"

She rested her head on a hand, "Do you believe in magic?"

He raised a brow. This was probably the seventh time she'd asked him that, and he never knew what to say. She was very into the occult and the forbidden and the phantasmal. Perhaps that's what made society hate her so much, and what left her single. It didn't bother Victor one bit though.

"If I had the ability to change your life so that you could use your brain, instead of your lack of physical strength, would you take it?" She rose from her seat.

Victor's eyes widened. Aside from his mother, this was the only other woman who's ever spoken to him, so the prospects were looking good.

"Well." She stood over him.

"Where…did you say you were from again…?"

"Cardiff." She smiled, "Does my accent charm you, darling?"

He swallowed hard as a response.

She chuckled, leaning in and grasping both hands, "This will only hurt for a second." She kissed his lips. Victor's eyes widened at the overpowering taste of her lips. She kissed his neck next, biting into it with incredible force.

He didn't remember much about that night after that.

* * *

"We have to go all the way for Europe for this?" He asked, shifting uncomfortably in the plane seat.

Layla nodded, "You need to be legalized right away. Or else I could be killed."

"Legalized…for what…exactly? What have you done to me?" He asked, "I'm a vampire now? How does that work?"

"Simpler than you think." She said, "You're of the Tremere clan now. Or…you are if the Council of Seven approve you."

"The…Tremere clan?"

She gave a confident grin, "A clan of vampires more sophisticated and complicated than any of the other tiny vampire minds could comprehend."

"Ah…I see." He nodded, "And…this Council of Seven?"

"They're its leaders, and in some cases, founders." She said, "It operates like a very large pyramid. You'll start at the bottom, as an apprentice, but over time, you'll rise in the ranks."

He swallowed hard, "I'm assuming they're operated in Europe."

She nodded, "The only reason I moved to America is because of the war."

"I see." He mused, "Are these councilors…persuasive folk?"

She smiled, "You're taking this better than most. Most would have gone mad by now."

He shrugged, simply happy that he wasn't toiling away in a factory somewhere.

Not long after their landing. Layla guided him to a large temple hidden away from the rest of the population. Its innards were stone, with torches lighting the way. In the center of the room was a huge vat of blood, as well as seven mages in robes. Victor couldn't see any of their appearances, other than that he could decipher that two of them were women and the rest were men.

Layla held Victor's shoulders, for once looking quite nervous, "Let me speak to them first, alright, dear?"

He gave a stiff nod, hearing Layla call out, "Master Etrius!" Before she left.

After half an hour, Layla came back, "Alright, the deed is done. Now you just need to recite the oath, and all will be golden."

Victor shuddered, entering the chamber in his new suit and trench coat.

"Tremere neonate!" One of the councilors announced, "Recite the oath as it was handed down to you by Lord Layla!"

"I, Victor Madison, hereby swear my everlasting loyalty to House and Clan Tremere and all its members. I am of their blood, and they are of mine. We share our lives, our goals and our achievements. I shall obey those the House sees fit to name my superiors, and treat my inferiors with all the respect and care they earn for themselves.

"I will not deprive nor attempt to deprive any member of House and Clan Tremere of his magical power. To do so would be to act against the strength of our House. I will not slay nor attempt to slay any member of the House and Clan except in self-defense, or when a magus has been ruled outlaw by a properly constituted tribunal. If a magus has been ruled an outlaw, I shall bend all efforts to bring such magus to justice.

"I will abide by all decisions of the tribunals, and respectfully honor the wishes of the Inner Council of Seven and the wishes of my superiors. The tribunals shall be bound by the spirit of the Code of Tremere, as supplemented by the Peripheral Code and interpreted by a properly constituted body of magi. I have the right to appeal a decision to a higher tribunal, if they should agree to hear my case.

"I will not endanger House and Clan Tremere through my actions. Nor will I interfere with the affairs of mundanes in any way that brings ruin upon my House and Clan. I will not, when dealing with devils, or others, in any way bring danger to the clan, nor will I disturb the faeries in any way that should cause them to take their vengeance on the House and Clan. I also swear to uphold the values and goals of the Camarilla, and I will maintain the Masquerade. Insofar as these goals may conflict with my goals, I will not pursue my own ends in any way that would endanger the Masquerade. The strength of the House and Clan Tremere depends on the strength of the Masquerade.

"I will not use magic to scry upon members of the House and Clan Tremere, nor shall I use it to peer into their affairs. It is expressly forbidden.

"I will train only apprentices who will swear to this code, and should any of them turn against the House and Clan, I shall be the first to strike them down and bring them to justice. No apprentice of mine shall be called magus until he first swears to uphold the code. I shall treat my apprentices with the care and respect that they earn.

"I concede to my elders the right to take my apprentice should it be found that my apprentice is valuable to an elder's work. All are members of the House and Clan and valuable first to these precepts. I shall abide by the right of my superiors to make such decisions.

"I shall further the knowledge of the House and Clan and share with its members all that I find in my search for wisdom and power. No secrets are to be kept, or given, regarding the arts of magic, nor shall I keep secret the doings of others which might bring harm to the House and Clan.

"I demand that, should I break this oath, I should be cast out of the House and Clan. If I am cast out, I ask my brothers to find and slay me that my life may not continue in degradation and infamy.

"I recognize that the enemies of the House and Clan are my enemies, that the friends of the House and Clan are my friends, and that the allies of the House and Clan are my allies. Let us work as one and grow hale and strong.

"I hereby swear this oath on July seventh, nineteen-forty. Woe to they who try to tempt me to break this oath, and woe to me if I succumb to such temptation."

The councilor looked pleased as he nodded, "Very well. Now…take in the blood of the seven…to ensure your binding loyalty to our clan."

Victor looked at the vat in front of him. They meant _that_ , didn't they? He looked at his reflection in the blood uneasily. Vampiric blood seemed so much odder than human blood, yet, almost more sacred. It was almost as if the blood was calling out to him, tempting him with its sweet forbidden nectar. He got on his hands and knees and began to drink the blood, only until the councilor told him to stop. Now he was an official Tremere.

* * *

"Well, it's nice to be in the states once again." Layla said, "I mean, I'd like to go back to England, at some point…but that will have to wait until Churchill and the others finally get their game on."

Victor looked up at her curiously, "Where did you say you were taking me, exactly?"

"Ah, of course, welcome to New York." She smiled, "There's a lovely Chantry here that's going to take you in."

"Yes…yes of course…"

She opened the doors to a large red building, surrounded by gargoyle statues. "Maximillian Strauss, I believe?" Layla asked.

Strauss looked both annoyed and offended, "I am the Regent of this Chantry, you cannot just simply barge in whenever you please."

"Lord Layla. A pleasure to meet you."

Strauss's eyes shrunk behind his glasses, "You're a _Lord?_ "

"This is Victor Madison." She held a hand behind him, "He's one of us now."

Strauss crossed his arms, "It has been some time since I've last had an apprentice." He said, "You may go, Miss Layla." He said, "I appreciate your work for the organization. Give the other Lords and Councilors my regards."

"Yes sir." Layla smiled, "Behave you." Her eyes mischievously flickered at Victor, before she turned away and left.

Strauss smiled at Victor, "Welcome, neonate. I'm sure you have many questions as to your new life and how things will work out in the pyramid, and I will answer all that I am able. Welcome, to the Tremere Clan."

* * *

"No more…" Victor waved a hand out as he tried to sit up, "No more…"

He heard Jeanette's giggle, then felt someone patting his head. As his vision cleared, he looked up to see her sitting on the edge of the bed, "You're back."

He scuttled back away from her, standing up, "Well, that answered everything and nothing at the same time…"

She giggled again, "Every mind works differently, cupcake. Some see the future, some see the past. Some experience intense voices, others hardly respond to anything at all. Looks like you had a pretty bad case…guess it's good you're Tremere."

"It was as if you stuck a spoon in my very brain and stirred it for hours…" He said, "I haven't thought about any of those things in decades…"

"Sometimes I wish I could ignore things I wanted to. I could let them rot in the corner of my head and disintegrate. They always come up as dreams, nightmares, if they're angry enough."

"Certainly forgot about her…"

"Her…?" She leaned in, a grin on her face.

"Yes, well, I must be going." He said, "Send Therese my regards."

She looked saddened, "I will. Please do visit again. It's simply lovely seeing your face around here. Something so pure in a land so sinned…"

He snickered for a while, "I'm not sure how pure I am anymore…not with the monsters in my closet…"

"Oh…?" She cocked her head to the side, "You want to tell Jeanette about it? I'll listen…"

"I figure they'll release _themselves_ , in due time."

"Oh, I just _love_ being released…especially with a helping hand…"

"Yes…I wish you good fortune in that." He said, quickly slipping through the door and shutting it behind himself.

* * *

 **A/N:** The similarities between Layla and Venus are balanced on a pretty even scale…I wonder if it will ever be addressed…thanks for reading!


	72. Chapter 72

**A/N:** Here's chapter seventy-two! More involvement from the Clan Quests Mod in action, hope you like it!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs. There are also some flames in this chapter, if you're not a fan, feel free to skim over them. Also, the last scene for the most part is entirely from the mod, it's Kalliyan's Quest, and it doesn't belong to me.

* * *

Taking Santa Monica back from Remus's clutches was an amazing victory, one that stuck with Cadmus for a while. Although he merely provided the end goal, he knew that Phaedra caused the biggest upset by killing Ebony and switching the allegiance of Poe and Gottfried. Nevertheless things seemed to be looking up for the Camarilla.

"I see you're scuttling back to your red tower like the rat you are." He heard Remus's voice from behind him.

Cadmus raised a brow, "Yeah, and who's going to stop me? You?"

Remus clenched his fists in rage, "I would snap you in half like the insect you are, Ventrue!"

"That's not what happened last time. You lost Santa Monica."

He drew his sword, "You merely had more of an infantry presence. In a singular battle, I would be the victor."

He pulled his axe out, "Alright, let's see how that goes."

"I'm afraid we will not be seeing who is the better one-on-one combatant tonight, boy."

"Why is that? You running away?"

He heard a figure dismount from a streetlamp behind him, "Hello." Gideon's voice said.

He whirled around, "You?!"

Gideon immediately assaulted him with Lobotomy. As Cadmus fell to the ground in pain, Gideon showered him with more Dementation attacks, ensuring he was awake, but in constant pain. "The Archer's shadow is over you now. You and I will both be damned to know when it ends."

Cadmus's screams could be heard throughout the downtown area. Remus drew his sword, accessing Potence to give him shocks every one in a while as Gideon kept him still. "Remember this, well, you pompous excuse for a neonate. I was raised with the wolves. With vampires you will never see because they are so clever. Vampires you will never defeat because they are more potent beyond your wildest dreams. And vampires you will never _hope_ to encounter. This is your fate now, you will drown in madness, as all your Camarilla allies will. You will be destroyed, with your mind first, followed by your body…and your death with mark the beginning of the end…" He said, he could've gone on, but Cadmus didn't hear him as he lost consciousness.

* * *

The door flung open, Cadmus was soaked in blood and pieces of him were loped off, "Fleance…" He croaked, before falling face first on the floor.

Angelique set her glass of milk down before she ran over and scooped him up, "Cadmus?" She tried lifting him up more, then she just plopped him in a chair. She flipped the fridge open and grabbed a few blood packs, tearing them open with her teeth before she brought them to his mouth.

He sucked from the packs as soon as he was handed them, his grip was shaky on them, and there were tears of fear in his eyes.

She just kept giving them to him, "They didn't trail you, right? Whoever this was?"

He shook his head, "They wouldn't be stupid enough to set off the traps…"

"Okay…" She said, still looking worried. "Who?"

"The…the…LaSombra…" He said, in between his drinking.

"LaSombra…?" She asked, "Sabbat? Damn. They must be pissed about Santa Monica."

"…he…he was with that guy…Gideon…you remember him…" He said, looking overall healed, but still quite shaken up.

"Yeah, his Dementation is extremely powerful…" She looked worried, "He used it on you, didn't he?"

He nodded, "Remus beat me while I was stuck in lobotomy…it was the worst thing I've ever felt…"

She wrapped her arms around him, "You're here now. You're safe."

He pulled away from her, firstly to throw away all the plastic bags, then to pace. But it wasn't the usual soldier like pace that Cadmus always did, the one full of confidence. It was a paranoid bout of terror, "This chances everything…" He said, shuddering, "I can't leave here…I need to stay in the tower…"

There was a slight pause, "I could get blood for you. We should contact someone. A Primogen, or something, to get rid of them."

"It's not that easy." He said, "One of them is _Gideon_. And the other…" He sighed, "The other is still brushing the cobwebs out of his eyes. He's only just gotten started…"

"Then we'll get the Prince." She said, "You're freaking me out."

"We can't bother Strauss with this."

"I think we have all right to. You're what, the second Ventrue in the whole damn place who actually does shit? I think the L.A. Camarilla as a whole would take a hit if you just became a hermit."

"I don't care." He said, "Remus made it pretty clear what's going to happen to me if I…if I… _exist_ in California aside from this tower."

"Bullshit. I don't give a damn what he thinks or how old he is, he won't lay a finger on you again."

He raised a brow, "I know you haven't seen him yet…but…he's not exactly an easy opponent to defeat. All his Disciplines are powerful, yet balanced."

"We will get someone. Even if it's the Prince himself. You have to talk to him about this."

"It's fine. Miranda will just…pick up some of my slack…" He said, "She's been doing mostly guard work here anyway…"

She sat down, "I'll get you blood whenever you need it. But…you should still talk to someone."

He sat down in a chair at the table across from her. It seemed he was overcome by another fit of paranoia, or just, blatant fear. He buried his face in his hands, shaking.

"Cadmus…" Her eyes grew worried, "Let's just go to bed."

"They just…completely destroyed me…" He quivered, "It didn't matter how strong I was, how good I was in a fight…I couldn't move…they just…shut me down. I…I felt so useless…I couldn't do anything…how can I even look myself in the face?"

"I've felt like that before…I think we all have, at some point…"

"I didn't like it at all…" He clenched his hands into fists, "I want revenge…revenge on both of them…but…I'll never win…"

"Then go with someone else. Don't go at it alone. Bring Phaedra and like, the Tremere Primogen." He wilted on the table, burying his face into his arms. "Relax…" She said softly, standing up, "Let's go to bed and you can sleep on it."

He stood up, leading the way to the bedroom. His movements looked stilted and painful as he took his coats and the rest of his clothes off, like he was still reliving what had happened to him.

"You want me to like…give you a massage or something?"

He shook his head, sitting on the edge of the bed with that same, devastated look on his face.

She sat next to him, looking distressed. There was nothing she could do to make him feel any better. She felt like jumping from the window.

"This sucks…"

"Uh huh."

He whirled around to her and gave her a squeeze. Her eyes widened before she hugged him back, "I'm sorry I'm awful at comforting you…"

"You're not."

"But…you're still upset…"

"Well, that's because this isn't just something that's going to go away…"

"We'll figure something out. I know it."

"…uh…Fleance…?"

"Yeah?" Her cheeks turned a tad pink.

He rubbed the small of her back, though she could tell he wanted to go a little lower, "I need to feel like a man…please…can…can we…?"

Her cheeks turned a little red, "Uh…okay. Yeah." She took her jacket off and tossed it aside.

"We don't have to."

"No, I get it." She pulled her tee shirt off.

He leaned in and kissed her lips, squeezing her a bit occasionally as he deepened the kiss. She closed her eyes and leaned in until she was straddling him. "Thank you…thank you so much…"

She smiled before she started kissing him again, combing his hair out of his face with her fingers. She then reached back and took off her bra, tossing it aside. He groped her butt from behind, sighing as he kissed her back. The grip on her butt gradually became more and more unforgiving. She let out a quiet sigh before she pulled away. She stood up to take her boots and pants off, then quickly got back on top of him.

"I want to destroy you…"

"A little more…please…"

He adjusted her a bit so her boobs were right in his face. He started kissing them, or licking them occasionally, making sure to aim for the nipples. Her face lit up red at all the attention, she stiffened up around him too. It was like if she moved, she'd ruin it."You okay?" He stopped, "You've been…sort of jumpy all night. We don't have to do this…it's fine."

"No…n-no, not now…please…"

A sinister grin came onto his face, as he lifted a hand up and pressed a thumb against her nipple. She hissed, "M-Master…"

"Fuck…" He bit his lip, "I thought you forgot about that…" He slipped her panties off and then took off his own underwear, sending the blood through his system. He lowered her down a bit so he could kiss her, fondling with one of her boobs to increase his length, "When you're ready…beg for it…"

"I'm ready… _please_ , master…"

She then let out a satisfied sigh as he started thrusting into her, her hands gripped around his back as his tightly held her rear. But, it seemed she wanted more.

She smiled before she grabbed his shoulders and rolled them over, then bit her lip as he thrust down into her instead. The added pressure built up inside her like adding gasoline to a fire, so she reached her climax within minutes.

Once he was done pushing her, he kept fondling her breasts, sighing and doing his best to keep her in place. This was difficult, mostly because she found herself involuntarily squirming and clawing at him. Her frantic squirming amused him, as with how pleased she looked in the midst of her climax. This in turn made his orgasm that much more powerful as he went a little deeper.

His kisses to her were limited, as he knew she had to breathe after her screams. The panting came next too, after he pulled out. She gave a good push, rolling him over so she was on top, so she could effectively melt on top of him.

"Damn it…" He ruffled her hair, "I forgot to call you Fleance…"

"It's okay…" She smiled and kissed his lips, full of exhaustion.

"I…I really forget…how pretty you are sometimes…one day I think it'll break your pelvis…"

"I don't think so…I drink a lot of milk…"

He smiled, "I'll try not to bug you too much while I'm…holed up in here…maybe I'll give office work a try…or tower defense…"

"I'll get you whatever you need…"

"Thanks…I love you." He squeezed her.

"I love you too, Cadmus." She kissed his forehead.

* * *

"It is nice to see you again." Phaedra handed Gottfried a glass, "So what is it you've been up to?"

"Nothing too much." Gottfried said, "Just trying to get work done."

"Has the Prince given you any tasks?"

"Not yet, I just want to get a feel for the place."

"Of course, it is a good idea. You like your room?"

"It's nice."

"Wonderful." She sat next to Poe, leaving a little space, "It's nice to see you're both settling in."

They both gave silent nods in agreement, "We're still very grateful for your help." Gottfried said.

"Think nothing of it." She swatted a hand, taking a sip of her glass, "Has anyone given either of you any trouble?"

Gottfried looked at Poe, "Has Therese spoken to you?" Poe shook his head. "I've dealt with her and her sister far more than I would like to admit…"

"Have you?" Phaedra asked, "I hear they're the same person. It's her disorder, they say. One half of her allied with the Camarilla, the other lies loyal to the Anarchs…"

"Yes, I figured that out myself. Namely during the takeover."

"I do recall that." Phaedra sat back and crossed her legs, "No death threats? Nothing we need to take any action for, right?"

"I…don't think so."

"Well…that's a start." Phaedra said, "Therese isn't very fond of me either. But I've never had the luxury of meeting the other personality."

"I think they're both dangerous." He said, "Especially to me and you." He looked at Poe, "Don't ever go to Santa Monica unless you _really_ have to." Poe gave a timid nod.

"That bad?" Phaedra asked. "What, is the other armed to the teeth? I do hear the Anarchs are getting…creative, with their means of our destruction."

"It's not really that, she's just, the opposite of Therese." Gottfried said, "And that really isn't necessarily a good thing."

"The opposite of Therese…?" She sat back, "I'm envisioning a sweet little girl."

"More like a sexually repressed schoolgirl gone wrong."

"…really?"

He nodded, "I don't know what sort of game they want to play with me, but I'm pretty sure it's a trap."

"Perhaps I should have a word with her." She set her glass down.

"No." He said, "I refuse to put you in harm's way. You've done enough to help us. We'll just avoid the Malkavian Primogen at all costs. Both forms of her."

"Mmm…" Phaedra didn't seem content with that answer. "Very well. I hope she didn't insult you."

"No. No, of course not." He lied.

"Good…" She seemed relieved, "She'd have no room to talk, then." She let a weary sigh fill the air, "It's good Santa Monica is the furthest away."

"Exactly. It's too out of the way for our business anyway. So we won't be going there."

"Hopefully I can run into her in this tower…have a word with her." Phaedra muttered.

"It's fine, Phaedra. You don't have to do that." He said, "You don't have to put your neck out on the line for us anymore. We'll just stay away from her and that will be that."

"We'll see."

Once Gottfried finished his glass of blood, he stood up, "I'm going to see if the Prince needs assistance in any matters regarding upcoming battles."

"Of course. Thank you again for stopping by." Once he left, Phaedra smiled and looked up at Poe. "What about you?"

"What about me?" Poe asked.

"What's on your mind?"

"I'm not sure." He said, "Gottfried seems a lot more open to meeting the other members of the Camarilla. I hope it doesn't backfire on him."

"I don't think it will. He's careful enough."

"I hope so…" She scooted in and closed the distance between them, taking his hand in hers and playing with it. "What are you doing?"

"Looking at your palm lines."

"You believe in that?"

"I always have. I've followed superstition for a while now." She looked up at him and smiled, "It's never really lied yet."

"You don't believe in heaven or there being a place to go when we die…so why do you believe in this?"

"Because…it's more personal. I don't have to believe in God to believe in magic."

"I never said that."

"I just think heaven and hell are contrived to make little boys and girls act good. Like…what is it, the Tooth Fairy? Santa Claus?"

"There's only one way to find out if they actually exist."

"To die, you mean?" She asked, "Well, we're both dead. Does that answer your question?" She smirked.

"I was talking about Final Death."

"Hmm. That, I'm not so sure. I don't think I know a single Kindred that really would belong in heaven. I feel like this life forces the devil to come out in you."

"Maybe if you're a Baali…"

"We all have a Beast."

"Yes…and it can be overcome."

"True. Well, I suppose it's all subjective. I don't try to think about it. I focus on the simple things, the happier things, and try to keep living."

"Except for when you debate about palm lines with people."

"It's mere superstition." She smirked, tickling his palm, "Which entertains me, at the very least."

He moved his hand away, "You seem to switch being superstitious to being a skeptic at the drop of a hat."

She giggled, "I…I like to believe in superstition about life. Not death."

"Yes, of course."

She raised a brow, "You think I'm crazy."

"No."

"Alright." She met his gaze one last time before she took his band back and looked down at his palm, processing everything there.

"So…what's my fortune?"

"It doesn't say your fortune, exactly. It tells about your character, and well, a bit of your fortune, I suppose. I'm not sure the word for it. The likelihood that certain events will happen, if you will." She said, "Your life line, there." She gently pointed, "It's doubled. I've never seen that before." She looked up at him, "It means you have vitality. You have a strong sense of self-recovery. You can bounce back from hardships and illness."

"I think you're making most of this up to make me feel better."

"I'm not." She said, looking back down, "Your head line is curved. As I predicted. It likely curved a lot more when you were Embraced." She looked back up at him, "It means you're emotional, have an extremely vivid imagination, and innate artistic talent."

"How did my flesh move or change or even age when I was Embraced? I died."

"Our bodies undergo many changes during the Embrace."

"Yes. Supernatural changes. They don't age."

"Yes, that's right. Your palms can change as well. It's about blood flow and how we use our hands."

"Yes, of course."

She met his gaze again, before she looked down and continued, "Your heart line…" She pointed, "See how it ends there, between your index and middle finger?" She looked back up at him, "It shows you put great stock into true love. Finding 'the one', I suppose." She traced it with a fingernail, "It's curved upwards as well. I expected as much. You're good at using your words to display how you feel, to craft emotion for others. To express your love for a person or thing."

"I just feel like these words could be applied to anyone."

"You would be surprised. If the line was curved downwards, it indicates weakness. You wouldn't have the courage to face those you love, or speak to them. You would have trouble expressing any emotions. If the line was longer or shorter, that too would say something much different about your character. A shorter line means you are ruthless and self-centered, a longer one would indicate stubbornness and a good deal of hardships."

"Now you're just saying all of this to make me feel better…"

"No, it's what I see, and don't see." She looked back at his hand, opening it up a bit more to look closer, "The marriage lines." She pointed, "These tell a story. You have two." She looked up at him briefly, then pointed, "This one. You see how it curves down and touches the heart line? This represents Celia. When your marriage line is bent downwards steeply, especially when it touches the heart line, it means a great crisis, which usually ends with the death of your spouse. But…" She drew her fingernail over the other line, "This one. It's straight, long, and deep. That means your next marriage…it will be devoting and full of life. Wholesome and deep love."

"Wholesome and deep love, hmm? Who would that be with?"

She smirked, "Your palms don't tell me that much, dear."

"Oh, that's awfully convenient."

She giggled, brushing some hair out of her face before she continued, "I'll skip the fate line. That's more related to kine affairs, rather than ours. Your sun line…" She gently traced it, which did tickle a bit, "It shows you have great endurance, yet restraint. Great overall success in life, with whatever you pursue."

He squeezed her hand back once his was relatively freed, "I think I'm successful already."

"Is that so?" She held both his hands and smiled.

His response was a hug. It wasn't as warm as their last embrace, but it still was nice, feeling her comb her fingers through his hair, "Did you want me to look at the other hand…?"

"Does my other hand really have different information?"

"I'm not sure. I've always been told you only need to do one."

"By who?"

"Oh, an archeologist I met years ago. It can get terribly boring when it rains and the dig-site is closed. She was a ghoul, I believe, but never told me anything about her regnant."

"I see." He got cozy in her arms.

She laid back a bit, letting him get comfortable on top of her as she played with his hair. Her eyes trailed from his golden hair to his dazzling blue eyes, and then they just continued to travel all over his body, like they were learning every plane, edge, nook and cranny.

He closed his eyes and got cozier still. "We've started a wonderful tradition of sleeping on each other."

"Yes, I agree." She smiled before she kissed his cheek, "Who needs beds…?"

"I don't want to put too much strain on your back…"

"Nonsense. The couch is nice and comfortable." She rubbed her hands over his arms, "Sleep well."

"Are you sure? Do you want a pillow?"

"I'll be fine." She held his face, "Thank you very much, darling, but you don't have to worry about me so much. I'm not a china-doll."

"I didn't say you were."

"I know…I just don't want you to worry yourself to death…"

"That's physically impossible."

She chuckled and gave him another gentle hug, "Just sleep, Polonius."

"Will you be able to sleep laying like this?"

"Mmm hmm…"

He nodded, dozing off not long after she told him to. The nap turned into sleep for both of them, until Poe jolted awake when he nearly rolled off the couch. Lucky he caught himself. Her table looked a bit pointy.

He sat up to reposition himself, when she caught his eye. He was sure she was asleep. Her eyes were closed, tightly, too. Her jaw was clenched, and she was squirming, writhing, almost, like she was in pain. Her hands were clutched around her stomach and lower abdomen, as if she was holding her internal organs in place, lest they'd fall out all.

"Phaedra…" He looked nervous, gently holding her shoulders in an attempt to snap her out of it, "Phaedra."

Her eyes flickered open, he nearly forgot how intense they were, "Hmm?" She looked around, sitting up, "What's wrong?"

"You…you looked in pain…I think you were having a nightmare…"

"Is that so…?" She asked, sitting back, "I forget what it was about already. I didn't mean to wake you. What, was I talking?"

"No…you just…looked hurt."

"Hmm…odd. Well, I'm fine." She smiled and held his hand, "Don't fret. Did you want to sleep in the bed? I'll stay here."

"Sit up against a cushion."

She blinked a few times, taken back. Nonetheless, she didn't speak a word. She fluffed the cushion behind herself and sat up, as he directed. He loosely wrapped his arms around her, to provide her with a slight bit of warmth, if nothing else. Then he raised his hands near her shoulder and face, "Relax all the muscles in your upper body. Now."

Her eyes widened a tad as she smirked and took a deep breath, letting it loosen her shoulders. He reached out, one hand rubbed at her shoulders and the base of her neck, and the other gently massaged her jawline. Occasionally he would stop to give her a reassuring squeeze.

She closed her eyes and let out a few sighs, trying not to rest too much of her weight onto him as he gave his massage. He could feel any tense muscles start to unwind, as he could practically hear it in her voice, too.

"It's okay." He gave her a tighter hug, gently putting a hand on her stomach, "No one's going to hurt you."

She flinched when he touched her there, then relaxed again and held onto him, melting into his hug. "Apologies…"

"What's wrong?"

"It's just…a sensitive area…"

"I'm sorry."

"It's alright…" She closed her eyes, "When I was alive…I didn't want to have children…I knew I didn't have a choice and he would keep trying so…" She held onto his shoulders tightly, "I took a knife and tried to render myself infertile…I was on death's door when Pisha smelled the blood and found me…she told me how weak and idiotic I was before she gave her blood and sent me on a quest for a few items…when I came back alive, she decided I was good enough for the Embrace…it was the only way for me to escape him…"

He didn't say anything. For the longest time she waited for him to give some sort of a response, an acknowledgement, anything. But he just stayed wrapped around her. Perhaps it counted for something.

She combed her fingers through his hair and added, "I never forced a miscarriage or…aborted or anything…whenever I was pregnant, I wanted to have the child. I wanted to give them a chance…but he was a fisherman…so every meal I had to prepare consisted of fish…perhaps that's the reason I never had any…"

"I doubt they knew any better."

She shook her head in agreement, kissing his cheek, "Occasionally I still have nightmares."

"About…the damage done?"

"Yes…or…just about Panagiotakis and…his advances…"

He gave a slight nod, moving forward a bit to kiss her lips, "I wish there was something I could do to make them go away."

"I'm sure having you here will be enough." She rested her head in the crook of his neck, kissing him there, "They're not frequent…"

"Alright." He rubbed the back of her head, "Just remember that you have me."

She smiled and held his face, "Yes, I will…thank you, Polonius…"

* * *

Destroying Cadmus's hopes and valor in battle was a grand victory for Remus today. He would take down those Camarilla fools one by one. He figured now Cadmus wouldn't even want to show his face to his fellow cohorts. That's how Remus always fought. He preferred to destroy the soul first, and the body would follow soon after. And now that he was here, Lafayette's victory was assured.

It didn't hurt to be too cautious, however, as he heard news that the Kuei-Jin were deadly in their own right. Enough to stand their ground against the likes of a member as powerful as Cedric. So Remus decided he should sniff Chinatown around for a bit. See what the populace is like.

He was surprised to see a girl with short dark hair in a gray jacket and purple lips approach him. She gave an almost flirtatious smile, "You're new. Who are you?"

Remus raised a brow. Even if he was following the Camarilla's joke of a Masquerade for now, he still most likely looked alien. Namely his eyes and how he carried himself, "I'm just a mere traveler." He replied, "Or an old relic. Visiting Chinatown."

"Sadly, there isn't anything exciting aside from a dive bar for old drugs and a nightclub that missed its time about ten years too late." She scoffed, "Things have been tense lately. I don't know why, but I'm tired of walking on eggshells with other Kuei…um…denizens…of the city…" She said, eventually smiling, "What do you say we go have some fun?"

He was surprised at first. But maybe this promiscuous girl was going to be the key to something greater. He leaned a bit closer towards her, seeming to have no regards to personal space, "What…are…you…?" If him encroaching on her space wasn't unnerving, his voice deepening to that pitch was.

She backed away, making a face, "It's nothing. Never mind. Forget it."

"Your heart fails to beat just as mine does."

She rolled her eyes, "I'm Wan Kuei. Kuei-Jin, an Asian vampire, whatever you want to call it. But I'm supernatural, just like you."

He smiled, "And do you know what I am?" He asked, "Why…would you be caught dead anywhere with me?"

She shrugged, as if it didn't matter what he was, "Get to know me a little better, and it'll all start to make perfect sense. My…philosophy, is to understand the living as best that I can. Figuring out the rest of the undead is just the other side of the same coin. If I can safely spend a night with one of your kind, than I will be that much wiser."

Jumping straight into the tiger's jaws, she was. A complete daredevil. Remus didn't know how to feel about it, but he knew he was interested. "Am I the first western vampire that you've ever seen?"

"Yeah…" She sighed sarcastically, "It's because you're just _so_ special and magical to me. But seriously, you must not really be entrenched in this, since you just got here. I know you're not wasting time with politics like all the others are. So I'm hoping you won't just judge my offer by what's on the surface, and instead, just let go, and enjoy a night of dining and fucking with me."

He narrowed his eyes. This Kuei-Jin was a bit sharper than he had expected, especially for her age. She seemed young, maybe only a few years old as a Kuei-Jin, it was hard to tell. But she got one crucial fact wrong. She assumed because he just arrived at the city that he was a complete novice, even more so than her. Even though he was just in torpor. Meaning that if she pulled something it would be the last trick she'll ever do. "How do I know this isn't a trap? Won't your Kuei-Jin elders be tracking our every move?"

"Oh gee, I haven't really thought of that!" She said, again, laced with sarcasm, "Look, you aren't exactly Kuei-Jin material, clearly, but…I know our elders don't exactly play by the rules either. So it's fair game."

"Your elders are not honorable?"

"Well…Ming-Xiao wasn't." She said, "Jun seems quite content with following that corrupt bitch to her grave. All she did was cut deals under the table for your kind."

"And she is long since dead."

"Still…I think its fair game then to spend a night with you."

"Very well." He crossed his arms. All he had to do was court this woman and he could get infinite knowledge on the Kuei-Jin.

"Hell yeah! That's what I like to hear!"

"And what did you have in mind?" Of course, the next thing she said made Remus rethink this idea entirely.

"I heard Hollywood had some killer strip joints…"

His widened, Hollywood was mostly controlled by the Sabbat, so there would be no trouble there, but she wanted to do _what?_ "I suppose…you're…aware that women will be doing the dancing…most likely…correct?"

"The first thing you need to know about me, is that I'm into just about everything. If it fucks, then I'm willing to try it once, and maybe again, if it felt good."

What the hell did he just get himself into?

* * *

Remus knew nothing about Hollywood. Par for the course for someone waking up in torpor underground, but it still made them _finally_ picking a club all the bit more nerve-wracking. They eventually settled on one, called the Elbow Room. It immediately ticked Remus off. Something wasn't right, he recognized no one in the establishment, no Sabbat personnel, or ghouls, or anything. He couldn't sense a connection, and it irritated him, it irritated him quite a bit.

"I thought these clubs were Sabbat…" He fumed.

"Hmm?" The girl with the purple lips asked.

"Nothing…Archie just owes me an explanation, that's all…"

"Right…so…grab a couple of girls, enjoy a slow dance…and drain them fast. Sound like a plan?" She smiled.

"I think I may pass…honestly, don't you have any shame when you visit these…depressing hovels?"

"Of course not." She chuckled, "I like to grab life by the balls and twist it until it screams and shows me everything it's made of."

He didn't respond. He just blinked. If there was supposed to be an answer to that, Remus didn't know what it was.

"Here, let me pick up the tab for us. My treat."

"Very well." He nodded, though a simple Dominate would have done the job just as easily.

"Let me get a couple of girls. Meet me in the back, and we'll start out little party…"

He really didn't want to do this. Perhaps he could distract her with a topic change. Besides, he was curious, "And…feast on their blood…or…?"

"Duh…poke a couple of holes in their neck, and drink the blood."

"So you do drink blood."

She looked completely offended, and it showed in her tone, "What? You think I'm some kind of corpse, scrapping chih-mei?" When he didn't answer, (because he didn't know what the hell she was talking about) she raged on, "Ugh…it's Kuei-Jin for carnival whore. You think I'm some kind of carnival whore?"

"That depends."

She smiled, but he couldn't tell if it was genuine or if she was using it to cover something up, "I'm fucking with you." She laughed, "God…you're so gullible…" She said, once she calmed down, she explained, "Most Kuei-Jin, when they start the unlife, are mindless savages. They'll eat anything to get their chi fix, including flesh and bone. We call them chih-mei."

"So your energy is from chi?"

"No, it's from corn dogs and pig ears…" She rolled her eyes, "Yes, it's from chi. Most Kuei-Jin have the easiest time getting chi from blood. Starting out though, flesh is the only thing that comes naturally. And those of us who have really been around for a while can absorb chi from the breath of the living, straight out of the air. Or just simply absorb it. I don't understand it though…it seems…I don't know…impersonal…to me…"

"This chi…tell me more about it."

"It's like a soy sauce, but less spicy." She deadpanned, eventually saying, "But if you want a serious answer, chi is…intangible…it's the essence of life, the universe itself. Everything that's alive carries a sense of chi with it. It's what we crave, you and I. Because we don't have any of our own."

"I see…so you started off from flesh—"

"Pfft, I don't know! Aren't I just some undead rape victim? Don't. Ask. Me. That question." She snarled.

He seemed unfazed, "Another joke?"

She turned away and walked off, "Let's just get this started before I change my mind."

His eyes widened. So _that time_ she was serious? This Kuei-Jin girl was going to be the death of him. He looked around at all the scantily dressed dancers. He could ditch her now if he really wanted to, but he already learned more about the Kuei-Jin in ten minutes with her than for decades by himself. But if he was going to learn more, he was going to have to play by her rules first.

The girl with the purple lips paid two girls to dance for her, and Remus Dominated two girls to do the same. His companion seemed to having a good time, but Remus only watched the girls with his bored, animalistic eyes. When questioned about a specific pose or move they could do to make the experience better, he didn't respond.

His Kuei-Jin companion began drinking from one of them as the other three dancers left. And Remus figured that he may as well do the same, given that he spend a lot of blood Dominating them for free anyway. Both girls died as they were drained dry.

"Mmm…looks like we got…carried away." She said, licking her lips, "It was hard to let go. She was so fresh and spicy, and tasty. We should probably blow this joint before someone notices."

She may be perfect for the Sabbat. Or just a complete imbecile with a lack of control, Remus had yet to decide.

"Surely you'll feed the beast with such an endeavor."

"Oh, don't go soft on me now." She said, "Death is just part of the life cycle, and these humans were wasting their lives. Just as well they die now to serve our pleasure. Chances are they would get beat to death by some drunk pimp anyways."

If those were her logistics, then the club business throughout Los Angeles was doomed. "Very well…" He gave a bored sigh.

"Hey, it's okay." She said gently, "This never gets easier. You know what you need? A stiff drink. Let's get out of here." She smiled, "I'm ready for a little bar-hopping." She said in a sing-song manner, "Can we go somewhere to dance? I want to dance."

No, please no. "Come with me."

"Alright, let's do it."

* * *

He was lucky Confessions was so far away from the heart of downtown or else he would have gotten a retaliation strike for what he did to Cadmus. "I'm going to go get us some drinks." His associate said, walking over to the counter, "Bartender, I'm gonna need five shots of jack. And do you have a kitchen? Can I have a sampler plate of whatever you've got?"

The bartender looked up, "I can get you what I have in the back, which isn't much." Venus said as she strode to a room in the back, pouring a bag of chips out into a bowl. She strolled back in, behind the counter, setting it down for her. She then reached underneath and started preparing the shots, "All this for yourself?" She laid out five shot glasses and started pouring them in record time.

"No, I'm sharing it with him." She nodded back to where Remus was.

"Oh…" She peered over at Remus, "Right. Well, I'm here if you need me." She moved down just a tad, wiping the counters down, doing her best to eavesdrop.

"Thanks." She said once Venus was done preparing everything for them. She set the platter down at a nearby table, "You gotta take your shots with some crappy fried food, or it's not a night out." She said, already downing one.

"I…hate to point this out…but…"

"What?" She looked confused.

"Enjoy eating that all by yourself…"

"You mean blood really is the only thing you can eat?" She asked after swallowing a chip, "Huh…damn…you really did get all the hard knocks and unlife…"

"Oh, just hurry up and finish. I'm not sure whether the smell of those wretched scraps are disgusting me or reminding me of a time long since past…"

"Fine, whatever." She kept eating, "Man, I am going to get so wasted…"

"It will be such a pleasure to watch…" He deadpanned.

"My philosophy in life is simple. Enjoy life, embrace your passions, your pleasures. People make themselves so unhappy resisting the things that make them feel best…" She sighed, "I can't understand why…"

He paused. Was this young Kuei-Jin's _philosophy_ really getting to him that much? Was it really that simple? "Perhaps there is a certain charm to that. One that I may have lost. It's not something suitable to me, but I am content with knowing that you enjoy every moment of your existence to the fullest."

She gave a delighted laugh, downing another shot like it was second nature, "Finally, someone who gets it! You may think your elders are boring, but it's the same on my side of the mountain. Jun and Tsubasa are so stuffy and boring…I think they forgot how to enjoy themselves…like they forgot how it means to be human. Kuei-Jin largely agree that unlife actually kind of sucks, and that we need some kind of tangible experience to escape it. What we don't agree on is the best way to do it, so we all come up with neat little ways of how to achieve enlightenment, and we call it a Dharma."

"And the ending goal of this Dharma?" Remus asked.

"The way I see it, the only way we can understand what it means to be dead, it to understand what it means to be alive. So…I live each night like it's my last night. This is my path of unlife, my Dharma."

"Do others follow this path?"

She nodded, "We usually refer to that thing that the cool kids over there do. But if that's too long for you, the official title is, The Dance of the Thrashing Dragon. That's me."

That was interesting. The closest thing he could relate her 'Dharma' to was the Toreador clan. "Tell me about some other Dharmas."

"Ugh, they're all _terrible_. There's a Dharma that would prefer to suffer for all eternity rather than enjoy the life that's all around us. There's another path that would have us mope around, and study the dead! The dead! The chance to live again and they would waste their time on the dead!"

"I see." He said. So even the Kuei-Jin did not just all unanimously get along, much like the western vampires.

"So…I've wondered about Kindred…do you have some kind of similar path? Do you have a true purpose?"

"We have different clans. Separating us very much like different types of the same animal, such as mammals, reptiles, bird, etcetera."

"Hmm…so what's your clan's mantra?"

"I am a LaSombra. We are proud warriors of the night. He stalk in the shadows and kill those without mercy."

She bit her lip throughout most of his explanation, "I had a feeling it was something like that…" She then stood up once she finished all the food and the five shots, "Well, enough chit-chat. What do you say we show all those kids out there how to dance?"

"Lady Sybil would sob at such a display…"

"Who's she? An old girlfriend?"

He rolled his eyes.

"Look, it won't kill you…come on."

He stood up, deciding to play by her rules again, if nothing else to snag more information later on.

"Perfect. Let's go shake our asses off!"

Thankfully it lasted a little under an hour. She was much better at dancing than he. Remus didn't even know what he was doing most of the time, he just copied the other partyers to avoid embarrassing himself. Every time he got eye contact from her, he felt nervous, a pang hit his dead heart, and maybe if he were alive he would blush.

Of course, that was because the only life Remus knew before this was rising up in both the Camarilla and the Sabbat, only to have everything ruined right in front of him. He was not a social machine in the slightest, unless it was for the Jyhad.

"Hey, you mind if we move the party over to where it's quiet for a little bit?" She pulled him away from his thoughts, "I just met these two guys." She nodded back to two teenagers, "They seem cool, and…I think they might be able to hook us up…know what I'm saying?"

"Not in the slightest…"

She rolled her eyes, "I'm saying I think they have a little pot that they might want to share with us. One way or another."

"I'll excuse myself, then."

"Don't be such an uptight straight-edger…it'll be fun."

It was his turn to roll his eyes. She was going to keep throwing tantrums unless he followed her along. And if he kept following her along, she would carelessly keep spilling Kuei-Jin info. What would a little bit of pot do to him? Surely the great LaSombra can handle that. He waved a hand, "Quick, before I change my mind."

"Just be cool, follow my lead." She said, walking over to the two teenagers in the back of the club.

"So…uh…" One of them looked a Remus, while his Kuei-Jin friend was chatting with the other one, completely distracted, "You guys party, or what?"

Remus rolled his eyes, "You already gave me the marijuana." He waved a hand, as a blue glow came off it.

"Wicked man…you'll feel it pretty quick. Good stuff, am I right?" He said, hopelessly high, much like the other teen and the Kuei-Jin.

"Yes, yes, it's very wonderful…"

"So…uh…" He said after another puff of smoke, "You and that girl." He nodded to the Kuei-Jin, "You guys an item or what?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"You fucking?"

"…"

"Together?"

"I…" He froze, "What a wretched thing to assume…we are merely acquaintances…and nothing more. That is even an over statement."

"Alright, secret's safe with me." He winked, "I don't wanna be cock-blocking."

He rolled his eyes, starting to drink from the stoner, before he realized that he would get high from the man's blood, he then spit it out.

"Talk about a couple of winners." The Kuei-Jin said once the left the other two stoners, "Tasted like he had a bit of whiskey, definitely some beer. Import, I think…quite good taste, actually. Anyway…the buzz should kick in pretty soon, so…things should get interesting."

"Yes…how exciting…"

She chuckled, "Draining stoners is just the beginning. You really wanna get fucked up? Dry sucking the heroin from the veins of a messed-up drug dealer. Been there, done that." She said, "Actually hitting the bowl is just a wasted gesture at this point, but I always do it, for the sake of tradition. Anyways, I think it's time we moved on, don't you? I think this place has a good freak-show factor, but I wanna take it up a notch. I want to see the freakiest place in the city, maybe even find someone to take home with me tonight."

Seriously, _another_ club? He only knew of one more. This better pay off.

Sadly, their exit was interrupted by a small batch of hunters, "There's the wretched spawn of Satan! The ones who left those girls in the club for dead! Kill them at once!"

"Jeez…hunters…they never learn." The Kuei-Jin said, "Let's send them to meet their fabled 'god'…"

Remus smirked in agreement. She drew out a pistol and started firing. Remus on the other hand coated himself in shadow, figuring using Potence as well would be a waste of time with these small-fry hunters. He slashed them to ribbons, killing them in two to three slashes each.

"Holy shit…" Her jaw dropped, as Remus's shadowy power faded.

He smiled, "Let us venture to Santa Monica…"

* * *

The pains of his defeat were rubbed with salt as the Asylum greeted him. Remus was very careful to keep a low profile in this place, considering that he was practically returning to the scene of the crime.

"Okay, so I was thinking…" She said, "This time, we try our best pickup lines on a bunch of boys and girls to join our party, then meet up later."

"Couldn't we just be our own companions?" Remus asked.

"Aw…sweet…sweet…Kindred…I forgot, you're right. I can hear the bells already, should we have salmon, or chicken at the wedding?" She said, without missing a beat she added, "Oh wait, that's right, you can't eat. Guess we'll have to fight over blood types instead…"

He felt burned by her sarcasm, she may have been considerably younger and less experienced than him, but, it brought out a sort of longing for her, how carefree and snappy she was. This plot to get information out of her had slowly turned into something more, "I'm sure the lord of shadows will fulfill you much more than any of these barfly degenerates could ever hope for."

"Oh…" Her eyes widened, "Let's…see how things go. You're sweet…but, I'll be honest for once, I don't want to hurt you."

"Very well, let us continue out…proceedings…"

"Cool, grab the hottest date you can find and come meet me on the second floor."

As usual, while his Kuei-Jin ally most likely seduced her plus one, Remus simply Dominated his. He made it to the second floor with no problem.

"Not bad, not bad." She smiled, "They'll taste pretty good, I think. I might just get a shot or two from the bartender…"

He was utterly shocked at this point. She already had _five_ at Confession, how many more did she need?

"Ugh…" She said as they were leaving, "That was a regrettable choice for a victim. That boy tasted like old socks and paint chips. I think he had been drinking coffee all day, not the bourgeoisie gourmet stuff either. The mass-produced crap that tastes like piss."

"I suppose he'll think it over on the other side…now…"

"Oh, I'm sorry I put your close personal friend in the hospital…" She frowned, "I didn't realize you were pals. You should know, before you make a mess, bleeding your heart out, he told me that he burglarizes apartments for a living. Come on, I'm practically doing this city a favor. This place is watched by Kindred, isn't it? I thought they would do a better job keeping trash like that out."

"This city is run by a weak, and pathetic Malkavian wretch." He spat, "I was _this close_ to turning her and her allies into ash." He said, "If this were my city, I would have fools like that boy you killed Embraced into the Sabbat as a foot soldier."

"Positively dark…" She cackled, "So this…Malkavian lady…she has leadership in the court? Part of your Wu?" She asked, "I'm…sorry, none of these words mean anything to you…"

"Please, explain."

"The Wu is like…okay…so…imagine you die…you come back, you get taken in by this secret society, and then you find a few others. Usually it's three or four others, who you see eye-to-eye with, and you form a sort of posse. One that sticks together for the next hundred years or so. It's kind of like joining a new family in the afterlife, except hand-picking your siblings."

"What is the goal of a Wu?"

"Circle jokes, mostly circle jokes."

"…yes…of course…"

"Seriously though, it's like how any family would work. We're there to get each other's backs. To keep us company over the next century, or millennium. Occasionally, the court will pass down orders to a Wu and we'll have to carry them out. But generally, we do our own thing."

"And what is a court?"

"It's…a little complicated…all the Wu in a certain area tend to stick together, with a certain leader, an elder, who keeps the shit together. Just a way to stay organized, I guess. L.A. for instance we have our court in Chinatown, previously led by our dear, dear, two-faced Ming-Xiao, and now by her bedtime hero, Jun Oshiro. Your people have a similar arrangement, don't they?"

"Not…exactly…" He said, "There is a Camarilla, which tries to maintain all the laws and order of all the Cainites…but they're a bunch of fools…and the Anarchs…searching for their fictitious freedom…the fires of hell for all of them. They will both die…"

"Interesting…you are all at each other's throats, just like Jun says. I heard through the grapevine that LaCroix was just as popular as Ming-Xiao. So it's a good thing you don't follow that Camarilla. What is…your group anyway?"

"At the moment, I'm alone." He said. Telling her about the Sabbat would be a foolish mistake, and one that would trace him to Lafayette. It would not be well-received news if they found out he spent _this_ _much_ time with a Kuei-Jin girl.

"Aw…" She said, looking ahead, "I think I'm finally ready to wind down for the night. Know any places we can mellow out?"

"You mean a live volcano or something of the like?"

"No, no, I'm being serious this time." She said, "We all need some balance, even me."

"Very well, I'm quite sure that there's a pier nearby. We'll go there."

* * *

"What a great idea…" She sighed, "The ocean is so beautiful."

Remus nodded. He was told that LaSombra were always tied to the sea, perhaps that's why he was feeling so nostalgic at the moment. This night with this Kuei-Jin girl really went much further than he had expected. He had to be vulnerable around her, pretend that he was following her along. Did he like that? He honestly didn't know how to feel about this girl.

"Not a bad way to end the night." She said.

"So…" He sighed, "How were you…well…I shouldn't say Embrace…should I? What's your story…I'll ask?"

"Me? I…uh…" She suddenly went very meek, "You really don't want to know…do you…? Really…I…I don't want to bore you…"

"Go ahead." He smiled, for the first time of the night this one seemed genuine.

"Well…the first thing you should know is that I wasn't always a woman…my name hasn't always been Kalliyan, either."

He looked completely floored, "I…I've never heard of…such a phenomenon…"

"Nobody decides who gets a second chance, it just happens. In some cases, you don't even get to choice how you come back. In my case, I used to be a man, named Kai. This…what you see now…was his girlfriend when we both died…"

"You…became your lover…how…?"

"Who knows? The universe as a cruel sense of humor, I guess. When the troubled spirit wills it, you come back, to fulfill whatever karmic balance you upset when you were alive. Sometimes the universe wills that you are to experience the Second Breath from a new perspective."

"Did…did you both perish at once?"

She nodded, "Overdose. Heroin. Kalliyan got me into some pretty hard shit, when I was still so young. She was a little bit older, and she was my first." She gave a pained smile, "She had me wrapped around her little finger…I was so dazzled by the sex…everything seemed so new and fresh. It was easy for her to bend me anyway she wanted…"

"When did this happen?"

"I was nineteen, we met in university." She said, "We got a batch that wasn't from our usual hookup, stuff must have been too pure, or laced with something nasty. But after we shot up, we were both on the floor. It wasn't until I had come to my senses, days later after I had eaten what was left of my own corpse, that I realized who I was and what had happened. It wasn't until then that I realized that I was a chih-mei and I had gotten a grip on things. It's a miracle I made it to where I am today."

He nodded, in stunned silence for a while, "A symbolic tale…one that has shaken me to my dark core…"

"When I was introduced into Kuei-Jin society…they introduced all these different Dharmas to me, but the Dance of the Thrashing Dragons really struck a chord with me. This…love for life and experience really sits well with me, I think. My purpose…is to revel in all the things I missed out on, dying so young. And help others through life so they don't end up in the same way. It's just a sick irony that I have to do it with the body that led me astray in the first place."

He took another deep sigh as he watched the waves cascade over one another, "I'm not really a novice at this…"

"Huh? You're not?"

"I'm…I'm nearly a century old…give or take…in Ancilla territory. I was in torpor…asleep…that's why you've never seen my before…"

She blinked a few times in surprise.

He held a hand out, "Remus Stone. I thought after you were so forthcoming with me…that I should return the favor. I was in a dark place ever since I had awoken, much like a grogginess that wouldn't go away. But you've shown me that there's still hope, even with everything in my past life destroyed. Please…I want you to join in me in taking out the Camarilla and the Anarchs…"

She slowly shook his hand, "Thanks…Remus…but…I…I'm not sure…I mean…Jun and Tsubasa…would surely notice…that I was with a Kindred…"

"…a shame…then…we are a formidable pair of warriors…I could assist you so much in your training…even though we are different species…"

"Hey!" Someone shouted, as a pair of Kindred confronted them on the pier, "It's that stupid LaSombra who thought he could take Santa Monica from us!"

"Yeah! Long live Prince Strauss's rule!" The other said, "What the fuck are you doing with a Kuei-Jin? Be useful to us, you pathetic Sabbat scrap, and take her out!"

Kalliyan swallowed hard, knowing that species trumped all else in these matters.

The high-pitched screaming of children in distress could be heard as Remus donned his Obtenebration, followed by her Potence, "Why don't we have one last dance together?" He smiled at Kalliyan.

Kalliyan looked confused, until Remus shredded the first Camarilla member to ash in moments. Kalliyan pulled her pistol out, shooting away and dealing with the second one.

"Thanks for sticking up for me." Kalliyan smiled, as Remus's Disciplines faded, "I know you didn't have to do that." She said, then she looked worried, "I think we both _really_ have to get out of here though…"

"You should come with me. I'll keep you safe at my haven."

"Really…really? _This_ many drugs in my system, and that's how you're going to ask me back to your place? You know I wasn't reborn yesterday, I've seen the way you've been checking me out since we met at Chinatown."

"I also want to keep you safe."

She sighed, "Well, I guess the old knight approach does suit you. Oh well, let's see who ends up on top." She said, grabbing his hand and more or less pulling him along.

She was awestruck when she saw his haven. It was richly decorated in black and gold, and quite far away from the California hotspots. "This place looks like an old castle from the sixteen-hundreds…so you must have decorated it yourself…" She said, turning to face him, "I'm not going to lie. I've been dying to try this for a while now, see if the big old Kindred live up to their reputation, I mean." She began to unbutton her jacket, pressing her delicious purple lips up against his.

* * *

 **A/N:** Who knew Remus had it in him? Thanks for reading!


	73. Chapter 73

**A/N:** Here's chapter seventy-three! A taste of paranoia, fire, and the return of an… _interesting_ pair. Enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs.

* * *

Whoever hit him in the back collided with enough force to knock themselves back. He didn't hear a person fall over, but when he turned, he saw them standing there, looking slightly disheveled, a phone on the ground, as well as a massive pile of papers that had now scattered all across the ground.

And of course, it was Therese.

"You'll have to forgive me." She stepped back. She seemed nervous of him, almost scared, "I didn't mean to—You're alright, yes? I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going."

He got to her level and helped retrieve the papers that had fallen, "I didn't expect to run into you here. Was there a meeting?"

"Yes, there was…ah—watch your—!" Her shoulder flinched as a crunch was heard, "…step."

When he moved his foot away, he saw nothing but a few pieces of paper he had accidentally stepped on. She kneeled down and lifted them up. Underneath were her glasses, shattered beyond repair.

She continued picking up the papers, speaking before he could get a word in, "Don't worry about them. I have an extra pair in my apartment." She stood up after the papers were in order, or at least in her arms. Her face looked more like Jeanette's without the glasses, but, much less flashy. Her eyes still met his, and something about them still seemed condescending, no matter what she said, "I heard you spoke to my sister." A light pause clung to the air, "I'd like to apologize."

He looked at her, surprised, and half-expecting her to end him in one hand motion of insanity because he broke her glasses.

"When you mentioned you were there to see Jeanette…I was offended. Recently, her…'suitors' haven't been pigheaded enough to confront _me_ and ask for her, since we've reconciled a few months back. When you asked for her, I assumed she was relapsing into her former ways…but it doesn't appear to be that way. My judgement of your character was hasty, at best. I apologize." She then reached down to grab her phone and tuck it into her pocket, "Perhaps…we could consider this, 'even'. You were simply following orders."

"That, or a rogue email." He said, "I lost my temper with her. Or…she lost my temper with me, I'm quite unsure to be honest."

"Yes, her temper's shorter than most of her skirts." She muttered, "She told me how simply infuriating you were. It piqued my interest." She said, before she looked back up at him. "I've never been an avid supporter for second chances. But, I suppose I would have to be a fool not to see that you are deserving of one."

"That's for you to decide."

"I've made my decision. Second, decision, I suppose." She corrected, "Again, I'd like to apologize for anything she's said to you. It seems the dementia of my bloodline…skipped a generation, and landed twice as heavy on her."

He narrowed his eyes, "Water under the bridge."

She stood back a bit, maybe in attempt to make herself look taller. For some reason, she did look taller than Jeanette. Were they really twins?

No. Then he saw her heels. They were much taller than Jeanette's. "Yes…I'll look forward to working with you in the future. Though I'm doubtful we'll see each other, perhaps you'll be assigned a job near Santa Monica in the future, in which case, you're more than welcome to stop by. I would gladly offer blood, if you needed them." She then clarified, "A ghoul of mine runs the blood bank there."

"How convenient."

"Yes…" She shifted the weight of the papers to the other arm, "Perhaps you'd be interested in…accompanying me there."

"To Santa Monica?"

"Yes. Hopefully."

"Very well."

"A prudent choice." She turned and started walking back down the stairwell, reaching to adjust her glasses before she forgot they weren't there. "What generation are you?"

"I'm not entirely sure." He said, "My sire and I have never exchanged a word with each other."

"Really?" She seemed quite surprised, "How unfortunate. That would pester me to no end. Ambiguity."

"Given where I am in the grand scheme of things, it doesn't bother me much…"

"So you were technically left Caitiff."

"No. I was told about my clan and what it could and could not do."

"Ah. But…not by your sire."

"By Poe's sire. The Ishtarri."

"Ah. That makes sense then. You weren't entirely abandoned." She said, "My sire attempted to disappear, but I tracked him down. I needed answers. I wasn't going to risk being clueless. I'm sure that's half the reason I'm here today."

"That's awfully ambitious of you."

She gave a staccato dry chuckle, before they exited the building. A light rain landed on them, which seemed to disgust her. She scurried forward until a taxi rolled up and she opened the door for him.

"After you."

She paused briefly before she entered. Whether or not it was because of the rain was hard to tell. As soon as the door shut, she looked in the mirror to see the taxi driver's face, "Santa Monica. Red tower tab."

"Of course." He said as he started driving.

She sat back and looked over towards Gottfried. "You were quite loyal to your ally. Polonius? Hopefully you won't have trouble taking orders from anyone else."

"I think I'll do just fine."

She watched him like some kind of curious animal before she looked away, perhaps feigning innocence as she looked out the windows. Tiny little drops splashed against the glass, leaving thin, inconsistent lines. "I didn't mean to ask much of you." She said after an awkward silence. "I just need an escort there. And brief surveillance around the place. Jeanette calls it paranoia but I call it precaution. You never know when they'll be back. They've made it clear they want my city. I need to make it clear that they can't have it."

"And my company makes you feel better?" He asked, "You're ten times more powerful than me."

She chuckled modestly, "My age helps, I suppose. But, you're much more physically adept. If I were to be infiltrated by a leader with age and power that conquers my own, I would need someone else there. I would easily be killed. I've been threatened before by a member of my clan who has access to certain variants of our discipline that…" She paused, "I would not like to relive."

"You must be talking about Gideon."

"Yes. That…that was him." She shifted uncomfortably. "He could be hiding there. He could be there all night, with his powers in Obfuscate. I'm thankful I don't sleep there. It worries me enough, knowing Jeanette does. I don't want to go to the Asylum one night and find her in a pool of her own blood because Gideon struck in the middle of the night."

"But your Auspex can see through Obfuscate."

"Well…I…" He wasn't one to usually notice when someone was embarrassed, but in this case, it was nearly impossible _not_ to notice. "It's not like I can use it all night. Eventually I would run out of blood." She saved herself, "If he stayed in the same position, however, he could stay as long as he liked."

"I suppose." He said, "Though I don't know how much help I would be. He could kill both of us, one after the other. The Sabbat want me dead just as much as they want you. Probably more."

"Well…having you there will be nice enough." She said softly, "Extra security is never hurtful."

"If it isn't Gideon, I suppose."

Another silence filled the car. It was tense, nonetheless, with each of them occasionally exchanging looks at each other, but never at the same time. Therese finally asked, "Where were you from? Before you came to California?"

"Colorado."

"Oh, I see…I've never been there. I don't think, at least. I don't remember much from when I was alive. Jeanette does…the strangest things, she holds onto. And when I ask her something important, it's completely forgotten."

"Mmm-hmm."

She looked over at him and narrowed her eyes, "I'm sorry, am I boring you?"

"I didn't say that."

She sighed and looked back out the window. "Forgive me, then." He didn't respond, he merely just waited until the taxi came to a screeching halt in front of the Asylum.

She stepped out, cautiously crossing the street and waiting for him to get out. The way she looked around reminded him of some kind of deer that had just heard a gunshot. Once he shut the door, she reached for his arm and nearly yanked him inside the building.

It was closed, it appeared. She immediately flicked the lights on and looked around, still holding his arm like some sort of good luck charm. The entire place was dead silent.

"I didn't know this place closed down at night." Gottfried said.

"I ask Jeanette to close it if she's out of town. Especially with the risk of the Sabbat." She said softly, as to not disrupt the silence. She slowly walked forwards, her heels clicking almost hypnotically, echoing throughout the place. "I wish it could stay this quiet all the time." She rubbed one of her temples, "Why didn't I just open a library…?"

"It would probably suit you."

She gave a small smile, then walked forward and took his sleeve again, pulling him with her over to the counter. She reached behind it and fumbled for a button, it seemed, before she then pulled him over to the elevator and pressed the button. The doors opened and she pulled him inside, too. The elevator actually jerked, hesitating before it went up.

"You know…you don't have to…drag me…all over…"

She looked down at her hand, like she didn't even notice she was doing it. She just let go of him and said nothing.

The doors slid open and they stepped out. But she looked back at him, watching him intensely. It seemed if she couldn't physically pull him along, she needed to make sure he was still there at all times.

"Alright, now what?" He crossed his arms.

After peering around the foyer, she opened the bedroom door and waited for him to come in before she flicked the lights on and looked around. Her shoulders seemed to relax. "It seems safe…" She approached her windows and checked to make sure they were locked.

He watched her as she looked around, almost feeling sorry for her. The fact that she asked him meant that she most likely didn't have many other allies in the Camarilla, due to her paranoia and her clan ties. And she did look genuinely worried. Maybe this wasn't a trap after all.

Her eyes flashed red as she looked around the room one last time, then their color relinquished and she faced him again, "Is there anything I can get you for your troubles?"

"No, it's alright. I'm just assisting one of my elders."

She gave a little smile, "Yes. Thank you for…understanding that. Well, I'll…go get the club set up. You're more than welcome to stay or go as you please. Thank you again for the help. It was…a weaker moment of mine. I appreciate your respect and cooperation."

"Of course. If you ever need help in the future, I'll be there."

* * *

"Yo. Nines." Damsel came hopping up the stairs, "You got the address and shit for Cash?"

"Yeah." He reached in his back pocket, extending a little folded piece of paper. "Here."

"Thanks." She reached forward and snatched it up, then skipped back off and downstairs to give the ghoul the information.

"Kinda nice that people are coming outta state. Little too late, but…whatever…" Skelter muttered.

"Better now than never." Killian said.

"But…wasn't that person…a person?" Cissy asked, "Human?"

"He was a ghoul. Cash's ghoul. Ghouls can get shit done just as well as we can. Er…almost as well, I should say. There are limitations." Nines said.

"They can go out in the daylight." Skelter said, "Which ain't bad."

"Usually that's when they're asleep anyway."

"Okay, wait, so…who is this Cash guy? Everyone's talking like he's some kind of god." Cissy said.

"He's not a god." Nines said, "He just does a lot of shit for us. But he's a bit…scatterbrained. He's never in one state for too long. He gets distracted."

"Distracted, huh?" Skelter looked over at Nines, "There's a reason he's called Cash."

"Yeah…that too…" Nines muttered, "He always works where the pay's the best."

"So how much money did we fork over to this asshole?" Cissy asked.

"None. He's a friend, he stops by and helps out for free. Well, he rarely stops by. He gets his ghoul to."

"That pisses me off for some reason…" Cissy muttered.

"You know, Serpentis could just make this a lot easier." Sirius said listlessly from where he was sitting.

"How?" Killian asked, sitting across from him, which he started doing fairly recently.

"I hold up my hand, say 'give me all of your shit'. Green stuff comes out of my hand, and the human does what I order. Of course…this guy's giving it to us for free anyway…how old is Cash anyway?"

Nines narrowed his eyes in thought, "A few years younger than I am, I think. Still grew up in the Depression, but I think he was Embraced later."

"I mean, I guess the convenience with ghouls is just…less blood." Killian said, "You wouldn't have to waste blood every time you need someone to do something. Just a once a month kinda thing. I still think it's creepy as fuck."

"Oh, that reminds me." Sirius said, "The Camarilla got two new Kindred. Three, if you count the hunter who was Embraced during the Phantom's Mask. And the other two lived through World War Two and the Depression, just like we did." He looked at Nines.

"So they're not newbies." He muttered to himself, "Shit."

"Do you know anything about them?" Catalina looked at Sirius.

Sirius gave a shrug, "Part of the Laibon, I think."

"The what?" Anastasia asked.

"African Clans."

"African Clans…?" Cissy asked, "So like…clans differ in different countries…? Is that like, the Kuei-Jin?"

"Very different." Nines said.

Cissy blinked a few times, then pointed at Skelter, "So are you…are you that?"

Skelter's brow fell, "The hell is that supposed to mean?"

"God, no…Jesus…" Sirius said, "Not all black people are part of the Laibon, not all the European clans are automatically white. Not all Kuei-Jin are Asian. And not all Kindred are non-Asian."

She blinked a few times, "I'm still confused…"

"Look, it doesn't matter." Nines said, "These two new Cams are different. They have discipline combinations we've probably never dealt with before."

"Oh, great…" Killian muttered, "You know of any?"

He shook his head, "I know a few clans, but I don't know what they're capable of."

"It could be worse, at least they'll have Disciplines we'll know, right?" Sirius asked, "Not like that Kuei-Jin fucker. Jeez…can make fire and shit whenever he wants…"

"I mean…if I were trying to take out Kindred, and there was a power like that, I'd go for it too." Catalina said.

"I got an aching feeling that the Kuei-Jin are gonna stop by and kick our asses in, Nines." Skelter said.

"We can't worry about them. Our priority now is the damn spy. Or…spies. Anyone crack anything?" Nines looked around.

Sirius looked at Catalina, "Well?"

"What?" She asked, " _I'm_ not the only one responsible for finding this spy…"

"I mean, you do have Auspex."

She rolled her eyes, "You're that set on the fact that it's a Nosferatu?"

"Who else would know our plan _so well_ , that they'd perfectly counter it the second it happened?"

"Well, I haven't seen anything. I've been scanning the place with Auspex for days, and nothing."

Nines was oddly quiet, turning his head to look out the window. There must have been something else on his mind.

"It's gotta be the ghouls then." Skelter said, "Unless it's someone in here."

"It's not." Nines said.

"One a' these days your fuckin' naivety will crack."

"No one in here would have any reason to do something like that. You're too paranoid. I'd trust everyone in here with my life. If you can't do the same…it's a damn shame."

Skelter sighed through his nose, "Could be the ghouls." He muttered.

"'Could be the ghouls', he says, as a ghoul comes in, takes information, and runs." Cissy said. "No wonder we're losing information. Do we give it out to everyone?"

"It's not like that." Nines said.

"If you're not talking face to face, how are you supposed to tell?" She asked, "It's like sending a text with your address. You don't know who the hell you just sent that to. Who you just invited inside."

"Besides, sometimes ghouls can get a little screwy, balancing the World of Darkness and a blood bond and…their normal lives. They can do shit like that out of fear." Killian chimed in.

"We can't just cut them out entirely." Skelter said, "They're still helpful to us."

"Extremely." Nines said, "Besides, that's what Damsel's for. She's the Denmother. She welcomes all the ghouls, gives them something to eat, talks to them. Makes them welcome. There would be no reason for them to be scared or confused."

"We shouldn't let this paranoia have us turn on each other." Anastasia said.

"You're right." Nines said. "It'll all work out."

Damsel came running up the stairs, "I'm here." She said breathlessly.

"Good." Nines turned to her, "You get the order in?"

"Uh huh."

"Order?" Killian asked, "More tranq guns?"

"No." Damsel said, "They got us figured out with those. We needed to mix things up."

"Mix things up?" He asked.

"We can't talk here." Nines interrupted. "I don't want to be heard."

"Then what do we do?"

Nines paused, "Catalina, you think you can rig something with Quietus?"

"You mean the entire room?" She swallowed hard, "I'll…I'll try. Usually it's hard to do an area larger than just…my body…"

"I can get you some blood." Damsel said before she rushed off, coming back with a handful of blood bags.

She gave a quick nod of thanks, taking a deep breath and glowing a faint shade of red, nodding at Nines to continue.

"Dragon's breath." He said, "Anyone heard of it?"

"Flamethrowers?" Killian's eyes grew wide.

"Not…that deadly." Nines snickered, "Shoots phosphorus."

"The hell is that?" He asked.

"Burns like hell." Damsel said, "It's…kinda like the end of a cigarette. It can't really catch us on fire, but it'll burn right through us. The wounds take twice as long to heal, and are a ton deeper than just a normal shotgun."

"How many?" Nines asked.

"I got us two." She said, "The ammo was another problem. There isn't gonna be much. If we're gonna use these things, we gotta fucking use them good."

"And we're planning on taking out the Tremere fledglings with those?" Sirius asked.

"Anyone who gets in our way." He said firmly.

"There's only two." Damsel clarified, "I'm taking one. That means the other one is up for grabs. You gotta talk to me first. They'll be here in like, a week."

"And we are not using them on Kuei-Jin." Nines said, "Waste of ammo."

"They don't take fire as well as we do?" Sirius asked.

"They're not as weak to fire as we are." Damsel said, "It hurts them. Probably the same as it'd hurt a human, or less."

"Jeez…didn't know that."

"You can put Quietus down." Nines said to Catalina.

Catalina nodded, releasing her focus and the glow around her faded.

"That's it?" Sirius asked, "Alright…guess it's a simple game plan."

"For now." Damsel said, "Until we get this assclown of a spy."

"I'll keep doing what I can." Catalina said, "I promise."

"Thank you." Nines said, "That's the best chance we'll get as of now. Anyone else has any down time, you're tracking this guy down."

"Alright, we'll do what we can." Sirius said, "Though Catalina has a better chance."

"Right. Alright, I'm heading home."

"Lemme pack my stuff up." Damsel said as she went downstairs.

* * *

His sleep was restful, almost too much so. Remus got up and prepared for the night quickly. He needed to continue spreading the Sabbat presence throughout the town.

And then it all hit him. Like a truck, the events from last night. He couldn't believe that all of those events could happen in a single night. If felt unreal, like a dream, did it actually happen? Kalliyan wasn't here, even though he figured that she spent the night after, well.

He couldn't believe he slept with a Kuei-Jin, a Kuei-Jin of all things. He wondered what Lucius would think if he knew that Remus's lover was a Kuei-Jin.

The only answer as to her disappearance that he found was a note on his nightstand. _"Thanks for a fun night! Follow your gut and remember, don't trust any of the other snakes in Chinatown!"_ This was signed with Kalliyan's name as well as a purple lip print from her.

Remus clenched the note and put it down. This was not going to end here. It was time for Remus to build himself an army.

So he immediately went to Chinatown in an effort to seek her out again, and once he did, she looked quite surprised. "What are you doing here?" She whispered through clenched teeth, "If any other Kuei-Jin sees you, they'll—"

"I'm not a man for one night stands." He said, "When I make connections with other vampires in the Jyhad, they're for life. That extends to the eastern vampires as well."

"So…you want to go out…or…?"

"Of course, but I also require assistance." He said, "I want to rid this city of the Camarilla and the Anarchs, and I believe that you can help me."

"You want me to help you with that? Seriously?" Her eyes widened, "How much of a difference are two vampires going to make?"

"It will be much larger than two…very soon…"

"Uh…look…I don't know about this…" She frowned, "What would be the difference between working with you than working with Jun and Tsubasa? I don't want to be bossed around to do work I don't even know the half off. That is not who I am." She put her hands on her hips, "It conflicts with who I am. It conflicts with my very Dharma itself!"

"Oh, but it won't be like working with Jun and Tsubasa at all." He began to pace around her, "We are lovers in a sense, are we not? Surely that would make us equal partners. With equal goals and equal needs. I will crush the opposition of this city and rule it with an iron fist, and I'll make sure you have your fill of fried food, and alcohol, and…whatever else it is that you like. I will not treat you as they have."

She still didn't look convinced, "Has a Kindred and a Kuei-Jin ever worked together before…in the history of…ever?"

"I suppose not…well, I do enjoy making history." He smiled at the cloudy night sky, "So what is your answer? Do you accept, or deny?"

"Remus…I…we…we told each other so many things about each other…I mean…I like you…but…"

"Of course." He said, flipping something around that she had said the previous night, "I've seen the way you've gazed at me." He said, leaning towards her like he did the first time they met, "You know that if you refuse, that I'm just going to attempt my plan alone, and that I could perish. Most likely this means that you'll join me on my crusade against the other Cainites of this city."

She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath, then opening them again, "So where are we going?"

"To the Hollywood Hills, where the late Doctor Alastair Grout used to live."

The taxi ride there was quiet. Every so often Kalliyan would look over to Remus to try to start a conversation, but Remus was just staring out the window, looking at the starry sky. No doubt he was reflecting on his Jyhad existence before he fell into torpor.

"So…uh…" She broke the silence, "Who is this Grout guy anyway?"

"He was a Malkavian Primogen…for the Camarilla." Remus said, "Supposedly he died several months ago, and now there's a fortified structure built on top of the ruins of his home."

"On top of his house?"

"His house was burned down, you see. And my spies told me that someone built a base over the charred rubble."

She gave a nod as the taxi stopped at their destination, "So who lives there now?" She asked. They got out and approached the large, foreboding base. They were quickly surrounded by gunman all over, aiming large impressive guns at the duo, "Shit…Remus…" She grabbed his arm in fear, "These is the _hunter's_ base!"

"I know."

"You _knew?_ " She growled, "How could you? You're going to turn me over to them, aren't you?"

"Not at all, my sweet."

"Stop!" A voice called, and a man stepped out in the middle of the crowd, where Remus and Kalliyan were. The shaved blonde head and trim frame gave away that it was Vance, "You've got a lot of nerve coming here, servant of Satan."

Remus smiled, not seeming to be bothered by the miniature army of hunters around them both, while Kalliyan looked terrified. "You haven't been doing so well in this war, have you?" He asked.

Vance frowned, "How dare you accuse us of—"

He took a few steps closer, "If this war continues for another few months, I shudder to think what would happen to your precious Society of Leopold." He said, "Most of the Cainite circles are discussing of when the cuisine of hunters can begin…"

He thought about it, "It's true the Ella had died on the battlefield, and we lost Hirst a long time ago to one of your kind…but I think we just netted two demons in exchange." He smiled.

Remus held a taunting finger up. He would have to thank the Setite ally later for giving him so much information about the Society of Leopold, how many losses they took, as well as an absurd amount of information about the two remaining leaders. It kept him updated, considering that he was going into this war blind. Not only that but it creeped his opponents out too, for instance. "I wouldn't be so hasty if I were you, Vance…"

Vance's eyes widened, and for the first time a tiny shudder could be seen from the supposedly fearless hunter, "How…h-how do you know my name?"

"I know a lot of things about you." Remus said, starting to pace around him. The gunmen surrounding them kept their aims at Remus as he kept walking, "I know that Gavin is an honorable and respectable man. He would never agree to the deal that I'm about to give you…"

Vance frowned, "What the hell do you mean by that?"

"How would you like to rid the state of all the vampires controlling it at the moment?"

"…why would you want that? Why would you want to kill your own?"

"Ugh…you seriously think that all vampires just…magically like each other?" Kalliyan asked, "This guy's dumber than I thought…"

"If you want a chance to cleanse this state, you need my help to do it." Remus said, "You won't be able to do it on your own, you and Gavin will end up just like your associates, Hirst and Ella, if you refuse my help."

"No, absolutely not. I refuse." Vance said, "Fire at will!"

"Did I forget to mention that I have the capabilities to slaughter you and all of your hunters?" Remus countered, "I have already disposed of a few of them, do you want to lose more…hmm? Do you really want Gavin to return to an empty base?"

"I would rather die like a true warrior then live in fear and be ordered around by the very thing I need to kill."

"Very well, it's a shame you'll have to die ignorant."

"A hunter of God like me would never work with the likes of you! We don't need the demons' help to get rid of demons!"

"Then keep it a secret from your partner." He walked right by his ear, lowering his tone slightly, "Gavin won't have to know about what you're doing. All I ask if for your assistance, and for your men in battle. We will not lose a battle."

"…if…if Gavin found out…then I would be killed…no…I'm too pure."

"I'm afraid not, Vance. Don't lie to me…you've seen the impurities in your own society. You've seen the lengths some of your fellow hunters will go through to kill vampires. You've seen them consort with magical abilities…deathly rituals…and even Cainite blood itself to destroy the very devils. After all the things you've seen…what would be the difference in this?"

He paused, thinking over what Remus had just said. He would again have to thank the Setite for this. He didn't know how the man got all this information, but with the Followers of Set, it was best just to let them do their spying and ask questions later, "…this is to kill vampires?"

"Indeed."

He waved a hand, and all the soldiers lowered their guns and stood behind Vance, "My branch of the Society of Leopold is ready to serve you, sir."

Remus gave a hungry grin, folding his hands, "Excellent." He turned to Kalliyan, "How many Kuei-Jin do you have at your command?"

"Kuei-Jin?" Kalliyan asked, "Me? I have nothing? Jun has all the power…if I try to pull something like this…the two of them will notice immediately."

"See what you can do." He said, "I'll try to gather up as many shovelheads as I can manage, and together we'll have a three-pronged strike that won't be enough for the Camarilla or the putrid Anarchs."

"Hmm…" She thought, "I'll have to be careful…if Jun and Tsubasa see anyone not from our Wu, I'm in trouble…"

"Shovelheads?" Vance wondered.

"It's of no concern to you." Remus said.

"…we're using vampires to fight vampires, aren't we?"

"Duh…were you even at the Phantom's Mask?" Kalliyan asked, "What the hell did you think was happening there?"

"I…I know…but, it seems much more complicated than I thought…"

"First, we'll deal with the Anarchs." Remus said, "They are nothing more than giant, pulsating leeches feeding off the Camarilla for protections. They will be slaughtered in a single night."

"Anarchs?" Vance asked, "I think I might have a little information about them, namely about a girl named Damsel. It'll lead us right to them…and their insidious hideout."

"Very well then. You may lead the way." Remus said.

* * *

 **A/N:** Damsel, honey, I don't know if those guns are going to do anything to two-thirds of your opponents…Thanks for reading!


	74. Chapter 74

**A/N:** Here's chapter seventy-four! Let's see what Remus's new army is capable of…Enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs. There is also some roasty-toasty-ness, if you're not a fan, feel free to skim over it.

* * *

"Careful, if you don't treat the books with respect, they'll eat you."

"Ugh, I know, it was a mistake—wait…eat me?" Iphigenia raised a brow and put the book down to look at Delilah. "What?"

She giggled, raising a hand over her mouth as she laughed. Iphigenia rolled her eyes and rubbed her thumb over the small tear she left in the page from turning it too hard, "These books are very fragile, I didn't mean to."

"Just don't tell anyone." Delilah whispered.

"As long as you can still read what's there." Leo chimed in, "It should be fine."

"It was a tiny tear, everything is still very legible." Iphigenia sighed.

Venus chuckled softly, "Leave it to you all to have a panic attack about a little tear in a page…it's adorable."

"They're right to be terrified." Victor said as he entered the room, "Some of these books are older than time itself, capturing the very essence of magic. They're not to be trifled with."

"I'm very sorry, sir." Iphigenia's eyes looked nervous.

"It's alright." He said, "For some of them, time has taken its toll on them anyway."

"I remember one time, I took out a book that seemed a little outdated." Delilah said with a smile, "When I opened the cover, all the pages fell out, like there wasn't any binding at all. I thought I was going to be executed…"

"I do hope someone was able to transcribe what was written…at least…" He said, in memory.

"Well, I remember sitting there for hours, putting each page back like nothing happened. Then I just gave it to you."

"…I would say be more honest in the future…but such natures conflict what a real Tremere is…I suppose…"

"Well…because of…how I was sired and what I did…I…" She looked down, "I figured if I did any little thing wrong, I'd be killed…"

"Yes, I suppose at the time you were walking on thin ice a bit."

A light silence claimed the air before Venus brushed some dust from her dress, "Well, it isn't important anymore. Right?"

The sound of someone's phone buzzing went off. Leo checked his pocket, then looked up. It wasn't him.

Iphigenia grit her teeth as she reached into her back pocket and flipped hers open, "What is it?" She hissed. They could hear a frantic female voice on the other line, "Go home." More rambling, "Listen to me. Just listen. Go. Home." There was silence. Iphigenia sighed and closed her phone, "Forgive me." She said softly, turning back to her book.

"Trouble?" Victor asked.

"Another…one of her episodes." She muttered, "Nothing worth a distraction."

"Yes, I see."

"Who was it?" Venus smirked.

"Nobody." She said, "Don't worry about it."

She looked concerned, "If you're so worried about it, go take care of it."

Iphigenia looked up at Venus, "…hmm?"

"First you're tearing book pages, then you're tapping your foot like a mental patient…clearly something's on your mind. You're better off taking care of it then wasting your time trying to study, right?"

She met Venus's gaze with her golden eyes before she closed her book and set it aside, standing up, "You're right. I'll…I'll be back. Shortly. It won't take long."

"A rather distressing path, that one leads." Victor said.

"Sounds like it." Delilah said softly.

"That reminds me. I had some interesting visitors the other day, at Confessions." Venus said. "One of them ate, and drank." She said, before she added, "I've had Kindred eat and drink before. They always run into the bathroom shortly afterwards…but…this girl was different. She sat with a rather…haunting looking man. I couldn't catch much over the music, but they were a strange looking pair." She said, "He had to be Kindred. An old one, at that. He didn't order anything and was simply hilarious on the dance floor."

"I'm sure you have a lot of Kindred visitors…" Victor said, "What made these two stick out? Was it perhaps a ghoul and her master?"

"They were like complete opposites. Ogling at each other occasionally, talking about this and that. I could swear I heard them talking about karma, or something of the likes. I'm not sure. But there was something off about the man. Something…something strange."

Victor sat down in the large armchair Iphigenia abandoned, "What did these two look like?"

"The girl? Medium, dark hair. Purple lips. A little dragon tattoo, right about here." She pointed to her collarbone and throat. "Can't remember for the life of me what she wore. Black, I think. Something black. The man looked sharp. Black collared shirt, black hair, gelled a bit. Very pale. But it was his eyes that got me. Something odd about them. But, I was far away. I didn't see that close."

He thought about it, for what felt like five minutes, then he pointed a finger at nothing in particular, "Some of those Kuei-Jin woman had dragon tattoos…all over their bodies. I remember fighting them during the Phantom's Mask…do you remember?" He looked at Delilah.

"Yes, I…I think I do." She nodded.

"So, it stands to reason that you served a Kuei-Jin that night." Victor looked back at Venus, "Of course, it's still impossible to tell who the man with her was…"

"Well…if she was a Kuei-Jin, the other man, he couldn't be Kindred." Delilah said.

"It certainly wouldn't seem that way…no…"

"Maybe he just wasn't thirsty. Who knows." Venus shrugged, then she yawned and covered her mouth.

"Perhaps we should all retire for the night."

"That would be lovely." She stood up, "You two…enjoy yourselves. Don't get eaten by books."

"We won't." Delilah smirked.

Venus smiled as she headed to Victor's quarters with him, "Those three can be silly."

"Yes, I rather like the family atmosphere we have together." He said.

"Yes…It's as if we're the parents, Delilah and Iphigenia are the daughters, and Leo is the dog. And, Donatello is the landlord, of course."

He snickered, "Quite an interesting representation of the family, if I do say so."

"Don't you think it's accurate?"

"Perhaps."

When they entered his room, she went to the bed and prepared the sheets, despite the fact that the bed was indeed made. It seemed smoothing out every wrinkle brought a certain calming sense over her nerves.

"It's quite fortunate that we were able to win Santa Monica back from those who were holding it." He said, "No less, we got some recruits out of it. And Ebony has finally perished, no less…"

"That hasn't upset you, has it?"

"No…on the contrary, I'm quite at peace that the Tremere Antitribu have now been slain." He said, "That Nagaraja, Phaedra, is more capable than I gave her credit four. Rumor is she was facing four powerful Kindred at once…"

"Really? I don't think I've ever met her."

"She most likely spends her time in the red tower…being here isolates us from a lot of the Camarilla's Kindred."

"Well…I feel like some of them may recognize me, too. And we wouldn't want that."

"Yes…I suppose not…though, vampires of the Camarilla are nothing to fear."

"Yes, I understand that. I have seen a few, they're all quite nice."

He sat on the edge of the bed once she was finished, "So how have you been?"

"I've been well. What about you and your…experiments?"

"They've been moving along quite nicely." He said, "Haven't experienced any problems so far."

"That's good." She sat next to him, leaving absolutely no space between them, "Why don't you tell me more about them…"

He gave a defeated sigh, "What you already know could have me incriminated or killed…" He said, "I'm not supposed to be doing this…"

"Really…?" She asked slowly, "I didn't mean to put you in danger…"

"No…you're not…you're not the only who's seen them…but…Tremere are a clan of secrecy…or being a closed book. We do not betray each other. I'm safe, for now."

"So…telling me again…what you do…that wouldn't be dangerous, would it? Simply recounting things you've already told me…"

"You mean…the thousands of Kindred I stitch together to make new bodies?"

"Mmm…" She leaned onto him, "Yes…"

"The cattle's insides are important…that's where the incubation takes place…"

She took her belt off and draped it over the bedpost, reaching back to unzip her dress, "Go on…"

"And…the…scars on my body…that's an entirely different experiment I'm running at the same time…one of the ingredients were my own flesh…"

As soon as the dress pooled around the ground, she pinned him to the bed, peeling his coat off, feverishly working his tie, "Off…off, off, off…"

"Yes, of course, darling." He began to shed his clothes off, "This really works you up, doesn't it?"

"It really does…" As soon as his shoulders broke free, she grappled onto him and melded their lips together with a searing kiss. Her legs then wrapped around his as she pressed her hips up against him. Even through his pants, he could feel the heat stirring there. "You don't have to tie me up if you don't want to…or hit me with that belt…"

"You want to be hit?"

She just answered his question by gnawing on his neck and clawing at his back, her hips starting to build up a rhythm on top of him.

"You're so excited…" He chuckled, giving her a squeeze occasionally.

"Tell me more…"

"I steal…vampires…from the enemy…the Anarchs…the Sabbat…so they suffer…it's the nature of the experiment…their brains are melted away when I fuse them together…" She shuddered against him and licked his jawline, pulling her bra off and throwing it across the room. "There you are, my little sinner…" He reached up and grabbed onto one of her breasts.

She closed her eyes and moaned. Seeing how fascinated he was with her breasts inspired her then. She sat up and rested them right on top of his face. He stuck his tongue out and gave each of them little licks, caressing them occasionally as well. She smirked as her hands grasped at the pillows, "You like that…?"

"Of course I like them."

She moved back out of the way, "Did you want to be on top…?"

"Whatever gets you off better."

She rolled him over, "Dominate me." She lifted her head a tad, a domineering look in her eyes. It tended to surprise him, seeing her act this way, when in public or the Chantry, she was always so calm and polite. He supposed her outfit gave it away when she ran the club, at least.

He gave her a big squeeze, really so she could feel the scars on his arms, "I'm going to make you _burn_ …Venus…"

She moaned deeply, closing her eyes and sinking her nails into his back as her craving for him overpowered her senses. She rolled her hips over his, scraping her thong off in attempt to relieve herself of the pressure he built up.

He felt the blood rush through his system. He then waited for a moment or two as she continued to grind, and once she stopped, he gave her his length in full, biting down on her neck and sipping occasionally as he penetrated her.

She gave a brief scream as his teeth passed through the soft skin of her neck, but the cry was immediately muffled to a relieved sigh. Her hands fumbled all over his body, like she was looking for something, or just feeling every inch of him. Her fingertips especially grazed across those deep scars, tracing them gave her delightful chills.

He sighed, making sure not to drink too much this time, and his sighs gradually turned into loud groans that made him shake even more and he kept making love to her. She didn't do nearly as much clawing, or screaming, or biting as she usually did when they had sex. There was something deep and loving about the way she traced her hands all over him, the way she held him close as he continuously sunk into her.

Her breathing was hoarse as they finished, but she still clung to him, "…wasn't expecting that bite…incredibly hot…"

"It's…starting to be a habit now…are you alright?"

"Just fine…god I love it…the pain…"

He smiled and kissed her lips, "If there's ever a…more specific scenario you have in mind…just let me know…"

"I have countless…but you just render me to a useless puddle before I can bring any of them to life."

"I see…you'll have to forgive me for that…"

She giggled, "It's nothing…usually my resolve is much stronger…but something about you makes me feel so…so submissive…"

"Oh, is that right? A tiny man like me?"

"That's right…"

He kissed her again, "You have no idea what you do to my confidence…it feels so nice knowing that you're always there for me…"

"You can't even begin to understand how nice it is knowing you're around…the club business isn't exactly safe and easy…"

"Ah, yes, of course." He said, "Remember, if someone tries to bully you around like Boris…you just tell me. I'll redefine suffering for them…"

She smirked, kissing his lips briefly, "I know. Thank you, Victor." She nuzzled her head beneath his.

"Think nothing of it."

* * *

The fourth missed call. Iphigenia let a bitter sigh through her nose as she stuffed her phone back into her pocket. She looked over just about every street and alleyway of downtown, which was really saying something. But she was nowhere.

Having Halcyon low on Jeanette's blood was worse than having a grandparent with Alzheimer's, she determined. It was pretty much the same thing anyway.

It started with Halcyon forgetting what she was doing. Then she'd forget where she was. What she was, who she was. She was still viable for calling her sisters, until she forgot how to socialize, how to act. She'd stumble around, her eyes fogged in a haze, completely numb.

As Iphigenia saw it, she had two choices. She could either head home and hope to god Sam ran into her and brought her home, or she could keep wandering around and see if she could find her. She felt entirely hopeless. There was really nothing she could do to find Halcyon when Halcyon had her own plans, or lack thereof.

She didn't even realize she was standing in the middle of the street, blocking traffic, until a car horn sounded right in front of her. She nearly jumped out of her skin before she edged off to the sidewalk, watching the cars go by. Any one of those taxis could have her. Any of them. And they could be going anywhere.

She took out her phone again, dialing her sister, hoping something would snap, hoping she would at least examine the object on her person, maybe open it, maybe hit 'talk'. But it just kept ringing.

"Jeez…" Edgar said as his Obfuscate faded, "You almost got married to that car…"

She turned and looked at Edgar, "Edgar? It's been a while." He could see the stress written all over her face, "I hope I didn't disrupt you."

"Oh yeah…I remember you…from Ming-Xiao's temple." He said, "I don't remember your name though."

"Iphigenia." She shut her phone as Halcyon failed to pick up, stuffing it back into her pocket.

"So what the hell happened?"

She sighed, "It's my sister. She's gone missing again."

"Sister's gone missing, huh? Well where was she last?"

"I don't know." She said, a scowl slowly spreading on her face, "I found out the other night she's resorted to prostitution to help keep up with the bills. I yelled at her, she left in a huff, and then had a fit, I guess." She sighed, before clarifying, "She's the daughter of a Malkavian thin blood. And she's Jeanette Voerman's ghoul. Whenever she has a fit, she drops off the face of the planet, forgets how to talk, read, move…she's hopeless…"

"Huh…missing Malkavians are practically impossible to track down…does she usually find her way back home?"

"She hadn't had an outburst in a very long time…it's only when she's stressed…" She sighed, "It's my fault. Really. I shouldn't have yelled at her, it confused her." She turned to Edgar, "Are you busy?"

"Gary has me doing something, but it can wait."

"Are you sure?" She asked, her yellow gaze seemed very worried.

He shrugged, "Need help getting your sister back?"

"That would be excellent. I just have no clue where to look." She took out her phone, "I'll give you my number so we can communicate. I'll head home first to see if she's there. If you could scope out the streets…maybe see if she's in an alleyway…"

"Alright." He nodded, "I'll see what I can find." He said, once he got her number, he began to Obfuscate away, the manhole cover lifted up by itself, and soon closed.

She sighed, then called a cab and headed home. It was a short ride, but once she made it there, she was dismayed to see that Halcyon did not make it back. She sent Edgar a text, telling him this.

Meanwhile, Edgar popped his head up any manholes he knew were in back alleys. He got Iphigenia's text, and knew he had to keep looking. It then hit him that he had no idea what this girl looked like. Probably similar to Iphigenia, right?

When he peeked through another cover, he saw a bit of a situation going on. A man in a white collared shirt had a girl pinned to the wall, tears streaming down her eyes. Her head suddenly turned and snapped over to where the manhole moved, those bright green eyes pierced through the dark shadows, like they were looking right at Edgar. But, it couldn't be possible, she couldn't see him, he had Obfuscate up. He was sure of this when the man looked over, then looked back, seeing nothing there. The attacker grabbed her by the throat and hit her head against the wall, undoing his fly.

Edgar dropped his Obfuscate, grabbing the man from behind and draining him dry immediately, "Well…he tasted terrible…" Edgar muttered as the gangster's body smacked against the ground.

The girl stared at Edgar with her clairvoyant eyes, before she blinked a few times. He could see her hands were still trembling as she lifted them, but she spoke so calmly, like nothing had happened at all, "You…my sister, she sent you on a hunt, for me?"

He nodded, "That's right…she's worried about you."

"Worried?" Her head jerked to one side, "She…she…you lie."

"I'm lying about your sister being worried?"

"She can't be. I've…I've been taking dark cash." She said, waving her hands around as she spoke to fabricate the tale, "You see, I revel in dark money. For my sisters. For their good. But Iphigenia…" She bowed her head, "She sees it as evil. She sees it as desperation." She looked back up, "She's right. She's right! But what can I do? What can I do to not be a hindrance? Selling my cursed body is the only method I can see where no one is hurt…but she still yells at me…"

"Prostitution is the only thing you can do for money?" He asked, then he remembered how off she was, even compared to other Malkavians, "Never mind…"

"I danced. I danced when Velvet ruled the volcano. But then…her body lies in ash, and I can no longer dance. No other dance-master accepts me."

"Hmm…" He said, "You good with computers?"

"Computers? Yes. I understand them."

"Maybe I could get you a job. Something simple, in an office…maybe something techy…"

"You would…?"

He nodded, "I could just hack into their files. Say that you're an employee. You wouldn't even need to do an interview."

She reached forward, taking his arm, "Take me home. We can talk there. I sense more darkness coming this way."

"Call a cab." He said, "I'll follow you, but I'll be invisible."

"Yes. Okay." She nodded, walking forward and waving down a taxi. It pulled over and she got in, waiting a beat before she reached over and shut the door. She saw the seat squish, so she knew Edgar was there.

After dolling out her address, the cab took them there. It was silent. Edgar supposed she was quite understanding with the whole Obfuscate deal. The cabbie stopped, peering around, "This close enough?"

"Yes. Thank you." She took money from her top and handed it to him before she got out, giving enough time for Edgar to slide over and get out the same door. She then shut the door and slunk over to the shadows, where the walk to their apartment was. "My sister." She said, "She shares your clan's blood."

"What? She does?" He asked, taking his Obfuscate down once he knew the cost was clear.

"I don't know how. She is clanned to the scholarly mages. But…it is why her body…is different. Why her ears are pointed, why her nails grow as fast as they do, why her figure is…stronger, than most women's. If you were worried that she will share the same distaste of your clan, fear not. She respects them."

"I know…I remember Gary and Cressida mentioning something about that…hmm…nice to know we have a hidden sister on the surface…"

"Gary?" She asked, "That name leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. I do not think my sister likes him." She reached forward and knocked on the door.

It flung open, before Iphigenia lunged forward and hugged her, "Oh, thank god…"

"I'm sorry…" Halcyon's eyes closed.

"It's alright…I didn't mean what I said, I was angry."

"I understand. Let us go inside." She stepped inside and walked to the counter.

Iphigenia turned back to Edgar, "Please, come in. The least I can do is give you some blood." She said softly.

"Right." He said, walking inside, "Nice place you got here."

"It's nearly impossible to afford…" Iphigenia muttered.

"Three beds, one bath." Halcyon said, "Find it for us. It lies nowhere else near the city."

Iphigenia opened the refrigerator and got out a bottle of 'wine', "Halcyon, go check on Harmonia. Say hello. And then shower, please."

"Yes, parasite twin." She stood up and sauntered off to the bedrooms.

Iphigenia poured Edgar a glass of blood and slid it over, "Have a seat. I'm awestruck you found her. I thought I looked everywhere."

"It was luck more than anything." He sat down, "A pimp was trying to have his way with her, but now all his blood is just fuel for me…"

She seemed worried at first, but then it melted, "Ugh, I can't thank you enough. I can't risk her going out on the streets like this. She's been coming home with injuries…" She rubbed one of her temples before she sat across from him, "Well, I had no business asking such a favor of you. And you had no business helping me either. But you did…I'm incredibly thankful. I don't know what to say."

"It's no problem…I was getting bored honestly…this just seemed like something to do."

She chuckled softly and rested her head on her palm as her arm leaned against the counter, "What does Gary have you doing? Security?"

"Eh, security, snooping…whatever we Nosferatu do best, I suppose." He said, "I'm usually more a fan of murdering things…but, least I got my fix tonight…"

She chuckled, "So glad to have helped you." She sat up, "I'm sorry if Halcyon said anything distasteful."

"Nah…I've seen a few Malkavians in my day…so I guess I got used to them…"

"Thankfully she acts nothing like her regnant…Ugh, I can't handle that woman…"

"…you get used to her too…"

"Every time I step foot in Santa Monica, it's like she hunts me down. Like I'm the first lesbian she's ever met."

"Yeah, those tend to excite her."

"Anything excites her. Anything that moves."

He shrugged, "You're still young. The shit Jeanette does doesn't really faze me. Sure as hell doesn't faze Gary…"

"How old are you?" She asked.

He shrugged, "As a Kindred? Twenties, thirties…probably should keep tabs on that…but…"

"Hmm…impressive." She mused, "I haven't met many older Kindred. Well, I shouldn't say that. There aren't many Tremere my age or younger. I suppose I'm a bit of a Jyhad recluse." She gave a little smirk, "I broke the Masquerade a few times, that was enough to scare me away…"

"I bet it's hard with the ears too."

She reached up and touched them instinctively, "Yes…they're easy to shrug off with surgery…until I run across a hunter."

"I hear they're not doing so well…I suppose once the great Grunfeld Bach died there isn't anyone who can quite recapture that flame." He said, "I killed one of their top hunters, not too long ago…"

"Is that so?" She leaned in with a smile. Her bright white teeth really contrasted with her dark lips.

He nodded, "And then another one got Embraced on the battlefield, I heard. Into a Cappadocian…what the hell are the chances of that?"

She sat back and snickered, "I'm going to be honest, I have no idea what that clan is."

"You know the Giovanni?"

"Yes, I've heard of them. Thankfully never met one."

"Well they used to be part of the Cappadocian clan. Then they ate every single last one of them."

Her eyes widened, "Ah…so that's why they aren't heard of much."

"Indeed. Happened hundreds of years ago. But I bet your Magister knows a ton more than I do about it. He could probably go on and on for hours about it."

"I'm sure he could." She said with a smile, "He does love to tell a good tale."

"He's Primogen now too, so Gary brings him up from time to time." He said, "Gary says he could probably destroy an entire naval fleet with one hand tied behind his back or something like that…"

"Yes, I'd believe it. We used to be quite close, but time passed. He's been focused on getting stronger, with no distractions." She said, adding just a bit softer, "I've been worrying over bills and food and…just, Halcyon in general. I haven't found much time to study and make it nearly as far as he has. The younger apprentices are beginning to outrank me…the ones who were Embraced illegitimately…" There was a mild tone of bitterness in her voice, or maybe regret.

"Oh yeah…I forgot how stuffy and fancy everything is over there." He said, then he chuckled, "Unlike for us…jeez…I think Gary nearly Embraced everyone in the brood here in California…"

"Mmm…tried to Embrace me too." She muttered, "Hardly managed to escape that."

"Jeez…I guess things would be very different if you were one of us."

She paused, "I'd probably…have a lot more money. I'd be able to take care of them. I'm not sure how much would really be different. I already don't walk the streets much. I used to be a bit famous when I was alive, and I was pronounced dead when I was Embraced, so I have to be careful on the surface anyway."

"Look, if you really need cash…"

She shook her head, "We'll be fine. I've had enough help from you today."

Halcyon walked in, wearing her dress shirt, "Sister. This lovely mouse is allowing me to work his computers."

"Please, don't call him a mouse…" Iphigenia muttered.

"Well, if he's a mouse, then you're the rat." She said.

She raised a brow, deciding to ignore it, "What's going on?"

"Computers. I agree with them. They make sense to me. Mathematics and logic and buttons. What is there not to get? It's smooth for me. I enjoy it. He offered me cash for operating them."

"I can hack her into some tech firm or something. Get her some real, honest money. I feel like that would kill two birds with one stone." Edgar said.

"It really would…you'd…be willing to?" Iphigenia seemed surprised.

"It wouldn't be hard…she would just have to show up…and do work, that's all."

"It is no problem." Halcyon said, hiding a yawn.

"You need rest." Iphigenia said, "When was the last time you saw Jeanette?"

"Three and a half weeks…"

"So you'll be needing blood soon."

"Yes…" She sighed, "I don't want to upset her."

"You won't. She decided to ghoul you, she should take the responsibilities needed to take care of you."

"She just got her city back. But they still lurk. The red ones."

"Just…go to bed. Worry about it tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay." Halcyon got up and walked off, "I love you."

"I love you too. Sleep well." Iphigenia said, before she sighed, "I didn't even see Harmonia today…"

"You have another sister?" Edgar asked.

"Yes. She's human. Has no idea what Jyhad is."

"Hmm…that's pretty risky business." He said, "Someone with real power figures that out…and you could get in trouble…"

"I know…I've been keeping it on the down-low. I think only three Kindred know, including you, and they're quite secure." She sighed, "I have no idea what I'm supposed to do. I want her to just be innocent. I don't want her swept into any of this. I was angry enough when Halcyon was. It is dangerous. And if one of them die…it's like I'll lose a part of who I am. I've been raising them ever since I could…"

"Are you all children of thin bloods?"

"…yes. That's right. We're not blood related at all…" She muttered, "I'm not sure they know it. Halcyon must. I don't know what she knows and doesn't anymore."

"You must have had a tough life then. _Still_ …have a tough life…"

"I'm sure it's no harder or easier than yours."

He shrugged, "My life was boring…and…my death…well…you actually get used to being a Nosferatu, as crazy as it sounds."

"I believe you. Though, I hate to sound sexist…I'm sure many of the women are more devastated…"

"You wouldn't know it from Cressida." He said, "Of course, she's like, a-hundred…"

"Cressida was very bitter, if my memory serves correct…" She said, "That woman hates me. I nearly gave her every penny I owned and it still wasn't enough for her…"

"She's always been like that." He said, "I have no idea what the hell she uses any of it for…what does need? Plastic surgery or something?"

She chuckled, "Yes, I'm sure. Maybe it just makes her happy." She stood up and took her heels off, setting them by the door, "You should probably head home before the sun rises."

"Yeah, it'll be a long wade through the slops." He stood up, "I'll see you around."

"Yes…I hope to see you again soon. Good luck, dear."

* * *

"You're gonna have to put that out when we get in the truck." Damsel looked up as she heard Nines light a cigarette.

"I'll just roll the windows down." He brought it to his mouth.

She rolled her eyes, crossing her arms, "It can't do anything."

"Feels like it does."

She leaned against the wall, next to where he was leaning, "That's just your head. That's just your mind tricking you. It's a huge waste of money."

"It's fine."

"You know, money we could use for like, ammo. Or more than two guns. Maybe faster shipping."

"Quit nagging me already…"

"Sometimes I just think you're all…caught up in Nines-land." She watched the cars drive by, "I don't want to know what the hell goes on in Nines-land. But whatever it is must be seriously crazy, or you'd put a lot more of your thoughts into us."

He looked down at the pavement, "If I could figure it out…"

"Figure what out?"

"Everything." He looked up at the stars, "Damsel, I can't begin to explain to you the shit that bugs me every day." He turned back to her, "That's not even scratching the surface."

"Well, don't you think everyone else is kinda thinking the same thing? I'm sure you have a lot on your plate, but everyone else does too."

"Yeah, I get it." He sighed, "But this…this standstill. It's not gonna last. We don't have all day to just stand still and hope it does. We have to do something. And we can't go barreling in with our shotguns like the Sabbat, we've all seen how that works out. And this fucking spy doesn't help either."

"Maybe we can move our HQ." She said, "Somewhere they'll never find us."

"And what about the ghouls? And the other Anarchs from out of state that need to find us?"

"I think they'll just have to catch on." She said, then she looked up at him, "I could start spreading the word."

"Don't do anything yet. Let me think about it."

"Well, you just said, we don't have time to linger in a fucking standstill. Shit's gonna happen, and if one little thing goes wrong…we're done. We can't risk that. We need to take action first."

The front doors swung open, "Aw, Mister and Missus Rodriguez, how special." Skelter put his hands in his pockets, followed by the rest of the Anarchs. "We're heading out."

Damsel snarled at Skelter and punched him in the shoulder, muttering something about shutting the place down as she went back into the building.

"Guys…" Catalina said, "I think we have company."

They had more than just mere company, it was the entirety of Remus's forces. The LaSombra brought his shovelheads, Vance brought his hunters, and Kalliyan brought whatever few Kuei-Jin she could find. In mere minutes, they created a perimeter around the Anarchs.

"I'm afraid this will be your last evening on this earth, pathetic Camarilla leeches…" Remus spat.

"Well, I'll be damned." Sirius said, trying his best not to sound impressed.

"What…what is the meaning of this?" Catalina asked, "I see Sabbat, Kuei-Jin, and the Society of Leopold? Why are they all targeting us?"

Nines narrowed his eyes, "How the hell…" He looked from the hunters to the Sabbat, then took his guns out, "Skelter, take the Sabbat. Anastasia, the hunters, Catalina, you take the Kuei-Jin. Everyone else fall in."

Damsel came back outside, her eyes wide, "What the—"

Nines interrupted her, "Go get reinforcements, _now_." She nodded and dashed off with the aid of Celerity.

As the people Nines singled out ran towards their targets, Nines joined Skelter in his fight against Remus. Skelter was already in his war-form, summoning a pair of spectral wolves right off the bat as Nines aimed his desert eagle and fired.

Remus coated himself with Obtenebration, nullifying both attacks, "So where are you sending your tiny mistress off too, hmm?" He asked.

Nines slowly put his gun away. Unfortunately, the only person he could think of who really knew anything about Obtenebration was Jack. Without a cue, command, or any other sign of help, Skelter bounded forward to tear into Remus.

He jumped back, holding his sword defensively, "To Hollywood, perhaps? Because that is _your_ city, after all…or is it?"

"If you came here to talk, maybe don't bring your army." Nines rushed in with Potence and Celerity to land a hit as well, hoping Skelter would keep his blades occupied.

Remus fell back, skidding in the dirt, but he got up rather quickly, "Quite interesting to see the wolf finally fight back." He looked at Skelter, "You merely _ran away_ the last time we met."

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" Sirius said, joining Nines and Skelter.

Remus looked at Sirius, "Be wary, Anarch, for I have more power in my one arm than you could hope to have in the rest of your body."

"We'll see about that!" He lunged at him, but Remus waved a hand, and Sirius fell on the ground, completely unconscious.

Anastasia gulped from where she was, fighting Vance, "He's old enough to knock Sirius out?"

Remus faced Nines and Skelter again, "You may have less followers in Hollywood than you think."

Nines simply grit his teeth and dove in to punch him in the face. Remus grinned and blocked it, "They may be…just so _disillusioned_ with your movement, that they want to actually see results. See _action_. So I might have _persuaded_ some of them to join my side…do you understand now?" His eyes narrowed as he lunged forward to grab Remus by the throat and tackle him to the ground.

Remus fell to the ground, Nines had him completely pinned, nevertheless, he kept talking, "They listen to what _I_ say now. Not you. My army will continue to grow until it knows no limits. And I'll use _your_ soldiers to finally oust the Camarilla once and for all."

Keeping one hand around his throat, and his weight on Remus's chest, Nines reared his other fist back to slam it into his face. He raised his free hand up, summoning a shadowy tentacle to throw Nines off. Remus then got up and repositioned himself, looking from Skelter to Nines.

"James, do you need help?" Anastasia asked, looking back from her fight with Vance. She wasn't making excellent progress, given that fighting an enemy with a flamethrower was really just asking for it, as a Kindred. Catalina meanwhile was having a shootout with Kalliyan.

"Nah, you focus on them…" Skelter put his Protean down as he pulled Nines to his feet.

As Anastasia was distracted checking on Skelter, Vance to the prerogative to land an attack. Well, he would have, if Killian didn't step in the way. He flew forward with Celerity and Potence to uppercut Vance in the jaw.

Vance flew back, coughing up blood, "Kill him!" He pointed, and the members of the Society of Leopold began firing at Killian, while Vance used his flamethrower. Anastasia in response began to attack the hunters, tearing them to shreds with her talons.

Killian hardly dodged the flamethrower, luckily his Celerity gave him the extra edge. He grimaced as he ran around him to kick him in the back. Vance pulled out a cross and blinded Killian momentarily. Anastasia would have helped, but there were still way too many hunters shooting little holes in them for her to assist.

Meanwhile, Kalliyan faced the dynamic duo of Cissy and Catalina who, surprisingly, went well together. The combination of swordplay and bullets made it difficult for Kalliyan to really get a move in. "Damn it…" Kalliyan swore under her breath, panting as she kept trying to shoot at the two Kindred.

Catalina looked fairly exhausted too, riddled with injuries from the all the Kuei-Jin they were fighting, "You doing okay?" She asked.

"Yeah." Cissy looked no better, but there was a smile on her face, "C'mon, I think we're getting somewhere." She put her gun out and took out a sword of her own to 'slash' at Kalliyan.

And then, Damsel ran over the horizon, a horde of roaring Anarchs behind her, some ghouls, some Kindred, armed to the teeth with guns, swords and explosives.

Nines couldn't help but grin at the sound, "Sounds like we still got some loyal supporters."

Remus frowned, "No…" He said to himself, "My army is too new…my moment is not nigh…I must continue birthing new supporters for my taking of the city." He then looked at the Anarchs, "We'll be back. In greater numbers, I assure you."

Nines spit to the side, then ran forward to clock Remus one last time as the other Anarchs cheered. Remus powered up his own Potence, catching Nines fist, "You don't know what sort of mess you're stepping yourself into, Zealot. This is a conflict for the Camarilla and the Sabbat. It is not for your kind. It is not for some odious batch of dirty children. It is for the kings, and the rulers. From the moment we stepped onto your soil, we've taken your spot as the threat to the city. And soon instead of being merely a threat, we'll be its owners."

"There won't be any war when all the kings are dead." Nines brought his knee up to hit Remus in the gut. Remus flinched, but he struck back with a vengeance with his Potence-laced, cursed sword.

Skelter snarled and lunged forward to tackle Remus to the ground before he could land the hit. He took a step back and adjusted, slashing Skelter aside as he sheathed his blade. With one hand motion, Remus's army pulled back, and he started to walk away.

Nines pulled Skelter up, "You alright?"

"Yeah, man…" Skelter looked down at the scratch on his chest that was slowly healing, "Fine." He looked around, "Everyone else's good?"

"I think so…" Damsel adjusted her hat, looking around, "Guess the reinforcements scared them off."

Catalina growled, clenching her fists, "Wake up!" She kicked Sirius.

Sirius opened his eye and sat up, "Usually a four-inch stiletto does that better…but…"

"Ugh, I can't believe you slept through all of that!"

"It's called Dominate, Catalina. Someone orders whatever they want, and if you're younger, it happens."

"…I can't believe you…"

"Are you alright?" Anastasia asked.

"Yeah, I'll live." Sirius stood up.

"What the hell kind of vampire was he?" Cissy asked.

"LaSombra." Nines said, "Like Ventrue for the Sabbat."

"I thought the Sabbat were like…the uncivilized guys. I'm confused."

Nines shook his head, "It's more complicated than that."

"They get a little classier when you get up there…but…" Catalina said, "LaSombra and Ventrue _hate_ each other. They also have unique shadow powers, called Obtenebration."

"So that's what that was." Skelter asked, "You know what it can do?" He looked over at Nines.

"Jack knew. Jack knew a lot, but I don't." He admitted.

"I remember a _little bit_ when Cadmus and I fought Caesar." Anastasia said, "I think he had it at a high level though…so unless we had fire, magic, or sunlight…we weren't going to hurt him."

"You think those new guns will do anything?" Damsel asked.

"They might. We'll just have to wait and see." Nines said, "Let's head home before the sun rises on us."

* * *

 **A/N:** Nines has been pretty mopey recently, and SigmaFang will disagree with me, but I think the, "there won't be any war when all the kings are dead" line was pretty badass…thanks for reading!


	75. Chapter 75

**A/N:** Here's chapter seventy-five! (whoop-whoop!) That awkward moment when you realize you're seventy-five percent done with your second VTMB fic…heh…wow…someone's a little obsessed…(and I'll give you a hint, it ain't SigmaFang) Enjoy the three-quarters cheesy plot scene!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs.

* * *

Put plain and simple, Derek felt like a ghoul.

He knew about the World of Darkness, at least. And he had Dominate too. But to be forced around by a younger Kindred…it was humiliating. He'd almost rather an execution.

He clicked around blindly on his computer until it made a sound, and startled him. He exited the programs he was in and tried again. He needed to focus.

At least there wasn't a blood bond. Or any sort of bond. Maybe he'd get lucky and never see the bastard again. Maybe he would still be hiding, or maybe he'd get himself killed.

And really, what was the worst he could make him do?

His phone started ringing. The download was loading, so he figured it wouldn't hurt to answer a call. But…what if it was him?

Finally, he reached for it, and waited a beat, "Hello…?"

"Master Derek?" He heard his 'ghoul's' voice, "Are you o-okay?"

"Yes. Fine. Very busy with work."

"Oh…right. Do you need me to stop by and take care of anything for you? I'm…I'm awfully bored."

"No, it's quite alright dear. I have to attend a meeting in half an hour anyway." He lied, "You're more than welcome to do whatever you like."

"And…when did you say, the…the boils will wear off?"

"Oh, they should soon." He started typing on his computer, balancing the phone with his shoulder.

"But, it's been months…"

"It may take some time."

"When will I get my fix?"

"When are you due?"

"Tomorrow. The first."

"Then you will get it very soon."

"Do you want me to come to you?"

"No. I'll meet you in your apartment."

"Okay…are you sure there isn't anything you need me to do?"

He sat back and held the phone again as the computer loaded the information, "No, dear. Everything's under control. You're free to do as you wish, until I call."

"O-Okay. Thank you again, sir…"

"Of course."

"Bye-bye."

"Mmm hmm." He hung up and sighed, sitting up as he began to open documents and skim through them.

He heard the door creak open, "Hey…" He heard Ella's voice, "What's going on in here?" She asked, "And what the hell happened the other night? Sounds like someone beat the crap outta you…"

His eyes narrowed as she pushed the door open and let in the light, "It was nothing. A disagreement, was all." He turned back to his screen, "We didn't mean to disturb you."

"If it was just a disagreement, then why the hell are you moping in here?"

"I'm not moping." He said quietly, "I'm doing research."

"On what?"

"Nothing important." He turned around, squinting again at the bright lights in the living room, "Did you need something?"

"Ugh, it was probably something creepy…"

"It's nothing." He muttered before he powered it off and stood up, "I should acquaint you with your disciplines."

"My what?"

"Disciplines. Vampiric…super-powers, if you will." He adjusted his tie as he stepped out into the living room, pushing some furniture out of the way, "Afterwards I'll…take you shopping. Will that satisfy you?"

"Shopping…for…what?"

"For clothes. Bedding. Necessities. Not weapons. Not yet."

"Yay…that…sounds like so much fun…"

"Well…" He stepped back and pulled on his blazer to adjust it once he felt there was enough room. "You are of clan Cappadocian. Your clan was…thought to be extinct, but then you were Embraced, so…there are at least two of you. Therefore, your discipline combinations and limitations are…a bit unknown to us. But I've been doing a fair deal of research to help you."

"That doesn't sound creepy at all…"

"Why do you insist that everything I do is… _creepy_?"

"…I thought it was common sense…"

He took a deep breath, not that it would help anything. He decided to continue, "Every Kindred has access to three disciplines, or powers. They vary between clans, but each clan has access to the same three."

"Alright, so what are mine?"

"You have the powers of Auspex, Fortitude, and Necromancy. We share one of these disciplines."

"Oh, great."

He ignored her yet again, "Auspex gives you access to a special field of vision. It allows you to see the aura of the undead nearby. I suppose I could compare it to x-ray vision, in a sense. You could see others through walls. It also raises your defenses in battle, allows your body to withstand more damage. If you use firearms, it helps with accuracy as well."

"Okay."

"Fortitude is the discipline we share." He activated his so she could see, "It focuses heavily on defenses. It raises your own, again, allowing you to withstand more damage."

"Increase our defense, hmm?"

"Yes that's right."

"Alright, and what's the third one?"

He put his Fortitude down, "Your last discipline is Necromancy…" He said, "That, and the first, are two disciplines Miss Phaedra has…" He muttered bitterly, "Her clan is similar to yours, unfortunately."

"Why is that unfortunate?"

"We do not get along." He looked away, "And I would like her to teach you how to use those disciplines. I know very little about Necromancy, but it gives you access to control the bodies and souls of the undead. I've seen her use both zombies and apparitions, though I'm not sure if there is more."

"So…like…ghosts?"

"Yes, they appeared that way. Though, you would have to ask her. It might be something specific to her bloodline, or perhaps it takes a considerable amount of skill with the discipline. By far, this is your strongest discipline. You should expend the most effort into growth of your necromantic skills."

She gave a quick nod, "If it's to make ghosts…then hell yeah…" She said quietly.

He smiled, "It's good to see something about this change at least piques your interest."

"Whatever." She rolled her eyes, "Was there anything else?"

"Would you like to try to use them?"

"Use them?" She asked, "In here?"

"Yes. I've made enough space." He looked around the living room.

"Fine." She went to try Auspex first. Her eyes, which were already a sinister deep red ever since she was Embraced, glowed a bit more intensely. But she quickly deactivated it, "Oh my god…too bright…" She closed her eyes, "How am I supposed to even see anything with that up?"

He chuckled, "Should I turn the lights off?"

"It's fine…that one already gave me a damn headache…alright, what was the other one?" She tried Fortitude next, a green glow surrounding her, "Alright, pretty basic…"

"Good." He nodded, "If you start to feel sick, I have blood. Your body has to get used to using a blood pool for energy."

"Alright, and the last one, Necromancy? Should I really do that in here?"

He pondered for a moment, "It might smell, thinking about it…perhaps we could find somewhere safe outside."

"If you say so."

He left the room with her on his tail, then sighed as he passed the lobby and heard a familiar voice. "Miss Ella! How have you been?"

Ella turned around and looked back, "Hi."

Phaedra smiled, then looked up and Derek, "Well? How is she?"

He looked unamused, "She's fine."

"What are you up to?" She followed them as Derek tried to walk away.

"Practicing her disciplines."

"Outside?" She asked.

"We don't want to use Necromancy outdoors."

"Necromancy? I could show you where I practice."

He seemed hesitant at first, before he said, "Yes. That sounds wonderful."

They left the tower and got into a taxi, Phaedra giving him instructions for Hollywood.

"Hollywood…?" Derek mused, "Isn't it controlled by the Sabbat?"

"There's a safe little spot they don't bother. The Anarchs are still in control of it, but as long as I don't bother them, they don't bother me."

Another pause that was, slightly more awkward, before they made it there and got out. She led them to a back alley, past a few homeless people, before she paused at a hole in the wall, "This is the way I typically enter." She said before she got on her hands and knees and crawled through. Derek was courteous enough to look away.

"This is already _way more_ than I signed up for." Ella went next.

He waited at least a minute before he crawled through. Phaedra smirked at him, "What's the matter, dear? Afraid to tear your suit?"

"Nonsense. Continue."

"Very well." She led them down the path. "I can hear them. The souls. Can you?" She turned back to Ella.

"It's wind." Derek rolled his eyes.

"He hears wind." Phaedra said with a smile, "We hear the truth."

"So…can you summon ghosts?" Ella asked.

"Ghosts?" She asked, still smiling, "Yes. We call them specters. It's a clan specialty, but I've seen your sire summon them as well."

"So can I do it?"

"In time, I'm sure…if only we knew what generation you were…then I would be much more help…" They made it to an area with plenty of headstones, Derek more or less watching from a distance, "Why don't we see what you're capable of now?"

"Can you show me a demonstration?"

"Of course. Necromancy is one of the harder disciplines to understand, because you must summon the dead." She held her hands out, "So you must pull their souls from resting. If you do not, they will not obey you." She wafted her arms in the air, and sure enough, all around her, zombies emerged from the ground. They moaned and generally seemed confused, wandering around Phaedra and waiting for her orders. Once they were up from the ground, she put her hands down, "So the little…hand movements, if you will, are necessary."

Ella took a deep breath, the same purple glow of skulls went around her red-nailed fingers, as she held her hands out, the dark chime sounded, and a zombie dug its way above the ground.

Ella's jaw dropped, she wilted, nearly falling over, " _One?_ "

Phaedra held a hand over her mouth, "Yes, earlier stages…you can summon one. But the next stage, you'll be able to summon many." She dismissed her zombies, they all crawled back home, "I do advise focusing on Necromancy. Unless…" She looked over at Derek, "What are her other disciplines?"

"Auspex and Fortitude."

She looked back, "You might want to focus equally on Fortitude. Being that you are young, if you do get caught in a fight, you're going to need to prepare yourself for any attacks."

"Right, okay." Ella said.

Phaedra smiled, "You are making very good progress for someone as young as you are. It wasn't until after a week of my Embrace that I felt well enough to walk, let alone use disciplines."

She gave a quick nod, still looking mopey over the fact that she could only summon a single zombie.

"You have blood for her in your room?" Phaedra looked over at Derek.

"I do."

"You should give it to her. She must be famished." She looked back at Ella, "When was the last time you fed?"

"Fed?" Ella asked.

"Yes, when was the last time you had blood?"

"I…I…I don't think…ever…"

"Really?" Her eyes widened, "You must be famished." She turned and started walking back, "Didn't you offer her anything?" She looked accusingly at Derek.

"I offered her plenty. It's daunting, the first time."

She grinned, "You don't say."

"Ugh." He looked away, "I can't even look at you."

She laughed before she turned back to Ella, "You poor girl. He must be driving you insane."

Ella just looked ahead. Everyone was.

"I'm in touch with reality." Derek said bluntly, "Your head is constantly in the clouds."

"It comes with age. How old are you, again? Twenty?"

"Sixteen." He muttered bitterly.

She chuckled softly, "Once you pass your twenties and thirties, things stop mattering. I'm still in touch with my humanity, but things like feeding no longer faze me. I've gotten over the fact that I'm no longer human."

"I have, the moment I was Embraced."

"You like to think you have. But you're still very human. You ooze humanity." She chuckled.

"I do not."

"If my clan weakness disturbs you, than you do."

"There is a difference between being weak-hearted and having class."

"Class?" She asked, "I have class." She checked back to make sure Ella was still following as they crawled through the wall, "I only eat those who've already died."

"Please…" He put a hand over his stomach, "That's repulsive…"

"It's helpful. Helpful to the ecosystem. Would you not say the scavengers and decomposers are the most important? They rid of the waste."

"And doesn't that hurt?" He asked, "At the end of the night, laying down to rest, pondering about how you simply _decomposed_. You _scavenged_. You ate…humans, no less…living people with…things on their minds, with families, with friends…"

"I had no idea you pictured me in bed so frequently."

He growled, balling his hands into fists, "You filthy tramp…"

She waved a taxi down, surprised when Derek opened the door for Ella and herself. "Well, at least you have some manners." She squeezed in next to Ella.

He muttered something under his breath as he got in the front and gave the address.

Phaedra turned to Ella and smiled, "I believe your clan has access to all the necromantic branches. Your clan was the creator of them, really. It was then…broken up into bloodlines, if you will."

She sighed and gave a soft nod, looking out the window.

"You must be overwhelmed." She said, a hair softer.

Her eyes hardened, other than that, she didn't really respond.

She leaned in, about to press her, before Derek interrupted, "Enough. Leave her alone."

Phaedra sat back and looked bitterly at Derek before she turned and looked back out the window.

The rest of the ride was silent. It was quiet when they exited the taxi too, and walked inside the red tower. Derek broke the silence when he told Phaedra, "We won't be needing your services any longer. Thank you."

"Very well." She smirked, "I wish you the best of luck then. Call if you need assistance." She turned and headed off.

Derek turned back to Ella, "Come with me." He said as he approached the stairs.

She followed him, "Are we done now?" She asked, "All done for the night?"

"Unless you'd like to go shopping." He said, "But I could very well purchase you items while you stay here and rest." He unlocked the door and led her inside.

"Sure, fun…whatever…" She flopped on the couch.

He chuckled softly, then walked off for a moment. She heard him puttering in the kitchen, then he returned with a wine glass of deep red liquid. He set it before her, "It's the finest I could find. For your first drink, at least." He sat next to her, giving plenty of room, "I figured it might as well be the best."

She quivered, "Do I have to?"

"I understand it seems grotesque. This is blood taken from a hospital. A quality hospital, at that…" He mused, "So it's from a person who still lives. Nobody died to give this. Death usually gives it…a more bitter taste, anyhow." He said, before he added, "You'll find blood tastes different as a Kindred. Our senses are more finely tuned, so blood has a richer taste, it's not as…metallic and thick tasting as it was when we were alive."

Ella sat up, shuddering, she hugged herself, then she took a deep breath. She picked the glass up and drank the whole thing.

"There you are." He said, "Hopefully it wasn't as bad as you imagined."

"No…it…it tasted good…" She said quietly.

"Good. I would be worried if it didn't. You need to have a certain affinity to it to survive. It'd be like if you despised the taste of water and refused to drink anything at all…"

She closed her eyes, shaking even more than before, tears came out of her eyes, but she brushed them away.

He looked away briefly, contemplating what the polite thing to do would be. He sat up on the edge of the couch and held his arms out, mentally scolding himself. Girls liked hugs right? Why couldn't he have had a sister when he was alive, or at least a girlfriend? He had absolutely no experience with any of this.

"I…I don't want this…I don't want any of this…" She sniffed, "I don't want to be a monster who drinks blood for a living! I want to eat food! And sleep at night! And be able to breathe again! I…I either want to be a human, or die…"

"I understand…" He slowly put his arms down, "But you aren't a monster. You can live this life without killing a single being, if you'd like. It is possible. There are Kindred who live such an innocent life."

"It's not that…I've killed people…or…vampires before…but…I don't know if I can ever adjust to this…"

"You will. You're a lot stronger than you think you are."

She closed her eyes as more tears ran down her cheeks, "Okay."

"There's still plenty of night left, but…" He stood up, "You're more than welcome to sleep while I get you some necessities. I only ask that you stay here. I'm trusting you not to go and get yourself hurt."

"Yes…alright…"

"Thank you." He nodded before he took his keys and left.

* * *

It was the one thing in their room that wasn't damaged, scuffed, stained or torn. She'd reach her hand out and touch it, just soft enough so she could hardly feel the thick layers of paint over the canvas.

"He won't keep you safe." Jeanette watched on.

Therese didn't give a response, she just stepped back and continued looking at the painting. Looking at her father. He could see her, from there. He was immortalized in the canvas, he lived on, watching her with disdain. Tears glossed in her eyes as she thought about what he must have seen. What he must have seen Jeanette do, what he must have seen Therese do, when she screamed, when she threw fits and broke things.

"Don't cry. Ugh, you're like a child! And you scold me for crying! Like a child!"

Therese pulled her glasses off and swabbed at her eyes with the back of her hand. She bit her bottom lip as the tears kept falling.

"We've been over this." Jeanette sang tauntingly, "Why does a child cry?"

Therese opened her blurred eyes and stared at the floor, "For their mother's attention…"

"So what point is there for a grown woman to cry? You only tell me this every other night. I just find this extremely ironic."

"I don't want to die." She whirled around to the windows, pushing the thick curtains out of the way as she looked out in the streets. But, the fear of a bullet crashing through the glass quickly drew her away. She checked that they were locked before she brushed the curtains over the window. "We need to board these up. They could…they could get in."

"They're not going to get in. You're losing your mind for no good reason."

"I'm not losing my mind!" She left her glasses on the vanity, pacing back and forth at a maddening pace, "They could be downstairs. They were _in_ this building." She hissed, " _They were here…_ "

"And now they're gone." Jeanette chided, looking at her nails, "I hate to say it, because really it isn't my responsibility at all, but your phone has been ringing _all_ night. You're worse than the old Malkavian Primogen. Didn't he go missing?"

"Don't compare me to him." She spat.

"He went into hiding, in his own house." Jeanette taunted, "And then he got _murdered!_ "

"Jeanette…" Therese's eyes widened with fear as she balled her hands into fists.

"You're increasing your risk to get murdered if you stay in one spot, you know. You're easier to track."

"I have to stay here! It's the only place that's safe!" She whirled around towards the windows, wanting to pull the curtains open, wanting to look out towards the streets and see them. But she didn't have the guts, "I'm surrounded. They're in my city. They're all around me! I can't take it back, I just can't, they'll kill me!"

"Then give it up. If you can't handle owning it, then just live with that other Primogen."

"I can't do that…" Tears dribbled to the ground, "What would that say to the Prince? He'd think I'm a complete coward! I should be able to defend myself…"

"But you can't. You're not a fighter, Therese."

"I know that…" She spat, pacing as more tears fell to the ground.

"Well…? Then what are you going to do? I'm sick of you pacing, and pacing, and pacing. Ignoring your phone, ignoring your responsibilities. _I_ want to play, Therese. It's _my_ turn."

"It's not safe…" She turned and looked at the painting again, slowly falling to her knees, "It's not safe…" She looked up at it, completely and utterly defeated, "I'm going to die…aren't I, Father?

* * *

"Mister Idowu?" Gottfried heard a smooth female voice on the line as soon as he picked up.

He raised a brow, "How may I help you?"

"This is May Virgo, I'm the secretary here. The Prince asked a small favor for you, are you busy?"

"Not at the moment."

"Wonderful. The Malkavian Primogen isn't picking up her phone, we need someone to head down and check if she's in the Asylum."

"Alright, I'll be there as soon as I can."

"Thank you very much, sir. Have a wonderful evening." The phone clicked off.

Gottfried sighed as he hung up the phone. He could think of a couple reasons as to why Therese was acting off. He took a cab to Santa Monica, heading to the Asylum and going to the second floor.

As he knocked on the door, he heard what sounded like an animal, scrambling to its feet, like a spooked dog. Then, just silence.

He smacked his forehead, "Therese…"

"Therese, now you've made them come and _find_ you." He heard Jeanette's voice.

"It's me, alright?" He asked, "It's Gottfried."

"Gottfried…?" He heard Therese's voice, just faintly.

"Gottfried? Oh no. He can't come in." Jeanette said, "He'll just run away again."

Gottfried's eye twitched, "You want me to leave?"

"Yes!—No."

"Wait…don't tell me you _like_ him. He's so cruel!" He heard Jeanette's voice.

"Enough. Go away, Jeanette." Therese snapped, before he heard her footsteps and the door cracked open, just an inch or so. He could see tears still leaking from her eyes as she peered around the foyer, looking for his 'Sabbat reinforcements'. She then looked back up at him, "I….I….I'm terribly sorry…"

He let himself in, "I got a call saying you weren't answering your phone."

She shut the door as soon as he entered, immediately locking it and standing up against it, "Yes…I…haven't been…"

"They're worried about you. Is everything alright?"

She wiped more tears away, "They're surrounding me…the Sabbat…"

"What? But this city's Camarilla…"

"They were here…in my club…"

"I know they were, but that was a long time ago."

"There could be more. They were practically under my nose, who knows how many are crawling around?"

"Is that why you haven't been answering your phone?"

"I've…" She looked away, "I've been distracted…" She jumped as the phone rang again, "It could be anyone…it could be them…they could know I'm here and take the place again…"

"Trust me, the last thing the Sabbat would do is give you a phone call checking if you're there."

She met his gaze, "You're sure they wouldn't?"

"Pretty sure."

The phone stopped ringing. She put a hand over her face, "I'll go back to the tower and just have an execution waiting for me anyway…"

"For what reason?"

"For…this…this…" She put her hand down and stared blankly at the floor, "Unacceptable behavior…"

"Well, considering they let me in, you should be fine."

She swallowed hard, "Right…this…this Prince is different…than the last one…he'll be willing to forgive me…despite the fact I don't deserve it…"

"He was just worried. I'll tell him you're fine."

"Yes…alright…thank you…" She moved away from the door, still seeming skittish, "I should board up the windows…Jeanette told me it was a bad idea, but I think they can get through…"

"That's for you to decide."

"Yes…right…" She shuddered as a sob broke through, but she quickly dabbed the tears away, "Excuse me."

His eyes widened, "Therese…they're not going to hurt you. They probably have other goals in mind."

"Yes…you're right…they wouldn't be foolish enough to try to take the city back so early…" She looked back up at him, "But they are eventually, aren't they?"

"It depends on what their plans are. And what our plans are."

She paced back and forth a bit, "When you came here…were there any Sabbat…? Did you see any members of the Camarilla nearby?"

"I didn't notice anything, aside from the usual activity."

"So…it's just me…" She tried taking a deep breath, but it was shaky. "I'm terribly sorry for…making you come out here…" She pinched the bridge of her nose.

"It's alright, I would feel similar if I was in your position. You just got the city back, and you don't want to lose it again."

"Thank you for understanding…" She said softly, "I've just never felt so…so helpless…I've never had threats so volatile enter my club until…" She looked up at him, then looked away, "Forgive me for being insensitive."

"You forget how powerful you are though." He crossed his arms, "Over half the Sabbat's top members are no match for a Malkavian Ancilla."

"Yes, but…what if she was right…the Nagaraja…? What if I've lost touch with my disciplines? I can't remember the last time I've really used them…"

"Then you need to hone your skills."

"And how do you suggest I do that?"

He paused, "I'm not sure, you don't look like much of the training type."

She gave a slight chuckle, "I'll…have to ask the Prince for bodyguards. Unless…"

"Unless?"

"Unless you would be interested in working for me." She approached the vanity and put her glasses back on.

He gave a dry chuckle, "Didn't you want to kill me at the trial? I find all of this to be ironic. Now you want a bodyguard out of me."

"I understand it was…it was very foolish of me. I didn't see the potential in you." She adjusted her glasses, "I would be willing to pay."

"I think it can be worked out."

"Thank you…" She took a relieved sigh, "My only issue then would be…her…"

"Jeanette?"

"Yes. She…seems to dislike you."

He rolled his eyes, "I'll just ignore her." He said, "After all, you are the most powerful figure in Santa Monica, the Malkavian Primogen…she's an…undesirable…"

A stray laugh escaped, "Yes, although I'm sure if you told her that, she'd start quite a heated debate…"

"It's nothing I couldn't handle."

"Well…" She held a hand out, "I would be very thankful to have you work for me. Is there a price you have in mind?"

He shook her hand, "I'll try not to take too much from your pockets, just enough for me to get by."

"Right." She mused, "Ten dollars an hour?"

"Very well." He said, "I hope you know that I'd be powerless against someone like Gideon or someone with a high level power of Dominate, I'm younger than you."

"I understand. But…your help will be enough."

"Very well." He nodded, "I'll do what I can."

* * *

She was worried when she first returned home, not able to see either of her sisters immediately. She figured Halcyon was out sharing her body with men and women despite Edgar's best intentions to get her a job.

This changed when Vance emerged from a hallway, holding Harmonia in a hostage grip, with his flamethrower aimed at her head.

As the door shut behind Iphigenia, she heard a gun get cocked behind her, "No funny business, Kindred." Kalliyan said.

Lastly, Remus stepped in from one of the halls, his hands folded behind his back. He looked confident, like he had covered all the bases. That was until Halcyon entered the room after Iphigenia.

Iphigenia's eyes were wide as she looked all around the room. She slowly held her hands above her head, "Leave them. They're innocent. Do what you will with me."

"Sister, no!" Halcyon cried out, running forward to hug Iphigenia, "You can crush their skulls with your death hammer!"

Harmonia, meanwhile, kept sobbing as she thrashed in her captor's arms, trying to free herself and join her sisters.

"Get away from me!" Iphigenia pushed Halcyon away, "Let them go and take me!" She seethed, glaring at Remus, "You have no use for humans. They're not involved in any of this."

Remus seemed unmoved by their display, "Remind me what you know about this one?" He looked at Vance.

Vance held Harmonia close as she thrashed, "Iphigenia Crystallia. Blood demon. She pranced around in the streets and made people throw up blood…coating herself with blood…the whole nine yards…"

"A Tremere, I see." Remus said, stepping a bit closer to the two sisters, "And how is Maximillian Strauss?" He asked, "I was quite surprised to find out that he's in Los Angeles now…instead of New York." He said, "I was also surprised to find out that LaCroix had perished, although slightly less so." He said.

"I'll ask again. What do you want?" She spat out through clenched teeth, her hands still in the air. She was quite good at acting tough, while Halcyon, still terrified, skittered backwards, towards the counters, looking for a knife.

"Ah, ah, temper, temper, Iphigenia." He smiled, "Continue giving me wrong answers, and I shall…hmm…how to put this delicately…burn your sister alive? No, drat…well, I tried."

"No compromising!" Halcyon screeched, grabbing a huge kitchen knife and climbing over the counter to stab at Remus.

Iphigenia just barely caught her, the knife getting lodged in her chest. "Dammit, Halcyon!" She pushed her back, "Relax. I have this under control, okay? Don't do _anything_." She pulled the knife from her chest and tossed it aside, kicking it away from Halcyon for good measure. She raised her hands again, glaring at Remus, "What do you want? You want to know how the Prince is doing? He's fine. It's not like I ever see him. I'm an apprentice, a shitty one at that. You honestly made a big mistake hunting _me_ down. I can honestly tell you I'm one of the worst Tremere in the Chantry."

That annoyed him more than she thought it would. No doubt Remus didn't want to hear that he wasted an _entire night_ hunting Camarilla members with nothing to show for it. "That's all? My, the young ones are very rude these days, aren't they? They don't have any time to talk at all. They just want to get straight to the main course…"

She shifted her weight to the other leg, "I'll talk all night, if you want. You just have to ask me something. I'm not going to run my mouth for no reason."

"Information is not going to get me anywhere. We already have methods of gaining that." He said, "What I want…if a bit subtler. I want a betrayal…I want an assassination from _inside_ the Camarilla."

"You want me to kill someone in the Camarilla?" She raised a studded brow, "Even if I were to try, I would fail. Even if I were to be Dominated, even if you were to give me a flamethrower, I'd fail. I'm surrounded constantly by Tremere, by Blood Boil. They'd kill me instantly."

"I want you to kill the Prince."

"Yeah, that's not gonna happen, sweetheart. Even if he was LaCroix, I'm not sure that would happen. He's so powerful, nobody in the Chantry knows what he's capable of. The second he senses betrayal, he'll wipe me out in a heartbeat."

"That's quite unfortunate news for your sister."

"Well, what the hell do you want me to do about it?" She spat out, "I'm giving you the honest answer you're asking for. I'm giving you the truth so when you fuck this up and try to use _me_ to go in there and kill the Prince, you understand why it doesn't work. I'm doing you a _favor_." She stepped back, "Please, it's a miracle enough I'm even talking at all. I'll give you information, I'll do something I'm capable of, but what you're asking me is no different than asking a little girl to go kill a bear. It's just impossible."

"I've seen so many Princes die. Most of which had horrendously low generation and were very old. Let me make this clear. What I'm asking is perfectly possible."

"Then how do you want me to do it?" She asked, utterly dumbfounded.

Halcyon watched the exchange with wide eyes, "If she can do it, then so can I." She stood up, "I know Anarchs, and I know Camarilla." She looked from Remus to Iphigenia, "And I've killed more than my sister has. I am a ghoul, but…I will kill the Prince. If you have me."

"Halcyon, stop." Iphigenia said bitterly, "Just stay out of this!"

"Cainites need a heart to operate." Remus said, "Despite anyone telling you differently. If you were to tear the organ to shreds with enough force with a blade…the Cainite turns to ash. This is especially effective when the Cainite does not have their guard up, and is not in a combative stance. You've noticed this, yes?"

"Yes." She said after a slight pause, "But I don't use swords, or daggers. I use a sledgehammer."

"Are you going to kill the Prince, or not?"

"If I say no, you'll kill my sister?" She looked over at Harmonia, who somehow still had enough tears to keep crying.

"Yes. And then the next one, until you run out of sisters."

"I only have two." She muttered bitterly.

"And perhaps I will kill you third." He said, "Or wipe you memory that you even _had_ sisters. Either would solve the case."

She sighed, "I'll kill him. I'll kill the Prince. Now, how the hell am I supposed to go about this?" She looked beyond irritated, "I'm sure whatever plan you concoct is going to go sour. I'll end up dead, and that won't even be an accomplishment. It'll just be a waste of your resources. You've already put so much time and effort into this already, I almost feel bad. They won't care if I die. The Camarilla. I'm hardly helping them in the first place."

"That's for you to decide." He said, looking at Vance, "Take her away." Vance nodded and began to leave the room with Harmonia.

She watched as they pulled Harmonia off, "What are you doing with her?" Her gaze was dead serious.

"She will be a blood doll for the Sabbat until you kill the Prince."

She looked absolutely furious, before Halcyon stood up, "Then take me instead."

Remus held a hand out, Dominating Halcyon to make her sleep, "Take her away." He said, and Kalliyan took Halcyon away too. Now it was just Remus and Iphigenia.

"You're a twisted little shit." She grumbled, putting her hands down to her sides, "So you're not giving me any instructions? You want me to figure this out for myself?"

"Come with me." He beckoned, heading for the exit.

She grabbed her hammer by the door and slid the handle beneath the strap of her bralette and through one of the loops of her pants to hold it in place. She then followed him out the door and down the steps, "If I'm doing this, I'm doing it alone. At least let me die in peace without one of those godforsaken shovelheads trying to hump my leg."

They left her apartment complex, Remus and Iphigenia could see the red tower from there, surprisingly. Iphigenia had no idea where Vance, Kalliyan, and her sisters were. Part of her was surprised that they could make such headway. "I recommend buying a sharper instrument. Choose a time when he is unsuspecting. The aftermath of a meeting, when he's getting ready to rest before dawn. Whatever works for you." He said, "Destroying his heart while he is unsuspecting will kill him, no matter his age, clan, or power." He crossed his arms, "If you take longer than a week to map this plan out, I will assume you have given up, and I will kill your sisters. If you tell anyone a word of this, I will kill your sisters. If you fail, I will kill your sisters." He said, "And there is no such thing as confidentiality anymore, I always know what you're doing and where you are, you may think I don't, but you'll be quite sorry if you think you can get away with anything under my nose." He said, "Are we clear on the conditions?"

"I'd like to change one."

He narrowed his eyes.

"I fail and the Prince kills me. You take my sisters to the Chantry, leave them there. You will not kill them."

"And have them turn into Tremere that may one day thin our ranks? Never." He snarled, "The conditions stand as I put them out."

She crossed her arms, "Take them to the Asylum then. In Santa Monica."

"Perhaps if you kill him in the early days of the week, your sisters might still have their _eyes_."

"Lovely." She said dryly, still seeming irritated.

"Perhaps Master Lafayette will be tasteful with them if you fail. He might fuse them together as one creation."

She rubbed one of her temples, "Look, I'll go take care of it then. Like, right away." She started walking, "Let me at least buy some kind of sword. My daggers are too blunt."

"Very well." He said, as a bright light went off behind them. They both turned to see Iphigenia's entire apartment complex explode, tumbling down in a huge fiery wreckage. The destruction of the large building caused the ground to shake. Dozens of deathly screams were heard, as it was unknown how many people were in the building as it was destroyed.

She ducked as pieces of flaming wood came crashing down. "Well…at least I don't have to worry about rent…" She looked at the wreckage.

"That would be your fate had you reject my generous offer." He gave a dry chuckle, starting to walk away.

She sighed and turned away, nervously rubbing a hand over her phone. She wanted so badly to call someone. To call Edgar. To maybe even call Victor. But she had to go buy a better weapon. The prospect of talking to Fat Larry, listening to him stumble over her name and try to figure out if she was a man or a woman, it sounded wonderful, compared to the rest of the week she was going to live out.

* * *

 **A/N:** So um…yeah. Neither of us had that planned. Heh heh. Should be interesting! Thanks for reading!


	76. Chapter 76

**A/N:** Here's chapter seventy-six! Isn't it interesting how Archie makes connections to anyone that'll give him money? And, isn't it interesting how Remus makes connections with anyone who gives him power? What happens when the two meet? Let's find out! Enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs.

* * *

It had been a long time since Archie woke up to the sound of a little moaning voice behind him. He turned his shoulder and saw her lying there, stark naked, looking miserable, "You're hogging all de blankets…"

He'd nearly forgotten about her. Aschat. He sat up, holding his head, throwing the blanket over her. He sat for another minute, trying to recollect the memories of what happened last night.

It must have been a great night if he couldn't remember a damn thing. He remembered getting the quality wine, and she came with some sort of weed. And then, it was a haze. He supposed he slept with her, but wished he had been present enough to remember it. If he ever slept with his girls, he liked to critique their performance. It'd teach them to use the same tricks out on their own, earn him more money.

She swatted the blanket away from her tattooed face, sitting up, "What…what are you doing?" She asked, her deep voice sounded quite pleasing when she first woke up.

"Getting ready." He stood up.

She flopped back on the mattress. "Your head…iz like a steel cage. One dat…never breaks…"

He wasn't going to tell Aschat about the potent Kindred blood flooding through his veins that made the pain of a hangover nonexistent. It also made any other sort of addiction completely obscure. To be honest, he was still getting over Garret's blood bond.

He went into the bathroom and showered, then he shaved, (keeping the beard, of course), styled his hair, then got dressed. He went into the kitchen to make himself, and he supposed Aschat, a cup of coffee, when there was a knock on the door. He let the coffeemaker brew, then nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw Aschat answer the door, wearing nothing. She had the bedsheets covering her figure at least, her long dark hair still a wild mess, dark bags under her eyes, as well. She looked at the man behind the door with a stupefied look, "Uh…'ello…"

"Aschat. Go take care of the coffee." Archie ordered, a hiss to his voice.

Aschat turned over her shoulder, then turned around and sulked into the kitchen, "M'kay…"

Archie adjusted his tie, "Forgive me, sir. What can I help you with?"

The way Remus's horrid, animalistic eyes glowered didn't exactly make his entrance any less frightening, "Such a…distinctive greeting…is it a local custom?"

"Apologies, sir. Busy night at work, last night. Made quite a good profit." He reached into his suit and pulled out a few hundred, handing them to Remus, "Perhaps this will suffice for the inconvenience."

He looked from the money to Archie, then back to the money before taking it, "I have come here to discuss the city of Hollywood."

He raised a brow, "Has it fallen back to the presence of the Anarchs? Camarilla?"

"No, aside from that infantile blunderbuss, Isaac Abrams…but I have plans for him…plans that I will attend to once my army is in place."

"Of course. What can I assist you with, then?"

He took a rolled up sheet of paper, slamming it on the nearest table in the living room, "This a map of the city…that oaf's jewelry store is here." He pointed, "And the club you shut down, Vesuvius…is here." He pointed.

"Yes." His dark eyes scanned the paper, "I have all but two payments set on the place. I killed the witch who owned the place, the only hurdle in my way is Abrams. He's still holding onto the lot itself."

"I was told that the city was more or less bought by you." He said, "I was in torpor during the early days of this war, so I did not witness the event. Is this true?"

"It is. I had connections to many of the Kindred there, I was easily able to…persuade them to see things the way we did."

"There is one building of note that is not under our control, however." He said, "It is the club known as the Elbow Room. It is not controlled by the Sabbat. I noticed it a few nights ago, I recognized no one in the club and it doesn't seem to waving our flag. Do you know anything about the establishment?"

"I've never heard of it. Where is it?"

"Only about a block or two away from Vesuvius." He said, "Contacts told me the club used to be owned by Ash Rivers, until it was bought and replaced. The new owner's name eludes me, leading me to believe that there might be another operation down there aside from our own and the Anarchs."

"I'll have matters sorted out before it becomes a problem."

Aschat walked in, still dragging the sheets in front of her chest as she handed Archie a mug, "Here you are, sir."

He swatted her off, leaving the mug on the table, "Make yourself decent, you imbecile."

She looked down at herself, then slowly walked off again. Archie handed another few hundred Remus's way without a word.

Remus stood tall, "Very well, investigate who's in charge of this new club, and if the opportunity befalls you, take it back." He said, "I expect it done quickly. I have more pressing matters to attend to."

"It will be dealt with and taken care of by sunrise."

"I look forward to it. Report back to me with what you find."

"Yes, sir. Gladly."

* * *

"You wouldn't be interested on going on a trip, would you?" Phaedra walked inside and poured herself a glass of blood.

"Where did you have in mind?" Poe asked quietly.

"A museum."

"…are those open at night?"

"No." She drank most of her glass.

He looked nervous, "How will we get in?"

"Sneak in. I hear the security isn't very good. We'll just take a calming stroll."

"…it doesn't sound calming to me…"

She chuckled softly and sat next to him, "Then don't worry about it." She gently hugged him, "We can go another time. Before they close, but after the sun is down."

"No…we can you…you seem excited about it."

"I wouldn't mind going at another time."

"But it'll make you happy."

She looked around, then stood up, "We'll be quick. I want to see what they have."

"Okay." He stood up, ready to follow her.

She opened the door and headed downstairs, smiling as she looked up at him, "Have you ever been to the Museum of Natural History?"

"If I have…I was quite young…"

"So it should be an experience for both of us." They got into a taxi, "The Museum of Natural History, please." They started driving.

There was a pause for about five minutes, until Poe said, "Was there something specific you were looking for?"

"Not in particular. I hear they have quite a bit of dinosaurs. And plenty of artwork. All sorts of treats."

He nodded, "I just wish we didn't have to spend the entire time sneaking…"

"Just around the cameras." She said, "It shouldn't be too bad. If anything, it'll be fun."

"Only for you."

"I suppose I have fifty years of experience, snooping around for things for my sire…."

"It's not as if I've never done stealth missions…it's just…I didn't expect to be doing it tonight…"

"We could always go back."

"No…this is special for you…"

She chuckled softly, reaching over and holding one of his hands. He squeezed it occasionally, but other than that he was rather silent for the rest of the ride. Once they got there, she scoped around, trying to see the best way to get inside. "No doubt the doors will set an alarm." She muttered.

"Is there another way to get in?"

"We could try the windows."

He swallowed hard, "Are they high?"

"Perhaps…" She kept looking around, "It seems that's our only bet. And there aren't many. And I don't think they open. I have another idea." She started walking right over to the police officer.

"Can I help you, ma'am?" He asked.

She held a hand up, "My associate and I are here to inspect the mold outbreak?" A blue glow clouded his head.

"Mold outbreak? I didn't even hear about it."

"Unfortunately, it's affected one of the dinosaur exhibits. We'll take care of it."

"Alright." He turned and unlocked the door, "Go on in. If they see you on camera, I'll tell them it was official business. I'll let the others inside know as well."

"Oh, thank you, dear." She said as she walked inside. Once the doors shut she smiled at Poe, "That went well."

He took a sigh of relief, "Thank heavens…I forgot that you had Dominate."

"It is convenient, in times like this. I just have to be careful they don't see the teeth." She started wandering the place, her eyes wide with awe.

He smiled, "You're already pleased."

"I love it. The atmosphere. It's so soothing." As they walked deeper, they made it to the dinosaur exhibits. "They were so beautiful…"

He grabbed one of her hands and gave her a hug, "They were."

She hugged him back, closing her eyes for a moment as she took a deep breath. Then, she broke the hug, but tightly held his hand as she pulled him along. "Let's see what else they have!"

As they ran down the hallways, they stopped at a mammal exhibit. "I don't usually find the animal exhibits entirely thrilling…but…" She strained her neck to look up at some of the skeletons, "These were massive…"

He nodded, "Biggest animals out there…right? The whales?"

"Mmm hmm…I think so. I've never seen one before."

"I haven't either…"

She took his hand and tugged him further, finally reaching an area that had things she was looking for. It seemed to be ancient artwork, and from the brightness of her eyes, she was absolutely captivated. She hovered over every piece, reaching her hands out to gently touch the glass as she marveled at what was beneath it. Poe would watch her with a smile on his face, following her along only when she was ready.

"These people were geniuses." She said as her eyes flickered over them, "So many of their ideas, so many of their traditions, the occult in their lives, it's gone. Misread, misinterpreted, or just…undiscovered. To think…how many of these pieces here are actually what we think they are…?"

Poe looked around, "I…I don't know…"

"I'm glad we'll live forever. All the more time to figure it out." She turned and kept walking along, reaching a hand out to hold his.

He grabbed her hand, following her along, "We live forever that is…if no one kills us…"

She chuckled, "Yes, of course." She tugged him along towards more exhibits, peering around at different things. It seemed the art really captured her attention, but most of everything else was merely a curiosity. Nonetheless, bringing Phaedra here reminded Poe of bringing a child to a candy-shop.

"I'm glad you're enjoying yourself."

"Thank you again for coming with me." She squeezed his hand, "It means a lot…I always go to museums alone…it's nice to have somebody."

"I'm glad to keep you company." He squeezed her hand back.

She kissed his temple, "Did you want to head back home?"

"Are you finished with everything here?"

"I think so. It was lovely, don't you think?"

He nodded, "I liked it. There's a lot here."

"We should come back, sometime. Sometime later." She headed outside, smiling when the police officer approached, "It's been taken care of."

"Great. Thanks, good you guys were able to take care of it."

"Mmm hmm. Have a wonderful evening."

"You too."

Phaedra called for another taxi and they got in, this time, Phaedra gave Poe practically no space as she cuddled up next to him. Poe smiled, squeezing her back and letting her rest her head on his shoulder. She leaned in and pecked his neck, holding his hand with both of hers. "Are you tired?" He asked.

"Not much. I suppose a little. I'd like to go home and take a bath, if you wanted to join me."

"…Phaedra…"

"What?" She smirked devilishly, "It's a large bath."

"No."

She giggled, "Alright. I'd still like to bathe when I get home."

"Alright…I'll keep that in mind."

She held onto his hand, then kissed behind his hair, "What type of shampoo do you use?" She asked, "Your hair is very soft…"

"I'm not sure…I feel like it changes…"

"Mmm, yes, that's true." She gave him some space, "It is nice. Whatever it is."

The taxi pulled over and she paid before they got out and headed back into the tower. She stretched when they reentered her room, "That was exhilarating…" She turned back to Poe, "What do you think Gottfried is up to?"

"I'm not sure…I haven't seen him much…"

"Mmm…perhaps we'll call him tomorrow." She unzipped her boots and left them up against the wall, rolling her ankles. "Well, I'll take a bath, then, if you don't mind."

"What am I going to do, stop you?"

"Well, I wasn't sure if you wanted to come with me."

"Yes you are."

She giggled before she took her scarf off and tossed it in his general direction, heading to the bathroom and leaving the door open a crack. It was about half an hour before she came back out in a robe, sitting beside him on the couch and cuddling with him again. He kissed her forehead, "Did you enjoy your bath?"

"I did. It was nice and warm. You would have loved it."

"I'm not so sure about that."

She giggled, "Why not? Are you more of a shower supporter?"

"…I thought the vast majority of the population was…"

"Really?" She asked, seeming quite shocked, "I've always taken baths…"

"I know…but…"

"What?"

"It's…rare…for that…"

"It is…? I had no clue. I thought it was…like half and half."

"It could be." He said, "I just prefer showers…"

"I think baths are so much more relaxing. Light a few candles…let your thoughts melt away…" She slowly leaned more weight onto him.

"Showers can be relaxing."

"Perhaps we can show each other, another day."

He sighed, "Maybe…"

She looked a little worried, "I didn't mean to push anything."

"I know, they're just jokes."

She took his hand again and leaned on him, kissing his cheek. He squeezed her back, getting cozy in her arms. Her eyes drifted closed as she pet his hair. "Turn around." She asked softly, "Face the door. But keep sitting. Sit on my lap." He gave a quick nod, working his way onto her lap.

She laid back against the arm of the chair, letting him sit between her legs as he pressed his back to her chest and stomach. She laced her hands around his abdomen, letting them rest there as his head laid just under hers, "There. Comfortable?"

He nodded, "Yes…" He said softly, holding her arms.

She smiled, "Good. I am too. Before you ask." She kissed the top of his head.

He squeezed her arms a bit, "I just wish…" He started quietly.

"What?" She smirked, leaning in and kissing the shell of his ear.

"I want to hug you." He said, "I can't do it in this position."

She giggled, "Then turn around and hug me. I just thought you might want to recline."

He gave her a squeeze, closing his eyes as he rested his head on her shoulder. She pet his hair, letting her leg slide out the opening of her robe so she could effectively embrace him with her arms and legs.

He kissed her on the lips briefly, "I'm sorry…for…all the damage I caused you…"

"I forgive you. It was nothing." She held his chin and gave a soft smile, "Please, you can't feel so much guilt about it. Relax."

"But I hurt you…so many times…"

"It's alright, sweetheart. I forgive you."

"I don't understand how…"

"Because you didn't do much. I hurt you too, didn't I? At least offended you?"

"Maybe…but…whatever it was, it feels minor compared to what I did to you…"

"Well, anything you did to me," She waved a hand in front of her face, throwing it out in the air like there was something there, "Gone."

He smiled, "You can be very theatric sometimes."

She chuckled, "Apologies."

"I think it's nice sometimes." He kissed her, being quite careful about her teeth. "Did you want to go to sleep?"

"Yes, that sounds lovely." She smiled as he made himself comfortable and they slept on the sofa again.

* * *

"So was that Archie guy any help?" Kalliyan asked.

Remus had his hands folded behind his back, "As helpful as any ghoul would be…I suppose…"

"…the hell is a ghoul?"

"Ah, I have forgotten." He smiled, "You don't know what that is. A ghoul is a mortal who drinks our blood to remain young forever in exchange for our servitude." He said, "A process which I find extremely repulsive and unworthy to said human, but I suppose sometimes it has its merits."

"That sounds…really…really weird…"

"Do Kuei-Jin not have a similar ritual?"

"No, not at all." She said.

"I see." He said, surveying the area. They were both at camp. Camp being the large spur-of-the-moment base Vance built for them. Which meant that there were a large amount of hunters around, eyeing Remus and Kalliyan suspiciously every once and a while, like they were wondering what the hell was wrong with Vance for supporting such a monster.

"It's nice to finally see you smile, at least." She said.

He looked at her, "What mean you say?"

"You just…seem to be in a better mood…at least…compared to the other day."

"This is war." He said, "Mercy is not to be shown to our enemies. If that Tremere worm is wise enough, she will already be giving the Prince his Final Death."

Kalliyan gave a small nod, looking ahead. It was clear she didn't exactly agree everything that was going on.

They approached Vance at the end of the camp, "I believe we're ready to move on." Remus said, "Where is the next vampire on your scouting list?"

"Why don't I show you?" Vance asked, as he and a few other hunters began escorting them into the base.

Remus looked around, the basement had dozens of cells per hallway, some with vampires in them, "Yes…yes…" He grinned, "With this many members of the Camarilla imprisoned, it won't be long until I win the city once and for all…" He said, "And now I have a suitable number of Anarchs following me as well. Soon there shall be no other faction in this city, aside from the Sabbat…"

The reached the lowest levels of the basement, "Would you like me to show you the most powerful vampire we've captured?"

"Yes, I'm quite interested in seeing who it is."

Vance guided them to the cell. When Remus saw that it was empty, it confused him, but then everything made sense once he heard the amount of guns being cocked and aimed at them as the Society of Leopold members backed them into the cell. "Get in." Vance barked.

Kalliyan gasped, squeezing Remus's hand, while Remus frowned, keeping a cool countenance despite the amount of flamethrowers aimed at them, "What is the meaning of this?"

"I'm done. The Society of Leopold is finished with your nonsense. You don't really care about driving away all the hell spawn, you just want the city for yourself." Vance said, "I need to stay true to God, and to do this I have to make up the sins of ever joining you. We're going to capture as many vampires as we can, and then we're going to burn this place down! So…I'll say it again. Get in the cell."

"You're going to regret this…Vance…" Remus said, "Accept your position as a pawn at my side, or else you'll lose the game entirely."

"There's no way you can win, Remus." Vance said, "I stocked all my men with flamethrowers. For you vampires, it might as well be Kryptonite, so even if you try to make a move, you'll be dead before you even realize what's happening."

Remus backed away into the cage with Kalliyan, watching as the door shut in front of him, "This…isn't…over…"

* * *

A few hours had passed since the two of them were locked in there. Remus sat against one of the walls, while Kalliyan sat against the opposite one. "So…now the question becomes…what do we do?"

"Jail sex." Kalliyan said, when Remus made a disgusted face, she said, "What? Come on…when it a chance like this ever going to happen again?"

"My eve of reckoning will not end here." He said, "I will not burn tonight."

"I agree, we need to cut our losses and escape."

"We need to escape and kill that traitor Vance." He said, "The rest of his army will follow me."

"…you can't be serious."

"This is only a minor setback." He said, "Vance was going to figure out sooner or later that I was merely using him. The fact that this is happening now, as opposed to later, makes little difference. I have enough hunters to slaughter armies, I just need their loyalty to me."

Her eyes grew wider and wider during his explanation, "You really _do_ have a black heart, don't you? You're willing to throw away anything that doesn't compute with you. You're willing to destroy anything and everything that gets in your way… why are you—"

"Because it is the nature of war."

"No, that's a load of bullshit. War isn't an excuse just to stitch an army together out of tiny rags that don't even get along in the first place." She said, "And then there was that girl's family, who you completely tore apart."

"Had she not been dealt with the way she has, I'm sure her and her Tremere brethren would make short work of your people. The Kuei-Jin and the Camarilla do not exactly get along."

"Oh my god…you're just like them…it's just like working with Tsubasa and Jun…"

"I'm afraid that's where you're wrong." He said, "I treat you as an equal. You have just as much say in this as I do."

"Then why aren't you even listening to me?"

He sighed, "Kalliyan, I promise, after we take the city, things will be better. Once we're in control, it will be simpler. Maintaining a city, while as difficult as taking one, requires, less of a gruesome touch, I suppose." He said, "But in order for us to escape with our lives, we need to kill Vance, and make sure his army is in allegiance with us."

"And how do you propose we do that?"

"Vance is a man of God. A man of honor, of pride. I will give him a challenge he will unable to refuse." He said, "I will bet everything on a singular bout of combat. No weapons, no powers. It will just be two men, showing their strength. I will bet the army and my life on the endeavor."

She swallowed hard, "You're crazy…"

"No, jail sex is crazy."

She crossed her arms, "It's not like anyone's here to see."

He took one paranoid glance outside the jail cell, "Very well." He said, inching closer towards her.

"Wait, seriously, you're into it now?" She asked, "Shouldn't you…conserve your strength, for Vance?"

He shook his head, "I will not be using any blood against the man. It will just be a battle with our fists." He started to unbutton his shirt.

She smiled and began to unbutton hers as well, "Then after this, we'll kill that son of a bitch." She said, kissing him on the lips.

* * *

Vance was quite surprised to see Remus and Kalliyan enter their meeting room which was several stories above where they were being kept in their cell. "How did you get in here?" Vance narrowed his eyes, as his hunters aimed flamethrowers at Remus and Kalliyan.

"I challenge you for your entire army!" Remus pointed, "We will have a match…just between the two of us, to see who the victor is."

Vance raised a brow, "Go on…"

"We will not use our powers, or our weapons. It will a straightforward match of brute strength." Remus said, tossing his cursed blade to the sidelines, "The winner, gets an army, bigger than their wildest dreams. The loser, dies."

Vance snickered, then laughed, as he threw his flamethrower aside, "Gavin will be quite pleased to hear this…after all, you wouldn't be the first vampire I killed with my bare hands!"

Remus held a taunting hand out, "Then let us begin."

Vance snarled and ran in, rearing a fist back to punch Remus in the face. Remus gave a growl of his own, easily ten times louder and more animalistic than Vance's. He avoided the first punch and hit Vance back, square in the face.

Kalliyan swallowed hard as she watched from the sidelines, keeping her distance from the other hunters watching.

Remus kept punching Vance in tiny strikes that would knock him back. But it was evident that Vance had the stomach for it, as the strikes were barely bruising him. Vance finally hit Remus back, and it was enough to send him sailing back. Vance then pinned Remus to the ground.

Remus gave another wolfish snarl, trying to wrestle free from his grasp. Vance reared a fist back and nailed Remus in the face dozens of times. Remus looked hurt, or at the very least confused, as he held his head. He finally wriggled an arm free and punched Vance off of him, rolling over so it was now he who was pinning Vance down.

Vance knocked him off, but only after he suffered dozens of blows to the head, like Remus. The paced around each other for a moment or two, then they ran at each other and kept punching at one another. Remus was slightly thinner than Vance, and all the coats on the hunter probably weren't doing anything helpful for Remus either. It meant that anytime he threw a punch, he had to hit Vance's face to do any real damage. Vance of course predicted this and could now block accordingly.

Vance swept Remus on the ground with his legs, rearing a foot back to stomp on his chest. Remus however was able to easily dodge the attack by rolling out of the way, he then charged for Vance with a roar, rearing a fist back.

Vance's eyes widened, he pulled a cross out, blinding Remus immediately. Remus cried out in pain and froze in place. Vance then drew a machine gun, firing away at Remus, the LaSombra fell to his knees as Vance went to scoop up his flamethrower.

"Remus!" Kalliyan cried, holding a hand out.

Remus's eyes wearily scanned the arena. He rubbed at them in a vain attempt to make the pain go away.

Vance cocked his flamethrower, reloading it, then he fired away at Remus, flames spread all over the battlefield, he was ready to end it all.

Remus gasped, he dove for the ground, doing a front tuck, followed by another, and then another, until he was finally away from the range of Vance's attack. He then dove for the hunter, knowing that he needed to take the offensive eventually if he was to win this fight. Vance saw the attack coming a mile away. With his free hand, he pulled his cross out again, blinding Remus.

Remus growled as his sight was again taken away from him, but he felt himself collide into the hunter. He guessed he had about five seconds to disorient the hunter before he aimed his flamethrower at him and killed him. He reared his head back and smacked Vance's with his. Vance screamed and stumbled back. Remus continued again, and again, using his vampiric resistance to blunt force as an advantage to give repetitive strikes. As Vance was winded, Remus snatched the flamethrower away from the hunter.

He smacked Vance in the face with the butt of the gun, causing enough brute force to knock Vance to the ground.

Whether Vance was alive or conscious, it was hard to tell, but it didn't stop Remus there. He gave a lionized snarl, kicking his body and stomping on it as he began to aim the flamethrower at Vance's face.

Vance's vision was blurred, he cowered and held his hands in front of his face, "No…this…this can't be…what…what is Gavin going to think…?"

"Most likely that you're a weak, dishonorable, and foolish man, who betrayed his own kind." Remus said, backing away, but still having the flamethrower aimed at Vance, until he retrieved his cursed sword. It hissed eerily as it aimed it at Vance's throat, "Such a shame, that you have lost, hunter. It seems your greed for vanquishing me and thirst for power is your Kryptonite after all." He said, "Do you have any last words?"

Vance closed his arms in shame, "Just do it already…"

Remus reared his sword back, decapitating the hunter in one swift slash, he then turned back to the other hunters, "Does anyone else want to question my rule in this compound?"

All the hunters exchanged a glance, until they all bowed in front of Remus.

Remus smirked, an ancient cursed blade in one hand, and a flamethrower in the other, "Excellent, now it's time to vanquish the Camarilla."

* * *

 **A/N:** Surely the Camarilla can't fall to a batch of hunters…or can they? Twenty-four chapters left… Thanks for reading!


	77. Chapter 77

**A/N:** Here's chapter seventy-seven! A heavy set of scenes brought to you by SigmaFang…enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs. There is also some raunch in this chapter, if you're not a fan.

* * *

When Sirius came home, he heard the TV on in the living room. When he came in, he saw Juliet sitting on the couch, a gallon of chocolate ice cream in her hands, and a scoop in her hand. There was some cheesy romance movie on, "Oh, there you are. Hey, babe." She turned and looked up at him, smiling.

"Hey." He smiled back, "Everything here okay?"

She gave a deep sigh, "Yup." She took another bite of ice cream, "I'm all hopped up on painkillers and ice cream, so…yeah, everything's going great."

"Painkillers and ice cream?" He asked, sitting next to her.

"Yeah." She scooted in closer to him so they were up next to each other when he sat down.

"That time of the month?"

"Yup."

"Aw…I guess I can't mess with you tonight, huh? I don't think you'd take any of my jokes as well like this."

"I've been craving your dick all night, I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh yeah?"

"Uh huh." She smirked, "They say it takes the pain away. I mean, makes sense…you can't really feel much else during an orgasm…"

"I mean, even without a period, you crave my dick…so…in a way, I fail to see a difference."

"Really, there is none. I just thought as a vampire, it might…excite you or something, but…" She shrugged, "I guess it's still gross."

"What would excite me?" He wondered, then he made a face, "Oh…"

She snickered, "What, not tempting?"

"Maybe after a few beers."

She laughed, "Alright, I'll give you a while." She pinched his shoulder playfully, "Visited the clinic earlier today."

"Huh? You did?" He asked, "Feeling like that?" He looked her over.

"Well, this didn't hit until later. After they checked me out. Figured I'd go and make sure it was possible. It is. I'm not pregnant, obviously, but they said they'd be willing to do it. We just have to pay a shit ton of money and sign a huge stack of papers."

"Uh…jeez…I'll have to come up with another pseudonym or something…"

She snickered, "John Smith."

"Oh yeah, they wouldn't see through that one at all…"

"What about…Romeo Rhodes?"

"Pfft…"

"What?" She laughed, "Don't like it?"

"I mean…it could work…"

"You have a while to think about it. Until you decide to marry me."

"Oh…yeah. I have to steal a ring…"

"Please don't steal one…" One of her eyes twitched, "That means something to someone…"

"Not if it's from the store…"

"I guess…"

"What? I steal everything."

"I know. Just be careful."

"So I just need to get you a ring?"

"I guess…" She said, "I mean…last time I had a wedding, but that didn't work out, so yeah, might as well just grab a ring and stick it on."

"I mean…your family probably thinks you're dead. My family _is_ dead…it'd be a pretty damn quiet wedding…"

"Yeah, I know, I know. No wedding. I wouldn't want one anyway…"

He faced ahead, "Juliet…"

"What?"

"If you…uh…want one…its fine, I just…uh…commitment is kinda a new thing for me…"

"I know. I don't want one. Really." She took another bite of ice cream, then put the lid on, "I should really go put that away."

"Why don't I get it for you?"

"That'd be great…." He got up and stuffed the ice cream carton back in the freezer, coming back in and sitting next to her. She cuddled up to him even more so, leaning her head on his shoulder as she watched the movie. He squeezed her back, kissing her cheek and rubbing her back. She held his face and kissed his lips, smoothing a hand over his chest.

"Damn…I hate how tired I get at this time at night…" He held her close, "It's starting to become a regular time thing…"

"We don't have to do anything if you're tired." She fidgeted with the collar of his shirt, her other hand rubbing over his bicep.

"Nah…I wanna see how the Juliet who _craves_ it works."

She smirked and situated herself in his lap, kissing his lips slowly and lovingly. He could taste the chocolate ice cream, just faintly, and feel the chill of it on her fingertips as her arms wrapped around his neck and her hands held his shoulders.

"Fuck…your ass is so big…"

She looked down briefly, then back up, "Am I hurting your legs?"

"Nah…you're just making something else stiff…"

"Yeah, thought I saw something." She smirked as she leaned in and went back to kissing him, taking his hands and slowly putting them around her rear. He felt it up, kissing her passionately and moving one of his hands to grope her breast. She kissed at jawline, nibbling there, "Don't squeeze too hard…"

"Right, they sore or something?"

"Yeah, just a little bit…"

He gave her a gentle kiss, gradually repositioning himself and lying back on the couch with her on top of him. He peeled his jacket off, then his shirt.

She started unbuttoning her blouse before she threw it off, then she stood up and took her shorts off.

"It's weird…" He said, taking his own pants off, "I've never seen a girl want it so bad while they're on the rag." He said, "You seem kinda happy too. Maybe you're just better at weathering the storm…"

"Unless you piss me off…then I'll tear your eyes out…but I've just been waiting for you to come home all night…"

"Hey…I only have one of those left…"

She snickered and kissed him, "I would never. If it was someone else, I probably would."

"Then you could have your own eyeball collection."

"Uh huh." She snickered, eyeing over his chest as she slid her hands over it. He reached out and took her bra off, leaning forward and gently kissing her breasts. She combed her fingers through his hair, sighing, "God, I wish my hair was as nice as yours…"

"What are you talking about? Your hair is sexy."

"It's not nearly as soft as yours…"

"It's still silky." He said, petting her hair with one hand, and rubbing her back with the other.

She closed her eyes and melted onto him, "Mmm…that's nice…" She started kissing his neck and scratching his shoulders.

"Good." He held her close and kept going. She gave a soft moan, wiggling her hips to inspire him, perhaps. Either that, or to tempt him. "So where's this craving you've been talking about?"

"Where?" She asked, smirking.

"Yeah, it kinda seems like you wanna go to sleep, if anything."

"Well, you're the one petting me and cuddling with me…"

"It's probably because we're both tired…"

"Did you want to go upstairs?"

"Sure."

She stood up, pulling her panties down and leaving them off. She then faced away from him, "Gee, it'd sure be a shame if…my husband disappeared and tried to assault me…"

"Yeah…sure would…" He said, when she looked behind herself, he was gone.

She gave a little smirk, slowly wandering towards the staircase, "It's really bad that I love this as much as I do…"

"I'll say. Hell of a fantasy you got."

She turned around, trying to pinpoint where he was, "You're damn good at this."

"I know. Maybe you'll find out where I am when you're in the bedroom."

She snickered as she turned and headed up the stairs, "Do…do we have any lube?"

"Uh…"

"Guess we can't do it then…" She gave a disappointed sigh, "Because I have a tampon in and…I just put it in…and I really don't feel like oral…" They entered the bedroom and she slowly wandered over to nightstand, opening it, "Oh. Looks like someone was thinking ahead."

"Who would that be?"

"Me." She took the bottle out and set it on the table.

"So you want it in your butt?"

"Unless you have any other ideas. I thought you'd be ecstatic."

She faced an overwhelming shove as she was pushed up against the wall, feeling a thick, engorged length between her butt cheeks as his Obfuscate faded, "I am."

She bit her lip, shuddering as she gripped onto the wall, "Holy shit…" She gave a little smile, "You spooked me…"

"Yup." He said, grabbing the bottle and futzing around with it, "Here you go." She felt him applying it to her bum.

She looked over her shoulder, then held a hand out, "Give me some."

"Sure." He handed it to her. She poured some into her hand, then reached back and slathered it all over his shaft. "Fuck…" He held onto her for dear life, his erection only getting bigger as she kept feeling it up.

She snickered, wiping her hand off on her thigh, "Just…start slow…don't puncture me…"

"Yeah, yeah, this ain't my first time doing this."

"Okay…" She seemed to relax, turning back to the wall as she opened her legs just a bit wider to give him room.

He was true to his word and went slow with his penetration, starting his orgasm once he was got inside. Her nails dug into the wall just a little more as he eased into her, closing her eyes and gritting her teeth. Maybe this wouldn't be as pleasant as she thought.

He sighed and groaned, holding onto her for support as he kept pushing into her. She let out little breaths as he edged in deeper and deeper with each thrust. And then, it kicked in. She let a moan fill the air as his pace increased and the pain warped into a burning pleasure.

Eventually he bit her shoulder and trembled with ecstasy. She gasped and screamed as her orgasm finally rocked her, her entire body melting back against him as he drank from her, her blood feeling like fire. She stumbled back and flopped on the bed when he pulled out, covered in sweat and out of breath.

He got in next to her, "That wasn't so bad, was it?"

"No…no, it felt great…just new…" She looked over at him and gave a little smile.

"I didn't kill you?"

"No, I'm still here."

"Good." He gave her a hug, "Guess we'll have an easy time sleeping, then."

"Yeah….yeah, I think we will…" She rolled over and cuddled up against him.

* * *

It was one of the rare times in which Strauss had returned to the Chantry. He must have been here to discuss business with his Tremere apprentices. Donatello was eavesdropping, from another chamber, as he always did, but this time the topic seemed much more interesting than any past one. He smiled as he leaned against the wall adjacent, yet opposite to the hallway, so he could hear every last word.

"This LaSombra is causing quite an uproar throughout the city." Strauss said, "With an army consisting of members in and outside the Sabbat, he needs to be dealt with swiftly."

"What are my orders, sir?" Victor asked.

"Track this menace down, bring an apprentice or two, if that is your wish, and wipe him out." He said, "He is gaining an unnaturally swift amount of influence, he needs to be destroyed."

"It shall be done, my lord."

Donatello badly hid a snicker. Oh, it was going to be done alright. Donatello held his cane firm, exiting the room once he heard Strauss and Victor disperse, then he began to head outside the Chantry. He was going to take matters into his own hands. There would be nothing wrong with gaining some favor in the Camarilla, and besides, no LaSombra could defeat him in a fight. This would be over as soon as it begun.

* * *

"Is it really wise of us to bring the entire army away from the base?" Kalliyan asked.

"Who knows whether or not Vance contacted Gavin to come burn us down as a last resort." Remus said, "We need to get away from the hunters still loyal to him."

She looked behind herself, "I feel like they're not that many hunters left actually loyal to Leopold…we…we have most of them…"

"Yes, and with the shovelheads, Anarchs, and what little Kuei-Jin you could find, I would say our army is a melting pot of death and demise for the opponent, wouldn't you?"

She looked ahead again, giving a hesitant nod.

"Uh…sir…there seems to be a problem near our rear flank…" A hunter nudged Remus.

Remus turned around, seeing fire the likes of which he hadn't seen before spread around his forces and burn them to death. He clenched his fists, "Another hunter's rebellion…" He growled.

It was the simplest answer. But it wasn't the correct one.

Donatello skewered another man with his cane, the target burnt to ash immediately. The large flaming man darted around to his next target, laughing insanely as he killed them.

"Tremere…" Remus fumed, "Kill him!" He pointed.

Kalliyan and all the other soldiers nodded, getting their weapons out and opening fire. Remus drew his sword and ran into the fight too.

Donatello laughed some more, a deep, raspy, and menacing sound, as he held a hand out. Fire flew out of his hand, the second the blasts made contact to any vampire, they turned to ash. The hunters didn't fare much better. In vain they tried to stop, drop, and roll, but Donatello had created too much fire at this point for it to be effective. Remus's army was shrinking at a drastically rapid rate.

Remus clenched a hand into a fist, and the cries of children could be heard as the shadowy darkness of Obtenebration covered his body. His sword hissed for blood as he ran at Donatello. The man of flames and the man of shadows began a spectacular duel, one using his cursed sword, and one using his cane.

Donatello kept his ground admirably. Remus was surprised enough he hadn't dropped with the amount of people shooting at him. Although, Donatello was shortening this number at a frightening pace. Occasionally, when bored by Remus's swordplay, he aimed his cane to one of the shooting onlookers, blasting them with enough fire to kill them.

Remus snarled, adding Potence to the mix of his Obtenebration, clashing with him again, "I must say…Tremere, does your presence mean that I now warrant the attention of the Camarilla? I must say…I'm quite flattered…"

"I don't think you understand, do you, you little worm." Donatello spat, "This is _my_ city. It belongs to me…it's people…it's Kindred…they're all _mine_. If you think you can walk into my city and take whatever you want, you got anotha' thing coming!"

Remus looked a mix of surprised and confused, "No…I don't believe you understand." He said, "You Tremere live in a little magical house away from the power, away from the Princedom, with the exception of Strauss. You have nothing."

He snickered, flinching mildly from the wild lightning bursting from Remus's body, "Oh, we'll see about that, won't we, LaSombra?"

He narrowed his eyes, even for someone in the Camarilla, this man spoke in riddles.

"Remus!" Kalliyan called, "Remus!"

Remus looked behind his shoulder, quickly, so Donatello couldn't get a move in. He knew that even with his shadowy shield up, fire would hit him just the same, "What is it, Kalliyan?"

"Look around you."

Remus jumped back, next to Kalliyan's side, "What is it?" He asked, with his Obtenebration up, everything on his body was pitch black, save for his eyes and the lightning pulsating off of him.

He then finally did what he was told and looked around, his eyes growing wider and wider as he looked. There was nothing around the lot of them aside from dead bodies now. The only figure that was ahead of him was Donatello.

It couldn't be. The hunters lie on the ground, his shovelheads were ash, the Kuei-Jin were dead, and even the hypnotized Anarchs were no more. Donatello effectively destroyed his entire army.

Remus growled, "This insignificant Tremere will pay for what his has done, with his life."

"But what do we do?" Kalliyan asked, "I've been shooting him this entire time, and it hardly seems to be doing a thing!"

"Oh, I assure you, he's damaged…he fought an entire army by his lonesome. And it's still two against one, we have a chance to defeat the bloated blundering imbecile once and for all." He dashed at Donatello, clashing with him once again.

Donatello laughed, "Wait until you get defeated by a bloated, blundering imbecile!" He laughed, he had most likely been laughing during this entire battle.

Remus snarled as he fought for offensive control, "Never!"

Donatello flinched as he felt a few bullets from Kalliyan's pistol strike him. He frowned and darted after her, slashing her a few times with his flaming cane. She backed away, trying to avoid the attacks, but she grunted and flinched once she was hit, her flesh burning from all the fire on her.

"No!" Remus whirled around and ran after him. As he was attacking Kalliyan, Remus stabbed him in the back with his Potence-laced cursed sword.

Donatello screamed, falling back. He growled and shot fire at Remus. Remus fell back, feeling the fire burn away at him, in searing agony. He didn't care how much the fire stung, or how weak he was now. He needed to protect Kalliyan. The two of them were both badly burned now, and Donatello looked quite battle-worn in his own right.

The three of them looked at one another for a passing moment or two, and then Remus inched towards Kalliyan, standing in front of her to keep her safe.

"We have to get out of here…" Kalliyan said weakly.

"No…I need to finish what I've started." Remus said.

"But he's impossible to defeat!"

"He needs to be killed." He said, looking back, "I will engage him in close combat, and you will stay far away, very, very, far away. You will fire at him from a distance. That way he will be unable to get close to you, as he will be too busy dealing with me."

She gave a scared nod, and Remus dashed forward, roaring and again clashing with Donatello.

Donatello chuckled darkly, holding a hand out. He summoned a demon, made entirely of fire. The fire demon hobbled its way over to Kalliyan. The gunshots doing nothing, the demon mauled her with ease.

"No!" Remus turned around and ran to her aid, but Donatello pinned him down. Remus flinched, feeling the flames drop carelessly from Donatello's body and scalding Remus's undead flesh. "Kalliyan! Kalliyan run!"

The sound of Donatello's laughter wasn't making this painful struggle any more pleasant. With a huge heave of strength, Remus got him off, running over to where Kalliyan was. Tears were already burning into his eyes. The demon was a complicated opponent, much like fighting a miniature Donatello. He cringed whenever the demon spat fire at him, starting to feel what little remained of his life drain away into nothing.

With a few more strikes from his sword, the demon died, turning to ash. He ran over to Kalliyan's downed body, "Kalliyan…Kalliyan?"

She didn't respond as he held her in his arms. He shook her gently, feeling more tears cascade down his cheeks, "You have to wake up, Kalliyan…please…please…wake up…that demon couldn't have…it…it couldn't have…"

Donatello was too busy laughing to really do anything else, "Aw…did I kill your little girlfriend! Ha! What the hell are ya doing with a Kuei-Jin anyway! Dey's our enemies! You should be thanking me, ha, ha, ha!"

He squeezed Kalliyan tight, closing his watery eyes. His moment of triumph was more than over by now. For a LaSombra, the clan who caused eternal suffering, it always seemed that he _got_ more suffering than he gave. Sybil, Lucius, and now her.

Her cold, burned body, reminded him of nothing but of what a bitter failure he was. How cruel and hardheaded he was. He promised her that he was going to take it easy, that he was going to play things her way, that he wasn't going to be manipulative.

He didn't follow through on any of his promises. He quivered, he got what he deserved, but she didn't.

Maybe it was better this way. She was done playing this foolish game, she was done walking amongst older Kuei-Jin who didn't really have her true interests at heart. Maybe now, wherever she was, she could party and dance to her heart's content. Maybe she would even see Kai again.

Part of him ridiculed himself, as he held his face with a hand and tried to brush his tears away. Why did he care so much about this girl he knew for five days at best? He was a powerful, respectable LaSombra, dirt like her shouldn't matter to him. She and he clashed all the time anyway, it would be better off without her. But, why did he feel such a connection with her?

One thing was clear. There was an overweight, flaming parrot cackling about this and that behind him, that needed to be squashed. He was going to kill the Tremere, and the Tremere after that. He was going to kill every Tremere in the state, and then move onto the in the entire country.

The quaking, hateful frenzy he had been biting back was now showing itself at the forefront. He gently set Kalliyan's body down, rising to a standing position. Donatello's insipid laugh only angered him more. A black explosion went off him, as his Obtenebration began to run out of control. A black fog came off his body, as a tiny percentage of the yellow on his eyes went black, his natural eye color losing a bit more of its territory to the darkness.

Donatello's eyes widened, but he smiled, prepared. The fire on his body grew, matching the fiery field around them. As most battles with Donatello ended in everything around him burned away to naught but ash.

The darkness shrouded around Remus grew into a black pillar which reached the heavens. The darkness surrounded his body. He took a deep breath, letting out a piercing, haunting scream. His frenzy was that of a lion, diving towards Donatello to shred the man to pieces.

As Remus had a shadowy pillar, Donatello had one of fire, surrounding his body. He dove at Remus, giving his insane laugh, it only increased in volume.

When his sword and Donatello's cane met, there was an explosion. Half of the battlefield was covered in hot, orange flames, the other half were covered in black shadows. The huge glowing spectacle could be seen for miles and miles. Anyone participating in the Jyhad in the state of California could catch a glimpse of the glow and conclude that there was some very dangerous business going on there.

* * *

It wasn't actually as bad as he thought. Most of the people that came in were either stoned and completely out of it, gothic teenagers who must've snuck out at the middle of the night, or a random assortment of stray club-goers, looking for a good time. But none of them bothered Gottfried. That's all that mattered.

And the fact that he didn't see either Voerman sister yet. They must've been upstairs.

He supposed the pumping music did get a little annoying. There was a stage, but no band there, at least tonight. Only a few people dancing. He could see now why Therese complained about the music.

And then he heard the elevator ding. That could really only mean one thing. He saw Jeanette prowl the dance floor, schmoozing with anyone who stood near her, flirting too. It was almost amusing, watching her lure somebody upstairs where she likely got herself a drink. At least it was a good way to get blood, if nothing else. Besides, the bar was sort of busy. At times. They had to be making some sort of income.

Jeanette came back downstairs, alone. So it was pretty clear that she definitely drank from that person. Whether or not they were okay remained to be seen.

And then she turned towards him, a smirk on her face. She didn't say anything, oddly enough. She just leaned against the wall like he was, crossing her arms and watching everything go by.

After a moment or so of silence, she finally spoke, "You picked a nice spot for people-watching."

"I'm just doing my job." Gottfried said.

"Mmm hmm…" She looked up at him, "That give her an unhealthy amount of satisfaction. You're feeding her beast, you know. She's a power-thirsty demon." She crossed her legs and looked away, "You might think I'm the sinner for craving sex. But Therese is worse. Her hunger for dominance stops nowhere." She looked up at him, "She tried to kill me, you know. For draining some of the club profits. She'll kill people who piss her off, and keep climbing until she can't climb any higher. She wants to be the Prince of the entire world." She looked away, "I keep telling her it'll never happen. But she doesn't listen."

"Mmm-hmm."

She sighed, "But I guess that's what happens to a Daddy's-girl. But I'm sure you know all about it. Now that you two are besties." She giggled, "I wonder what sort of story she knit together for you."

"I get it, you two both hate each other."

She looked up at him and smiled, "I love her to bits. But, do you think, if we really understood each other, this would be our fate?" She asked, "If Therese could just embrace everything that happened to her when she was alive, I wouldn't be here at all." She left a pause, "If she's going to be Prince of the world, she's going to need a stronger heart." Something about her glare was sinister, her smile bright, "Don't you think?"

"I may be new to this whole Camarilla thing, but I'm quite certain that Strauss is the Prince."

"He is." She looked away, "She wants to outlive him or…whatever. You know more about it than I do."

"Actually, I don't."

"I've never been part of the Camarilla. That's Therese's thing. I've played with the Anarchs, I think they're fascinating. Inspiring, for sure. So driven when there's just…no hope. And then Smiling Jack died, and…I've found it difficult to go back there. To their little club house. It's not the same."

He gave a chuckle, "Even put next to the Sabbat, they seem like a lost cause. At least in this city, they do."

"It's sad. It really is. When you meet them all, they're so sweet, they have such pure intentions. I pity them all…"

"No one is pure in this world."

She giggled, putting a hand over her mouth, "That's for sure. Maybe I misjudged you." She looked up at him, "I think we can all be a little cowardly. We've all run away from something."

"Not me."

"You ran away from me. You ran away from the Sabbat. No one ever said running away was bad."

"The Sabbat, stop kidding yourself." He said, "I didn't even want to be there, I was just following what Poe wanted."

"It's good you escaped that death-trap. That wasn't living. But, nothing we do is living, is it? We're all dead, inside and out. The way I see it, there's no reason to hold back."

"Yes, very poetic."

"Forgive me, I'm no Toreador." She put a hand on her chest, "If I was, I think the art world would be in a whole new world of hurt."

"Probably."

She smiled and looked away, "Therese really likes you. It's quite surprising, really. She has a hard time getting on with men who don't order her around."

"That's because I just do as I'm told."

"Ah ha. So you and her are like two peas in a pod. Or maybe she likes you because she knows she can push you around."

"If I wasn't being pushed around by her, I'd be pushed around by someone else. I know how this works."

"And you're okay with that?"

"Isn't that how any society in the Jyhad works? Older Kindred use the younger Kindred for their plots."

"Only in the Camarilla."

He smiled, trying not to laugh, "Yeah…okay…only the Camarilla…you keep telling yourself that…"

She crossed her arms, looking away. "What did she tell you, anyway?"

"Who, Therese?"

She looked back up at him, "We know all about you. Or at least, she does. That's all I need. You were imprisoned underground and tortured. And then, of course, there was the war days before that. So you're practically a steel wall."

His positive countenance faded, "I'd ask how…but…I know what clan you are…"

"She recounted it to me when I asked. We do get along, sometimes."

"Right…the trial…" He said.

"What did they do to you?" She looked up at him, meeting his gaze. For once, her face seemed sincere. There was no expression on her face, there was no smirk, pulling her dark red lips up, there was no tension in her brow, no glimmer in her eyes. He could see now, looking back at her, one of her eyes was actually green. He found it odd, because Therese's weren't like that, from what he remembered.

He closed his eyes, "It was worse for Poe…"

"That doesn't mean it was pleasant for you."

"It wasn't."

"Did those scars heal?" She asked, "Sometimes it's good to slice them back open…fish around for infections and have a doctor stitch them back up…"

"Now that I'm Kindred, they hardly matter."

She giggled, "You're right. So why don't you tell me about them?"

He shook his head, "Poe had it worse than I did."

"But what about _you?_ "

"What about me?" He asked, "I did what I had to. I endured it, took it, I went through it all. But then I saw Poe…for the first time in…what felt like years. He was a shell of a man, a shell of himself. He was lost, confused. He…he wanted to join the Sabbat so badly to rule humanity…and…I couldn't tell him no." He sighed, "How could I? His wife murdered his children and beat him and had him sexually abused…so after that I just wanted to give him whatever he asked for. Anything, even if he was hardly my brother anymore…"

She let a silence fill the air for a couple seconds, "You two still get along?"

"We do now." He said, "Well, I can't say he's 'all better' but, Phaedra helped."

She gave a little smile, "The first thing Therese did when she got out of that asylum was find me…she Embraced me, too. And she clung to me like I was the only thing that mattered in life. It felt amazing…but she was a broken, battered little thing. Asylums like they are today…are very different than the ones back then. I guess I could say, she was hardly my sister. She was cold, heartless. Emotionless. They zapped those out of her. So…in a way, I understand." She looked up at him, "I did anything for her, to keep her happy. To take care of her. I kept her away from others, I bought her a club. Something to call her own. She loved it…she loved it so much that…I dropped off the face of the planet. The tear between us only grew until she tried to kill me. She didn't need her crutch anymore." She looked away, "She tolerates me now, at least."

"Maybe we have a bit more in common that I thought."

"I figured as much." She smiled, "It's my fault, really. I'm not very good at all that ice breaking without a bed."

"I noticed."

She snickered, "At least I'm not as awkward as Therese."

"I suppose not."

"It must be the reason she likes you so much. She can depend on you. She can't depend on me much. I get distracted."

"I don't know how much help I could be, to be honest." He said, "Someone like Gideon comes in and he'd wipe the floor with me."

"It's the thought that counts. If he came in, he'd kill everyone here. I'm sure if she even posted another Primogen here, we'd all be killed." She gently rubbed a hand down his arm, "It's just the extra bit of muscle that helps her sleep at night."

He backed away, "Whatever works."

She giggled, raising her hand to her mouth, "There aren't many like me, are there?"

"That depends on who you ask."

She smiled, looking up at the ceiling, "She told you about Daddy, right?"

"No."

She tilted her head to the side, perhaps a little surprised. But then she put more weight up against the wall, "That makes sense. She doesn't really acknowledge it at all. She thinks about him a lot. Wonders what he would do if he was still lurking around. What he would think. But if she didn't blow his brains up all over the wallpaper, I don't want to think about how much worse she would be. How much worse I would be." She laughed, "I'd be in prison!"

"I had a feeling there was a history there…that painting she has gives me the creeps…"

"She loves it. Reminds her of a time when…he'd come home from work, drunk out of his mind and she'd…give him everything his dead wife couldn't. Because it made him happy. She lives to please, that woman."

He thought that over for a minute or two, "I see."

"He didn't let her go outside and play with the other children. He didn't want her to leave the house. He didn't want to lose her, I suppose. That's where I came in. I played with her. We went to make believe places and I made her smile. But…Daddy didn't like me. I was the reason he started drinking in the first place. I wasn't as obedient as Therese. Either way, he's dead, and that ended her life, too."

He nodded, "Must have been lonely."

"It was. It still is. Now neither of us have any friends. Well…" She looked up at him, "There's you."

"I doubt you have no allies."

"Allies? Me? I'm practically Independent. I don't like to tangle with Jyhad. It isn't my type of game."

"So…it's just…Therese and me?"

"Just about. A lot of people leave me. They think I'll find other friends elsewhere. They think it's easy for me."

"I mean, you could've fooled me."

She giggled, "I'll see a few passing souls who need certain craving satisfied. But that's all I am. It's likely all I'll ever be."

"You could change that."

"I could?" She looked up at him. "It's hard to change."

"I know it is. But it's possible."

"I'm not in any position to change. My act is a, 'necessary evil' to our business. Besides…if I don't…I'll only lose all the attention I've gained. I can't risk that. I love it, anyway. It's my own special way to get power."

"Then I guess you'll have to keep being the necessary evil."

"…it's been a long time since I've sinned…and an even longer time since I…sinned with pleasure…"

"Again, you could've fooled me."

"It's been making me crazy, you know. Therese doesn't let me do it during working hours. It's irresponsible and disgusting, apparently."

"I mean, to an extent, she has a point…"

"I know…" She crossed her arms, then looked up at him, "You wouldn't have any interest in…sating my thirst, would you…?"

"No."

She looked up at him for a minute, like she was completely shocked by his answer, before she looked away, "One in a-million."

"Come on." He said, "I couldn't have been the first person to do that."

"Well, not the first. One of the only."

"Hmm." He said, "Don't take it personally."

"I already have." She pouted.

"That's your problem."

She looked up at him, then smirked, "You have a lot of nerve sometimes, you know."

He shrugged, "Meaning?"

"You say things a lot of people would really…hesitate over. You're like the green side of a sponge, aren't you? The others get the job done eventually, but you scratch and tear until it's flawless."

"So what you're telling me is I'm honest?" He asked, "Well, I guess keeping my mouth shut over the years is paying back…in interesting ways…"

She giggled, "You'll find it does." She brushed her shoulder up against his, "Hey, it could be worse. You could be me."

"Being you can't be that bad." He said, " _Now_ , at least."

She sighed, "I suppose not." She rested her head on his shoulder, "That boy there. In the black. He's glaring at you. He's jealous."

"Because you're just that special."

She put a hand over her mouth, "I see why Therese likes you so much. But I don't think you'd be willing to share…"

"Share?"

"Yourself."

He just rolled his eyes as a response.

She giggled, "I guess I'll just leave you to body guarding. I've distracted you enough, haven't I?"

He took a deep sigh, "It was pleasant talking to you, Jeanette."

"You too. Sorry about…being a bitch. Before."

"I wasn't being very…approachable either…we'll just pretend it didn't happen."

She pulled herself away from the wall and strutted off as she usually did, winking over her shoulder as she headed back out for the dance floor.

* * *

 **A/N:** That darn Tremere ruined Remus's plans with his Lure of Flames…who knew it could be that powerful. A battle to talk about for sure, in the future. Thanks for reading!


	78. Chapter 78

**A/N:** Here's chapter seventy-eight! A bishop falls to the white king…hint, hint. Enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs. There is some citrus in this chappie, if you're not a fan, feel free to skip it.

* * *

What some experienced Kindred didn't know were the many powers and assets of Obtenebration. High levels of it guaranteed a supernatural defense, to the point where not many things would hurt you. But it also guaranteed stealth. This way, Remus looked like merely a shadow as he ascended the red tower.

Sure enough, the traps were not set off as Remus stepped in, cloaked by the shadow. Every time a resident of the tower walked by, he clung to the wall, looking like nothing but a small shadow to the side.

He was going to do it. He was going to start big. Start with Strauss's death. That way the other Tremere would be easier by comparison. He wasn't going to wait around for that Iphigenia to kill Strauss. He was going to do it himself.

His heart burned for Kalliyan, and his mind burned for revenge. Once Strauss was killed, the Camarilla would be thrown into disarray, and he would take out that fat Tremere next. And then perhaps the Tremere Primogen. This would open up the way for Lafayette to take on the rest of the Camarilla's forces. Without the Tremere to aid them, they would be doomed.

Remus burst his way through the double doors, Strauss was swiveled the opposite way, facing the window.

"Greetings, Mister Stone." Strauss swiveled his chair around, folding his hands.

Remus's eyes widened, how did Strauss notice him so easily?

"The last we've met, I was merely a Primogen." He said, "As were you." He said, "How times have changed."

"I do suppose a congratulations is in order." Remus said, giving up his assassination route now that Strauss spotted him, "When I awoke from torpor, I discovered that LaCroix had met his Final Death. I suppose you took his place…then. What made you leave New York?"

"Orders from the Inner Circle." Strauss said, "Though, I presume it was a dream of the Elders all along. They kept pushing LaCroix into more and more unstable Jyhad boundaries. They wanted him to die, for his insolence in Europe." He chuckled, "I suppose one could say I was _destined_ for the Princedom, at one point in time or another."

"How…confident of you…"

"And why have you left New York and come to California?" Strauss asked, with a knowing smile, when Remus didn't do anything aside from tear up, he continued, "Ah, I recall now. It's because there's nothing left for you in New York, or Washington D.C., for that matter." He said, "After all, Mister Vitel fell in a manner almost eerily similar to LaCroix, was he not? For treason against the Camarilla…"

Remus closed his eyes as Strauss went on, "He was a promising 'Ventrue Prince' wasn't he? And you were a promising 'Ventrue Primogen.' Until Vitel's plot fell apart all around him, and he was exposed for what he truly was. How much…how much did you know about him, Remus? What did he tell you?"

"We…actually did support the foundation of the Camarilla, in the end…" Remus said, "Despite our clan, despite our lineage…we were devout…we supported America from Camarilla enemies for half a century. Just as you and LaCroix did."

"Yes, indeed. And after the Queen of the United States died, Mister Vitel had a big role to fill in, did he not?" He asked, "And he was killed, recently even. So you fled…to both torpor and the Sabbat."

He growled, "And how are you any more successful?"

"Did you not notice that the city of angels bows before me?"

"I'm not talking about that, Strauss." He said, "I'm talking about your Tremere." He said, as a wicked grin formed onto his face, "As I recall, you had _three_ apprentices." He said, "But lost two of them, to us, to the Sabbat. And now they're both since dead. But even today your apprentices are weary, and disillusioned." He said, "I got to speak with one of them, and they don't seem very happy with where they are in your circle."

Strauss frowned, "Not all Tremere are destined to succeed. Some lose their way in fail. Much like the many Prince's Washington D.C. had."

"I must say, I'm quite surprised, at your robotic and emotionless outlook at everything. If you continue to care so little about your apprentices, you're practically _asking_ for a rebellion."

"And if you continue to explode and emote too much to the tiniest of losses…you'll be in torpor for another three wars…"

He clenched his hands into fists, "Are you suggesting that the loss of Vitel and the Queen of the United States are trivial?"

"No. Nor am I saying that hiding in the Sabbat is a wise option."

"I have seen the Camarilla for what it really is!" Remus snarled, "Once it saw my comrades for what they really were, they were slaughtered like cattle, for no reason other than the Elders' whims!" He drew his sword, "My work with Lafayette is to atone for all of the madness you put me through! I used to look on the Camarilla with such regard, with such pride, but not after what it did to Lucius! Never!"

"Don't do this, Remus." Strauss said, "You and Lafayette need to surrender immediately, for if you don't, you will lose this war, with your lives."

"Enough! The time for talking is over! The time for action has begun!" He ran at Strauss.

Strauss waved a hand, and Remus's shadows all disappeared around his body.

"What?" Remus looked down at himself, "What…what happened to me? My Obtenebration, what did you do?"

Strauss again held a hand out, and Remus floated in the air slowly, "What…?" Remus asked, looking around, completely losing control of his actions, "What are you doing? No…wait…don't…" Strauss floated him closer and close towards the window, eventually flinging him out.

The glass shattered as Remus fell from the top floor. He let out a bloodcurdling scream as leftover tears for all of those that he lost sparkled in the sky like raindrops as he kept falling. Remus closed his eyes. It was all finally going to end now, all the pain, and the misery. He had lost the battle, and the war.

* * *

She hated the way the exposed blade swung at her side. For some reason, ever since she was Embraced, she hated the thought of using blades. She kept a few daggers on her for safety reasons, but she felt like brute force was the best way to go. It was simple, impactful and easy to control. You couldn't _accidentally_ punch someone. While Kindred bodies would hardly take an impact with her fists, it was nothing a sledgehammer couldn't handle. Blunt force or not, a hammer could fracture bones with ease, and was still very easy to control.

She knew she wasn't going to kill him. Her only hopes were survival. She knew if she walked into his office, she would die, no questions asked. But if she made it to the upper levels, ran into someone who _happened_ to figure out about her plot, then maybe she could get away with excommunication and she could hermit herself away with her sisters.

Honestly, the idea sounded very tempting. She was sure there were safer states to live. She could craft a new identity for herself. She clearly wasn't needed.

All she needed was survival. She knew Remus was keeping an eye on her, she knew he could be around any shadow. If she was going to act, she was going to have to be perfect.

One she made it to the upper levels, she bumped into an invisible figure, and the sound of an Obfuscate dropping was heard as Sam looked at her. (Luckily, the latter had plenty of time to don Mask of a-thousand Faces, to look like how he did when he was mortal). "Iphigenia?" Sam asked, "What on Earth are you doing up here?"

Her eyes darted to the shadows on the walls. They seemed like they were growing, to her. "I must speak with the Prince. It is urgent. A life-or-death situation."

"Hmm? About what?"

She stood for a moment, temporarily floored, her mouth agape. She finally looked up at him, "Family affairs."

"About your sisters?"

"Yes. They're in danger. It's dire. I have go to."

"Why don't you let me help you find them?"

She blinked a few times, "I…I…" She looked around again, looking at her own shadow like it would jump out and attack her.

"I think I know where they are…too." He said, "The Sabbat took them, didn't they?"

If Remus was right behind her, he would have attacked by now. "Yes. To save them, I've been tasked to kill the Prince. You know where they are?"

"To…to kill the Prince…?"

"Yes. A LaSombra came to my apartment, kidnapped my sisters, ordered me to kill the Prince, and then blew up the apartment. Supposedly if I don't kill him, he'll kill all three of us. He's been torturing them ever since. If we're lucky, they'll still have all their limbs by tomorrow."

"Well…Strauss just killed a LaSombra…I'm assuming that's the one you mean. Remus Stone."

"That…sounds more than likely." Iphigenia said slowly, "Well…if you know where they are, would you help me save them?"

"Of course." He nodded, "We'll take a helicopter. It'll be the fastest way there."

"Helicopter…?" She asked, before she smiled, "Show me the way."

The left the red tower, going into the lot behind it and seeing at least a dozen helicopters. "This is Mister Vanderbilt's project. Supposedly he started it around the time the Anarchs plotted to kill your Magister." He said, getting in the back of one.

She paused, "You want me to fly it? I have no idea how."

"Of course not. All the pilots are Dominated to go wherever we wish. In this case, it will be the Sabbat base that has your sisters."

She crawled into the back along with him, "You Dominated a crew of pilots?"

"Most of the time it's Cadmus. Or Miranda, or Strauss." He said, "Or me." He added quickly.

She smirked at him, "Of course. And Obfuscate too."

He paused and looked out the window, as they took flight, "We'll be there shortly. They'll be saved before too much damage is upon them."

"I can't express how thankful I am. You didn't have to help me, and yet you have."

"I'm not going to let your sisters die." He said, "We in the Camarilla have to look out for each other, don't we?"

"Yes, that's right." She smiled, speaking over the blades, "I'm sorry again about…my plan. I knew I was going to get nowhere."

He paused for a moment or two, "It's…fortunate I ran into you when I did…"

"I was certainly going to die if you didn't. So were they."

"That was quite a gambit that LaSombra played…" He said, "It's fortunate Strauss got rid of him…"

"Yes. Very fortunate." She said, looking out at the ground as it flew by, "How do you know where they are?"

He smiled, "An old friend owed me a favor."

"Oh?" She chuckled briefly, "Alright then. Thank them for me."

"I will, when the time comes." He said, as the helicopter slowed to a landing, "Be ready to fight to free them. I'm almost certain there will be shovelheads."

She grabbed the sledgehammer from her back, "Do you want this sword? I'm not going to use it."

"I'll be fine with what I have."

"Alright." She said curiously as they hopped out of the helicopter and ran forward.

When they exited the helicopter, they saw Iphigenia's sisters in a cage not too far away. Guarding it were at least fifty Sabbat vampires.

"Hey, those guys are from the Camarilla!" One said.

"Let's kill him!" Another declared.

Sam took a pistol out, it must have been a pretty good pistol given that it was killing the vampires in four or five shots, and those were _without_ putting headshots into account. Iphigenia ran in with a Blood Shield and started whacking them around, unleashing any of the pent up fury she had on the poor shovelheads.

Once they were cleared out, Iphigenia bashed the lock to the cage open with her sledgehammer, both sisters rushed out and hugged her. It was a rather heartwarming reunion, even more so when Halcyon ran forward and hugged Sam. "Are you alright?" He asked.

"Yes. I received lashings for my lashings, but they've since healed." She pressed her head against his chest, "Take us home."

"Yeah…uh…" Iphigenia held the crying Harmonia close, "We don't have a home. Or money." She sighed, "But there is someone I can call."

"Ah, yes…Remus destroyed your house." Sam said, "Perhaps I could be of assistance."

"Let me live with you." Halcyon demanded.

He squeezed her, "Of course. I have a private house further away from downtown. You're all welcome to come."

"You're…inviting all of us?" Iphigenia asked, before she smirked, "Have you ever lived with three girls? Have you ever lived with Halcyon?"

"Silence. You're spoilt in your own rights." Halcyon chided.

"I won't be there often. You'll hardly notice me, I'll be quite busy with Strauss's errands." He said, "Think of it as a second home for yourselves."

"We will gladly accept you offer." Iphigenia said, "We can't thank you enough."

* * *

Phaedra gently shut the door, taking a deep sigh, "He was after me again."

"Who?" Poe rose from the couch, "The Follower of Set?"

"Yes. He's gone now." She set her axe down, "Oddly enough, I wasn't able to scratch him. My axe made contact, but it didn't do a thing. But…he also didn't bother to use Obsession on me. Vanderbilt was right when he mentioned his hide of steel."

"Obsession?" He asked, "That sounds like their entire clan in a nutshell…it sounds so dirty…and corrupt…"

"Mmm. I'll have to agree with you. I have a particular distaste for that attack." She sat on the couch and observed the tears in her dress from the bullets.

He sat beside her and gave her a hug, "At least you're okay."

She hugged him back, "I only took a few bullet wounds, which have completely healed since I made it here." She broke the hug to take her boots off, setting them off to the side before she hugged him again, "It was a rather calm encounter, if I were to judge."

"I should've came with you." He squeezed her a little tighter.

She shook her head, "I don't like to take you out feeding. I think it would unsettle you."

"But I don't want you to be killed."

"I'll be alright. I'm a survivor." She smiled and squeezed his land, "Let me go brush my teeth." She stood up.

"Okay." He said, letting go of her hand and staying on the couch.

She went into the bathroom for a few moments, and as she was brushing her teeth, she said, "Ah kried ku use de shower dis morning."

"Did you like it?"

"No."

"…I didn't mean to force you…"

"Ah was kurious." She spit in the sink, rinsing it out before she reapplied her lipstick.

"Sorry."

"Nothing to apologize about." She stood up and walked in, sitting beside him and kissing his cheek. He gave her a squeeze when she sat down, kissing her on the lips. She took one of his hands and traced circles in his palm with one of her thumbs, so he kissed her harder, putting his free hand on her hip and giving it a little rub.

She gave a little sigh, pushing herself up against him even closer as she started kissing his neck. "You should lay down, it'll feel more comfortable." He said softly.

"You'll lay with me?" She asked.

"Of course, I'm going to make sure you feel relaxed."

She smiled and laid back, making herself comfortable against the suede fabric of the cushions. He moved next to her, kissing her cheek and massaging her shoulders. She closed her eyes, "Did you want me to turn around?"

"No, you're okay." He kissed the base of her neck. She moved her head back out of the way, letting her hands rest on his shoulders as she let out quiet sighs. He softly put a hand on her stomach, giving it a rub as well, "Feel better?"

"Much better…I ought to get you back…"

"Seeing you relaxed is enough to get me back." He smiled, kissing her lips.

"Then you're going to have to relax me a bit more. I'm not sure you're content enough."

"Alright, I accept your challenge." He kissed her on the lips.

She chuckled softly and kissed him back, gently sliding her hands down his sides. He kept kissing her, and once he was done, he slid back slightly, rubbing her sides until he was kneeling in front of her. He reached out and rubbed her feet, primarily rolling her ankles to get any of the cracks out. She put a hand over her mouth as she moaned, then let out little hisses whenever they cracked, "Oh, that's marvelous, dear…"

"You really like it?"

"I really do…they get quite sore, I just tend to ignore them…"

"It's probably those boots." He said, rubbing the base of her legs now, where the boots felt the tightest.

She was so tempted to bite her lip, but she caught herself and settled for another stifled moan, "I never knew how stiff everything was…"

"Just relax. I'll make you feel better." He kissed her lower leg.

"Mmm…you're doing a fantastic job…" She continued melting into the cushions.

He backed away slightly, rolling her ankles again, before he bent a bit to kiss one, lingering for quite a while. She sighed, lifting that leg just enough to make it much easier for him to access. He held her foot with one hand and her leg with the other, sucking a bit more lovingly on her ankle and closing his eyes as he did so.

Meanwhile, Phaedra peered her eyes open and smiled as she saw how invested Poe was. She sighed his name and shuddered as she felt his tongue dance across her skin. He swallowed a bit more, quivering with a tense feeling of joy as his mouth was nearly around her entire ankle. She let a groan out, brushing the slit her dress aside so the leg he had in his grasp was completely exposed.

He backed away, spooked. As if he was awoken from a trance, "Sorry…"

"Polonius…" She looked saddened, "Please don't leave me in this state…"

"I…I don't know…"

She closed her eyes, perhaps reveling in the memory of what just happened, "Forgive me…"

"What's…stopping us from…reminding each other of…others?"

"You aren't remotely similar to Panagiotakis. But…I understand I'm of a…considerably lower standard than Celia…"

He closed his eyes, "I didn't say that."

"But it must be true…you're still of clan Ishtarri…to say my appearance is inferior to yours is quite the understatement…"

"…you think I don't want to be intimate because of your appearance?"

"Well, my personality and clan weakness could at least be overlooked briefly…"

"That's not what I mean." He opened his eyes, "We have…scars of the past…written all over us…"

"We do. I understand if you'd rather not look past them." She sat up, "I've moved on from what he did to me, in this light, at least. It isn't me you should concern yourself with. If you're unsure, then you're unsure. I respect that. We don't have to rush into anything."

"I don't know what will happen if you see it…"

"See the scars?" She asked, "I don't have to look if you don't want me to."

"That wouldn't be fair to you."

"And why not? They're on your back, aren't they? I don't think I would really see them much anyway. I can be very careful about it."

"I hate them…they just remind of when I was…"

She scooted closer and hugged him, rubbing a hand over his chest in attempt to soothe him, "You're not. You're free. It's all gone now." She rested her head on his shoulder, "It's a part of your past, nothing more. It does not need to define you."

"…you promise?"

"Yes. You're free to do whatever you please now. It is behind you." She rubbed his shoulders, "You mustn't let it consume you."

"But…I was down there…for _so_ long…"

"Yes, you were." She kissed his cheek, "But you're free now. Free to do as you please, act as you please, love who you please, hate who you please. No one and nothing is holding you back."

He quivered a little bit, his voice weakening, "You won't hurt me?"

"Never."

"…maybe it was a little irresponsible of me to…just…stop like that…I got embarrassed…"

"I understand, sweetheart." She held his cheek and kissed his lips, "Your feelings must not be ignored."

"Did…did you want to continue?"

"If you'd like."

He looked her up and down, "What do you want? Truthfully?"

"Truthfully?" She asked, before she smirked, "Well, after that scouring I just received, I'd like to see what you think of me."

"You know what I think of you."

"I really don't."

"Alright, let's get this part over with, then." He took his shirt off, feeling a wave or two of uneasiness now that his back was exposed.

"Take a deep breath. You don't need it, but perhaps it'll help." She smiled and rubbed his arms. "I won't look if you don't want me to."

"It's alright…I need to put it behind me, like you said."

"Alright." She smiled, giving him an understanding look, "Can I touch it?"

"My back?"

"Yes."

He swallowed hard, spinning around so she could get a full view of the scars, brandings, and sacred chants written into his flesh. Her eyes scanned him, the same way she would a piece of ancient art or some sort of relic. She mentally scolded herself before she leaned in and kissed the back of his neck, gently touching her fingertips to one of his shoulder blades, "Does it hurt?" She asked softly.

"Not anymore."

She let her hands slide over the little bumps and valleys, "I…I think it's beautiful. Your strength…"

"Is it strength when you just constantly wanted to die?"

"It's strength when you pulled through despite these hardships and continue to live on."

"I still feel as though it's too soon to call it that."

"I don't think so." She gently wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his shoulder.

"I do." He said bitterly, "I still feel it…every night…every moment almost. My children are dead…my wife…was deranged the entire time. How am I supposed to come back from that? How am I supposed to return to the world from that?"

"You find hope. It is within yourself. You must find it." She kissed his neck, "You need to remain full of hope to see the good in this world. To see the good in yourself, your life. I'm not expecting you to forget everything of your past, or to pretend it didn't happen. You have to accept it and move on, and I know it is no easy task. I know remnants will linger, and there's nothing you can do about them but accept them. It's a part of who you are, yes, but you don't have to let it control you. You are you." She sat back and held his shoulders, "You control how you see your life, and what you do with it."

"It still hurts…though…"

"I know…but you have to be stronger than the pain. You have to show your true strength, your true colors. You cannot let the pain win."

"I think it already has."

"It has not." She combed her fingers through his hair, "Because you are still here. You are still with us. The pain wins when you are dead."

He turned around and gave her a strong squeeze, something about how limp he was in her arms portrayed how completely hopeless he was.

She held him up in her arms, kissing the top of one of his shoulders, "Tell me what hurts the most. As specific as possible."

"I don't know…I just feel so…depressed…and…exhausted…I miss them all very much…"

"Your children?" She asked, "Your family?" She kissed his cheek, "Your children loved you, as much as they could. It is that love you must cherish. You will find that children can be very forgiving. I'm sure that, if you could have the chance to speak to them now, they would forgive you. And they would still love you. The love never died."

He sniffed, "I hope so."

She gingerly dabbed his tears away, "And as for Celia…the Baali took her love from you. But she did love you, wholesomely, before her own encounter. They took away her very soul when they transformed her. She would have never done anything that she did, if she had her own mind. Her own plans."

He nodded, holding onto her with more or less of an iron grip. She rubbed along his sides, kissing his cheek before she hugged him back. He squeezed her a bit tighter, kissing her on the lips for a while.

She warmly kissed him back, rubbing her hands across his chest before they curled around and she rubbed his back, "Are you feeling a little better? If you'd like to talk a bit more, I wouldn't mind."

"I'm feeling a little better."

"I'll always be here to listen."

He nodded, going back to kissing her. She held his face as they kissed, gently rubbing her thumb up and down one of his cheeks. He kept kissing her back, until he more or less pushed himself on top of her so she was laying back again.

She giggled a bit, running her hands down along the length of his arms, "Should I take it off?"

"It'd only be fair."

She smirked and pushed him back a bit before she stood up, "Let's take this to the bedroom then. I wouldn't want someone to stumble in."

He nodded, "Okay."

She led him to the back, into her dark lair of a bedroom. Then she took her scarf off and hung it up over the door. She then unknotted a tiny knot in the back of the dress that cinched it together, letting the fabric pool to the ground. Her bra and panties were a matching set of black lace that almost surprised him.

His eyes widened, "I can't believe you were belittling your own appearance earlier…"

"Well, I could certainly look better…"

"I guess I could too."

"No. I don't think so."

"You don't?" He smiled, getting a little closer and giving her a hug before he kissed her lips.

She rubbed her hands over his chest, "No, I don't…" She sighed.

He rolled his eyes, "If you say so…"

She took his hands and smiled as she slowly pulled him towards the bed, falling back onto it and bringing him with her. He kissed her lips, running his hands up and down her sides. She moaned again, bringing her legs up to wrap around his as she kissed at his neck and chest.

He reached down and took his pants off, "Where do you want attention?"

She swallowed and met his eye before she looked down at herself, "Where…?"

He nodded, tracing a finger on her stomach, "Where do you want attention?"

She closed her eyes and shuddered, "Wherever you feel yourself drawn to…"

"You don't have a preference?" He kissed her neck.

"No…everywhere…"

He smiled and rubbed her stomach gently with one hand, using his other hand to tend to her back. She let another deep moan fill the air as her back arched away from the mattress, giving him plenty of room. He bit his lip as he held onto her tighter, kissing her neck and sucking on it.

Her hands flew to the mattress as she clawed at it, squeezing him with her legs, "…this is bliss…"

He licked her neck a few times, moving onto her jawline, giving it a kiss, followed by licks and suckles. She gave another groan, one of her hands finally grasping the back of his head and massaging his scalp. After a moment of this, she reached behind herself and took her bra off.

He moved onto kissing her lips, pressing himself against her with a lot of force, enough for her breasts to be pressed against his chest. She kissed him back, gently tracing her fingertips along his back until she reached his rear, which she clutched tightly.

He closed his eyes and sighed, reaching her own rear and giving her payback. He gently caressed it as best he could. She kissed his lips chastely before she smiled and pulled her panties off, "Would you like me to roll over to give you a better angle?"

"It's alright." He grinned, sliding back so he could kiss one of her hips endearingly, "This angle is perfect."

She closed her eyes and groaned, squeezing the bedsheets again, "Oh, Polonius…"

He moved slightly so he could kiss her stomach. It was softer and gentler then his other kisses, loving and warm. With his hands he held onto her butt, massaging it so it wouldn't get so stiff. Her body relaxed in his hands, but still writhed with pleasure as she reveled under the touch of his lips on her skin. "Do you like that?"

"I do…I love everything you do to me…" She was nearly breathless.

"I'm glad." He kissed her stomach a little harder.

She sighed, running her fingers through his hair as she embraced him with her legs. He took a deep breath as he got more into it, putting both his hands on her breasts and giving them a little squeeze. She gave a small smile, leaning in to kiss his forehead while she rubbed his biceps. He reached out and caught her head, moving in to kiss her jawline again.

A stray moan escaped her lips as she moved her head to the side, granting him full access. Her hands traced down his back and held his rear firmly again, to stabilize him. He kept kissing the same spot, anchoring one hand on one of her boobs, and the other on a butt cheek, squeezing them both whenever he felt like it.

"P-Poe—ahh…" Her arms held him tightly as her lips desperately sought his neck, her legs tightly bound around him.

He smiled, it was then she felt his entire length against her hip, only separated by the cloth of his underwear, "What did you just call me?"

Her eyes were hazed with lust as she rubbed her hands over his chest, "Poe…" She whispered, tense with anticipation.

He pulled his underwear off, letting the blood rush through his system with Blood Buff as he sunk into her deeply. He let out the occasional sighs, as well as screams, whenever he got in a bit deeper. As soon as he delved into her, her legs spread just another inch or so wider, her legs holding onto him with a vice grip as her voice carried throughout the room. It was something she'd honestly been dreaming of when she first saw him, and almost didn't believe it was happening at all.

The wideness of her hips really turned him on, to the point where his penetration seemed never ending. He just kept pushing, every time she thought he was done, he would push more, letting out all the pent up stress and anger throughout his night, throughout his many nights in the well, perhaps. She sunk her nails into his shoulders, but not his back. To prevent herself from biting her lip, or even accidentally biting him, she grit her teeth, especially as his consistency ignited a burning flame deep inside her.

After a while he gave nothing but weary moans, licking the backs of his fangs, it was clear he at least wanted to bite onto something to hold on. And yet even with how tired he was at the end she felt the mass of his length thrust inside her as he kept the penetration going. To say her final climax wasn't earth shaking, at least to her, would be an understatement. It was different than anything she achieved with Rainy, a different kind of orgasm that shook her very core. She had doubted so much pleasure would even be possible, and never felt so wrong.

When he finally pulled out, she gave a soft gasp and hugged him, keeping him close. It still felt like her blood was boiling, even just holding him in her arms. "That's…unfortunate…" He said, completely tired, "I wanted to be in there longer…"

She giggled and kissed his cheek, "Never have I wished more to have normal teeth…"

"…sorry…"

"That's alright, darling…I wanted to bite you and hold on for dear life…." She gave a tired smirk, "I have a feeling you wanted to do the same…"

"Yes…I might actually do it next time…"

"Ooh…that should be wonderful…" She purred, nuzzling her head under his, "Poe…I love you…"

"I love you too."

* * *

 **A/N:** Appears our dear friend Poe isn't as fixed as we first thought…will these dark thoughts spring up again? Thanks for reading!


	79. Chapter 79

**A/N:** Here's chapter seventy-nine! Seems someone has risen up from Remus's shadow and took his place…I wonder who…

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs. Also Cissy.

* * *

"It's nice, for a dead girl's." Cissy looked in the mirror, "The blood came right out." She twirled around, wearing a little black dress that was covered in sequins, "What do you think?"

"Cissy…" Catalina deadpanned.

"What? Does it make my ass look too big?"

"No, but it makes your morality look quite small…"

"It does? Well, that doesn't show, so it's okay." She said, turning around and grabbing a jacket off the bed, pulling it on. "I don't know. I don't really pull blue off. What do you think?"

"Is that stolen too?"

"Just from the clearance section. They're not gonna notice." She said, taking it off. "Doesn't have the same thrill the dress does." She reached a hand out, "Give me your jacket. It's red."

She backed away, wiping her weapons off proved nearly impossible with Cissy chatting away, "No."

"C'mon, you have others. If you don't give me that one, I'll just take another. I've been stealing your clothes for a while now, you never noticed."

"…and with that I can finally kill you without sustaining the beast."

"Hey, c'mon…" She dropped her hands down, "Please? It'll look so cute…"

She held a knife out, "Come here."

"No, no!" Cissy backed away, "I'll take the dress off!" She unzipped the thing and it pooled around her feet.

Her eye twitched. Cissy was wearing nothing but a birthday suit.

"Put the knife away…" Cissy kept holding her hands up.

She smiled and licked the blade, spreading poison all over it. Then she started walking towards her.

Cissy's eyes widened in a rather wanton fashion as she pinched one of her nipples, "Fuck…"

She dropped her knife on the floor, "Alright…you win…just stop. Please stop…with…whatever that is…"

Cissy slowly stood up, taking a deep sigh, "Alright. Glad we…got past that knife bit…" She kicked the knife across the room, "What do you want me to wear then? Something not stolen? Honey, I had a tank top, jacket, pants and boots to my name. I stole literally everything else I own. I'm not wasting my money on shit like that. Money gets reserved for two things." She held her fingers out, "Hookers and gambling. Those're the only things that I haven't figured out how to steal yet."

"Oh, you gamble too. Wonderful."

"Not that much. I've been helping you guys a lot, takes a lot of time."

"Right…I guess beggars can't be choosers then…god…just put _something_ on so I don't have to look at you naked…" She covered her eyes.

"I'm not that unappealing naked." She muttered, "You're gonna have to get less choosy if you wanna score anyone. Guys are even worse. Finding a hot one is like finding gold." She opened some cabinets and grabbed an oversized sweater, some underwear, an old tee shirt, a wrinkled blouse. All these things ended up in a heap on the bed. "Damn, I have no clue what to wear. I don't have anything!"

"Then just…put that dress back on. Put anything on!"

"Okay." She grabbed the dress and pulled it back on, grunting as she squeezed into it. She zipped back up, "You know, maybe I'll do a scarf. Too Monroe?"

"Whatever…whatever you want." She looked back at her.

She sighed, "Maybe I could layer it." She grabbed the wrinkled blouse and pulled it over. "Yuck. No. No, no." She pulled it off, "I can't just wear a black dress. I don't have Anastasia's figure. I don't have the guts for it either." She rifled through the growing pile on the bed.

"Thanks Cissy, I'm so excited to clean up this mess…" Catalina muttered, then stiffened at the sound of Anastasia's name, "I bet that brother of hers is causing all sorts of problems for us…"

"Who? Anastasia? She's pretty."

"Never mind."

"I've never seen or heard of him otherwise. I don't know what you want me to say." She took the dress off and slipped into a pair of skinny jeans. "I'm not ready for change yet."

"He was at the Phantom's Mask." She said, "And he was at the failed assassination…although…I guess you weren't really there for that…" She said "Jeez…I was _this_ close to killing him. But…Skelter didn't like that…I don't get it. They want the Camarilla gone, but when I go and try to make progress, it's bad."

"Well, Skelter is her boyfriend. If you kill her brother, she'll get depressed, and he won't be able to get into her pants."

"…yes…Cissy…that's all that the world resolves around. Pants."

Cissy grabbed a bra and put it on, fumbling behind herself to fasten it, "Well, let's be real here. What other reason would he have to keep Cadmus around? And then there's Nines. He wants to keep him around because his girlfriend's buddy-buddy with Anastasia. He doesn't want a sad girlfriend either." She grabbed a tee shirt and pulled it on, it just landed above her belly-button, showcasing the black widow spider piercing there, "People are selfish, Cat. They want food, safety, and sex."

"I guess I'm not like most people then, because I only really care about the second thing."

"It'll come, in time. When your priorities get wired again. Your mind is still working out the second thing. When you set that as handled, the third thing will come." She put her hands on her hips, "Just trust me, okay? I know I'm young. I know I'm still a kid, but I have more experience than most people with this sorta thing. When I ran away from home, I sacrificed the need for safety. I just craved drugs, alcohol, sex. Anything to take the edge off. To cure the terrifying sense of boredom that comes with living alone, without a house."

"You're saying I'll want sex eventually?"

"Uh huh. As soon as your mind stops fretting about your safety and location. It's nothing you can control. Your head is like a computer, really. It analyzes your living condition and responds respectively."

"I won't want sex. Ever." She said, sitting on the edge of her bed and crossing her legs, "Watch me."

She smirked, "Okay. I'll watch you fall into the arms of the perfect boy, and you'll want to run away and make hundreds of vampire babies. You'll see."

"There are so many things wrong with that statement."

"Like what?" She smirked, "I know you can't have kids." She rolled her eyes.

"Also the perfect boy is a subjective term, which I don't think exists."

"Everyone has a perfect something. Your perfect guy would be different than mine." She held a hand out, "I'd want a guy with an eight inch package, and you'd want someone with a big heart, or something cheesy like that."

"Look, Cissy…I don't want anything. I don't want a guy or anything like that. It's just stupid."

"You like girls?" Her eyes lit up, "Aw, let me hook you up! Are you in the closet?"

"No."

"You wanna like, get some drinks with me?"

"No."

She put a hand on her chin, "Do you wanna fuck?"

"No!"

"Do you want a million dollars?"

"…if you have it, then I'll take it."

"Heh, heh. No, I don't have shit."

"What a shocker."

"I thought I made it pretty clear." She sat next to Catalina.

"I know, thus the sarcasm." She rolled her eyes.

A slight pause, "Can I touch you?"

"No."

"What…what about…like…just…" She reached her hand around Catalina's back to squeeze the butt cheek that was furthest away from her.

"Hey!" She scooted back, "No!" She scolded.

Cissy put her hand away, "I'm just so thirsty…" She laid back on the bed, "Killian doesn't want to fuck anymore. He was drunk when I met him so I figured he was at least kinda into me…but I guess he was completely out of it. I didn't even know he was a vampire. I don't think he knew that you could get drunk from drinking drunk people. Either way it's a fucking shame. I can't find anyone to fuck."

"Uh-huh…" She muttered.

"I might go out hunting." She stood up.

"Alright, enjoy yourself."

* * *

"Hey man, you mind getting your daughter off of the merchandise?"

Archie fixed his cufflink and crossed his arms, "She isn't my daughter." He looked over at Aschat, who was clad in her black cat suit and boots.

He had brought somewhere for her to get weapons. By no means was it for her own protection, but for his. If he kept a prostitute around with him, as Remus demonstrated, it made him look unprofessional. But if he kept a bodyguard around, it would make him look prepared. And, maybe it would just save his life.

It seemed this little girl he found was more than a talented voice and desirable body. She had an innate taste for socialization, and a hell of a lot of luck. Were she a normal girl, he was sure she would be dead. He'd be a fool not to take advantage of the gifts she had.

She was also incredibly dumb, and had no concept of money. It was moments like these Archie was glad he was a ghoul, and lived to meet her.

"Well, you gotta get her away from that stuff. That sword there's worth the price of a house."

Archie turned back to Aschat, seeing her gently touch the blade of a sword on the wall. He could see why it was so expensive. It looked like a table, a huge slab of metal with a long, sharp edge. He slowly approached Aschat, looking her in the eye as he gazed through the reflection, "You break it, you buy it, dear."

"I won' break it." She turned to him, a burning look on her face of irritation, "You took me here to look at weapons." She looked back at the blade, "I like dis one."

"I see that it's shiny, but it has no business in your hands."

"Yes, it does." She turned back to him, "It is in my veins."

He raised a brow, then turned back to the manager, or smith, or whoever. Archie didn't care. "Can we try it?"

"Break it, you buy it."

"Right." He looked back at the sword. "You can lift it up?"

"Yes. I should." She stood up on her toes and pulled the blade off the wall, catching her balance as she weakly tried to pick it up off the floor. She looked quite embarrassed, "Give me time!" She spat, her cheeks a touch of red as she tried to lift the rest of the blade off the floor.

"Put it back and stop making a fool of yourself." Archie commanded. She whimpered and followed his orders, while Archie strolled over to a submachine gun. He pulled it off the wall and handed it to her, "This will be your first weapon."

She looked at it, then peered back up at him, "I don' like it."

"And I don't give a damn." He turned to the shopkeeper, "I need armor."

"For chicks? We don't have much. The hell do you need all this for?" The man asked.

"I am a very wanted man."

"Uh…alright, sure, pal." He walked into a back room, waving them after himself. Aschat followed closer than Archie, her eyes wide as she looked around at all the different types of armor. "Do you know what…like…size you are?" The man asked.

"Size?" She asked, blinking a few times before she held her breasts, "These?"

"Uh…" He stared at her hands, then spoke very slowly, "…no…"

"Oh." She moved her hands away, "Den what?"

"Like…women's medium? Small? Large?"

"I don' know." She said, "I take de clothes and try dem on. And if dey fit, I take dem."

He couldn't help but smile, "That's a nice accent, you know. Don't hear it a lot. What…what is it?"

She smiled, "Choctaw."

"Ch-…Choctaw? Where is that?"

She giggled, "Not where. What. Indians."

"Indians…really? You don't look…I mean…you have the tattoos, I guess but…god, you're so pale…"

"I was born of European blood. But dey welcomed me."

Archie meanwhile, approached a set of chain-link armor, "This. How much?"

"Oh, yeah, that might fit." The shopkeeper walked over, taking it off the rack and handing it to Aschat, "Try this on. Uh…there's no dressing room, but there is a bathroom."

"Okay." She bobbed her head and skittered off to the bathroom.

The shopkeeper stood next to Arche and crossed his arms, "Your girlfriend's hot."

"Keep trying." Archie muttered.

"Huh? What, is she not taken?"

"She's yours for the night for five hundred."

"Oh…oh…" He blinked a few times, "It's that…that kinda thing…" He briefly looked over Archie's outfit, before looking back up at him, "Then why the hell are you getting her weapons and armor?"

"I am a very wanted man. And she is a very talented girl."

"I get that, but…it's dangerous to stick a gun in someone's arms and just, expect them to kill anyone who gets in your way."

"Please, I don't need your advice."

"Alright, gramps."

Aschat came bounding back out, "It doesn't even look like I'm wearing de armor!"

Archie gave an approving nod. "Yes. It's perfect."

"Titanium chains, should be pretty much bullet proof. Pretty hard to get through with a knife, too." The owner said.

"Excellent." Archie reached into his suit to take out some cash.

"Uh…you can pay at the desk…"

"No need." He handed him a handful of hundreds, "That should cover it." He turned and headed for the door, Aschat following him closely behind. It was silent as they left, Aschat gripping the gun tightly in her arms.

"Archie?" She asked.

"Yes?"

"Where are we going?"

He paused as they stood on the sidewalk, "Keep that gun held in both arms. Secure. Don't wave it around like a magic wand."

"Oh, okay." She grabbed onto it, "Isn't it empty?"

"Yes." He looked at his watch. There was something on his mind, it seemed. Like he was deciding whether or not to do something.

"Den…what about the ammo? Where will we fill it?"

"Any dirty merchant hiding in the streets can sell ammo for half the price that man would have." He started walking at a quickened pace, "Keep up."

She lightly jogged to catch up, "Will we go fill it up?"

"Not yet. Maybe."

She giggled, "Okay."

He waved at a taxi as it flew by, then the next one. Finally one stopped and they got in. The driver looked a little nervous about Aschat, but he drove on nonetheless.

Archie met Aschat's gaze in the mirror, since he was sitting in the front seat, "Where were you from?"

"Oklahoma."

"That's where your…tribe was from?"

"Yes. But we moved a lot. Before I ran."

"…right…" He turned back out the window. Maybe one day he'd be more inclined to sit down with her and figure out what happened. Figure out her story. But that day wasn't today. He already knew he couldn't waste her. She was ambitious, but loyal. He'd ask her to jump and she'd ask how high. It was just what he needed.

And he couldn't risk her aging another second. He couldn't lose any of her. He needed to bring her into the World of Darkness, for his own wellbeing.

A meeting with the Sabbat was in order.

* * *

"I think I've offended Angel." May said, combing her fingers through her platinum blonde hair as she sat beside her lover, "He's very confused as to why he's living with April. If he's going to live in the red tower, I honestly don't see much of a reason to keep him away from me."

Prospero stood up and stretched, "Why not just have him live here?"

"That's what I was going to ask. I wasn't sure if you would mind. I know he can be a little rude to…to people who aren't me."

"I don't see a reason against it." He said, heading towards the kitchen.

"Where are you going?" She asked, flicking through TV channels when he stood up.

"I don't know." He said, "I feel like the Prince wanted me for something…or someone did…maybe another Primogen. Maybe Goddard…"

"It's rather late, isn't it?"

He shrugged, then he froze in place for a bit. May had no idea why he was just standing there. Maybe something was on his mind, or he was thinking things over. He did seem a little off these last few hours.

He then whirled around, lightning crawling all over his body from Potence. He sped at May with Celerity and went to punch her in the face. She gasped, hiding her face as she was hit in the back and floored, literally. She then cowered on the floor, huddling and shaking, "Prospero…" She whimpered.

There was a blue glow around Prospero's head, and his eyes were overall clouded, "You are not in the grand vision of Miss Madame Vaska." He said in a monotone.

She looked up weakly, her eyes teary. She scrambled to the door, rushing out in search for one of the only other vampires she knew. Prospero quickly sped after her, getting little hits in here in there as his electric fists grazed her.

Slade was sitting on the couch, with April cuddled beside him, "May?" Slade asked, "What the fuck—!"

Prospero dashed in, but Slade quickly matched him with his own Celerity, using his swords to block Prospero.

April scrambled back out of the way, hugging her sister as they cowered in the corner. Angel growled savagely, the battle all happening too quickly for him to pounce.

The two men flashed around like blurs, Slade only stopping to ask, "Can someone explain what's happening?"

"He just started attacking me…" May said, her voice still sounding terrified, "It's Madame Vaska, she has him brainwashed!"

"Madame Vaska?" Slade asked, "Great…where the hell is she?"

"I have no idea!"

"…you…you have…what do you mean you have no idea—"

Prospero punched Slade in the gut, with such force that Slade groaned in pain, as blood and a few tiny bones came out of his mouth. He sailed back, shattering most if not all of the furniture and the lights in the room as he flew back.

April gasped, now both of the sisters were tearing up, "What do we do?" April cried.

"We have to get someone else…" May's eyes locked on the door, "The Prince, another Primogen, anybody…"

More sounds of glass shattered as Slade tried to brush the debris off him and get up. "I can handle him. There's not many other Kindred in here anyway…they're dealing…with the Sabbat and crap…" One of his eyes swelled shut, "Listen…" He looked at the Virgo sisters, "One of you needs to get a wooden stake. Right now. We don't have time to goof around."

"A wooden stake?" May asked, "Are you shitting me?"

April rushed over to the couch, flipping it over and kicking at one of the wooden legs, "May, get a kitchen knife and help me cut this."

May was still a bit stunned, but she ran off into the kitchen and grabbed a knife, running in to hack it off with April.

Slade spit blood, and perhaps a tooth to the side, "I'll hold 'em off!" Slade dashed at Prospero, riddling the man's chest with a considerable amount of wounds. Slade pumped Presence to give himself an advantage, considering that without it Prospero's Potence could most likely maim him, "Huh…wow…I'm actually faster than him…"

Once the leg came off, May threw it Slade's direction, "Here!"

Slade sheathed one of his swords, catching the stake in his free hand. "Alright, I just have to open his chest up a little bit more." He kept dashing around, but then Prospero activated his own Presence, lowering Slade's abilities and freezing him in cold shock, "Damn it…" He just barely defended Prospero's blow.

April and May cowered again, especially May, who was starting to feel some of the effects from Prospero's previous punches.

Slade growled in both pain and annoyance. A fight of strength between a Brujah and a Toreador, especially one as scrawny as Slade, was like that of a fight between a coyote and a lion. He gave a loud scream as an opening came up for him, and he stabbed the stake through Prospero's heart. The blue glow around Prospero's head faded and he passed out.

May screamed, "Is he dead!?"

"No. He's in torpor. Vampires turn to ash when they die."

"Oh…alright…" Her shoulders sank as she slowly approached, wincing with every step she took, "Then what do we do now…?"

Slade gently tore the stake out of Prospero's body, "I guess whenever you're ready to wake him up, give him some blood."

"But…wait, wait, won't he be…be brainwashed again?" May asked.

He shrugged, "I don't know." He said, "I've never seen someone with a Dominate that strong. That she doesn't even have to _be around_ for it to be used. Strongest Dominate I've ever seen…even better than LaCroix's…"

"We should take him to the Prince then."

"He's not going to have a better answer than me." He said, "He'll just say to wake Prospero up, and that'll be that."

"Well…do you have any blood?"

"No…I usually hunt on the spot…I know a Kindred who does though. And it tastes really good. Let me go get some."

"Alright…thank you." She added quickly, giving a worried look to Prospero.

"Are you okay, May?" April asked, eyeing the wound in her sister's side where she was hit, that started bleeding through her clothes.

"I'm…I'm…fine…" She turned and looked at it, feeling a little lightheaded, "I'll be fine…"

Slade returned just as quickly as he left, coming in with about five blood packs, "This should do the trick." He said, drinking two of them to get rid of the wounds on his own body.

May took one, a bit squeamish about the whole thing, as she tore it open, "Ew…ew, ew, ew, this is so gross…" She held it up to his face, "Will he…will he smell it? Should I put it in his mouth?"

"He'll smell it." Slade said.

Prospero's nose twitched. He snatched the blood bag and drank it whole, putting a hand on his head as he came to. "Aw…jeez…what the hell happened…?"

"Madame Vaska Dominated you." Slade said.

"She did?"

"Thank god you're okay…" May squeezed him, despite the pain they were both in.

Prospero looked her up and down, horrified, "Was…was that me…?"

"It's alright, it hardly matters. It was that fucking whore, it wasn't you."

"Here…drink from one of my wounds…the bloodiest one…"

She looked back, mortified, "Not in public…"

"Shit…they're all closing up…Slade, you got a knife or something?"

"Yeah." Slade said, going to what little remained of the kitchen to fish out a knife.

May was weary, but she still looked grossed out, "No, no, let's go back to our room."

"Right…sorry…" Prospero said, "Cancel that knife, Slade."

"Right." Slade said.

Prospero held her close, "You think you can make it back?"

"Yes, I should be fine." She did her best to stand tall, "Thank you, Slade."

"Right, no problem." Slade crossed his arms.

* * *

 **A/N:** It seems the roommates are growing; Slade helping the ghouls with the World of Darkness, while combating Madame Vaska at the same time…Thanks for reading!


	80. Chapter 80

**A/N:** Here's chapter eighty! (horns, confetti, other such festivities) A highlight of Tremere in action in this one, both through words and violence…hope you like it!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs.

* * *

He found it odd that Therese didn't turn the lights on when she walked in, but didn't bother saying anything. He was about to wave and head home himself as she set her briefcase down and looked at him, almost expectantly, "You're…more than welcome to come in."

"It's too dark." Gottfried said.

"Oh…oh, right. Please, forgive me." She flicked the lights on, "I wasn't thinking."

It was definitely Therese's apartment. He didn't think there was a speck of dust anywhere. The room was mostly dark, there was some classy paintings on the walls, all the furniture was pushed to the sides or in the corners. It was a rather odd set up, but overall it smelled and sounded a whole lot nicer than the Asylum. "Needless to say," She chimed in, "I don't let Jeanette in here much."

"I can't imagine why." He chuckled.

She chuckled as well, adjusting her glasses, before she stepped back, "Can I get you a drink?"

"If it's no trouble."

"Of course. Please, make yourself at home." She motioned to some chairs and a table as she walked into a kitchenette and fetched a wine bottle of blood, pouring it into two wine glasses. She put the bottle back in the fridge and walked back in, handing him a glass as she took a seat for herself.

"Thank you." He said as he took a seat.

She crossed her legs, "It's wonderful you haven't noticed any threats in Santa Monica since the…previous incident." She took a sip, "You must be warding them away."

"I'm not sure how true that is."

"It's true enough." She sat back, "I can't thank you enough. Is the pay enough?"

"It's fine."

"Are you sure? I could…potentially offer more." She rested her head on a fist, her arm resting against the table. There was something intimate about the whole setting, the dim lighting, the paintings, the drinks. He was sure if Jeanette was here, she would have pounced by now. "I did a bit of research and found some offers for bodyguards at about one-thousand per week. That's about twice as much as I'm paying."

"But I destroyed your club, and your business with Poe and the Sabbat." He said, "Logically, you shouldn't even pay me at all."

"Well, you're protecting it now." She took another sip and smiled, "Did I mention that I'm thankful?"

"I believe so."

"I do hope Jeanette didn't…pester you."

"No…she was…better this time…"

"So she did speak with you. She was all smiles when I mentioned you."

He nodded, "I think we get along a bit better now."

She paused, "Gottfried." She moved her hands down to the surface of the table, then finished her glass. "I trust you."

"Hmm?"

"I do. I trust you to…do the right thing. To pick the best option for not only yourself, but for everyone else. You're thoughtful. Sincere. This is how you would describe yourself, yes?"

"In a way, yes."

"Good. So…" She uncrossed her legs, only to bring the other leg on top, "If I were to suggest you had… _relations_ …with my sister…you would be able to truthfully tell me this notion was entirely false."

"What?"

She paused before she sat up, pushing her empty glass away from herself just a hair, "Forgive me. Allow me to…sufficiently preface my question. I need you to answer me truthfully." She paused again, "In no way am I doubting you, or attempting to offend you. I am no arbiter, the only answer I am looking for is the truth." She said firmly, "Understood?"

He gave a slow nod.

"Are you in…some sort of relation with Jeanette?"

"No."

There was a brief stillness, a pause, before she sat back and seemed to relax at last. "Good. Forgive me for asking. She has a particular ability to…snare anybody who she's remotely fond of in a steel net and…I've found it particularly difficult to work with those who are caught."

"Has there ever been a Kindred who's gotten along well with both of you at once?"

She looked at the table and thought for a few moments, before meeting his gaze again, up above her glasses. Sure enough, both her eyes were a pale gray. Maybe he was seeing things when he last spoke to Jeanette. "No. Well, yes. It's a complicated affair. The best answer is no."

"Hmm, I see."

"Well." She stood up, "I'm going to change. You have a few hours before sunrise, you're more than welcome to stay. I'll be back out in a few moments."

"Right, I appreciate the hospitality."

She nodded, heading into what he assumed was a bathroom, or maybe a bedroom. It did take a few minutes, so he averted his gaze to the window, a little gap there where he could see the red brake lights of commuting cars and trucks. They were just far enough away so he couldn't hear a thing, which was almost nice, if not eerie.

The silence was disrupted by a familiar voice, "Does this shirt make my butt look big?"

By the time he turned around, Jeanette smirked, "Made you look."

She was in the dress shirt she always wore, but it hung down now, it wasn't tied up. Mostly unbuttoned, it seemed like she was trying to pass it off as lingerie. And, well, the fact that she had no pants on helped too. No make-up either made her almost seem more innocent, and the trade-mark pigtails were there too.

Gottfried looked away, "Have fun getting changed?"

She put a hand over her mouth and laughed, "Worried that mouse in your pants will get antsy if you look over here?" She leaned in onto the table, resting her forearms there as she tried to close the distance between them, "Or is it more like a rat?" She whispered, "Maybe a ferret…"

"It won't get antsy." He said, "You might not know this, but now that I'm dead, I have complete control over it…"

"Oh trust me sweetheart, I know." She sat across from him, "How was your conversation with Therese? I heard something interesting from where I was lounging…"

"I imagine you weren't lounging too far away…"

She giggled, "No, I can't say that I was." She played with Therese's empty glass, "You know, she makes a big deal about being truthful, when she lies all the time."

"Yes, she's a big filthy liar."

"So…you know, then?" She held a hand out.

"Know what?"

She gave a little smirk, "You know the real reason she was so concerned about the thought of us tumbling between the sheets."

"What would that be?"

She giggled, "You are a little dense, aren't you? She likes you. And she doesn't have a damn clue what to do about it. She doesn't even understand it. The poor thing. I almost pity her."

"How do I know you're not playing a trick on me?"

"I like playing tricks on people who deserve it."

He narrowed his eyes, "So I deserve it?"

"No. You took the wrong avenue. I'm _not_ tricking you because you _don't_ deserve it. Understand? This isn't a game. It's fun, but it's not one of my little amusement ploys."

"I'm still not following."

"It's not a trick. It's just reality. Therese likes you. _Fancies_ you, as she would say, and she doesn't have the sense to understand that. I'm telling you because if you're going to do anything about it, you're going to have to go to her. She sure as hell isn't coming to you. She'll just keep inviting you over and spending time with you, madly wondering why she can't get you out of her head. And she'll keep getting upset if she hears you talk to any other women. Including me. Insanely jealous. Who knew."

"Mmm-hmm."

She laughed, "And what makes this even more fun are _my_ feelings. And of course, yours."

"I don't know what you're getting at. I destroyed her club and ruined her business."

"She forgives you." She swatted a hand, "She's got bigger things on her plate. Sabbat-shaped things. You're not Sabbat anymore, so she doesn't mind. Plus, you're helping her now, a lot. In such an embarrassing time of her life. You keep your lips sealed about how much of a wimp she is, she'll forget it even happened."

"But she's not weak. She can kill people with the wave of her hand. So can you."

"Yes, that's right. She doesn't have the guts for that. Or the confidence. She doesn't like to dirty her hands or her pretty little conscience."

"Dirty her hands? Hmm, if I was in her spot, I would be proud. Not many Kindred in this city are as strong as her. It's why I try to better myself every night."

She smiled, "That's the kind of ambition that wets her panties in her sleep."

"You mean yours?"

"Especially mine."

He looked mildly annoyed at this point, "So you're saying that I'm thrust in the middle of this love triangle?"

"Well, it isn't a triangle if you haven't picked a side."

"I disagree. At the very least it's a tension. If it's even _true_."

"Well, one thing stands. I wouldn't mind sharing you. And I don't think you would mind sharing us either. But Therese would. It would stain her reputation, having her lover warm her sister's bed as well. She's had enough incest as it is, I suppose, wouldn't want any more on that crisp little résumé of hers. If we were to have…what did she say, _relations_ …we would need to keep them under the covers."

"Who says I want either of you?"

"I don't think you'd be here at all if you didn't at least find some source of entertainment in us."

"Or loyalty to the Camarilla?"

She smiled, "Then why do you spend so much time with _me_?" She giggled, "I don't need an explanation. Deny it all you want. I know it's there."

"I spend time with you because your sister runs out of things to say to me so she uses you to clean out my brain for answers."

"You think so?" Her eyes widened with amusement. "Cute. Cute. But…it doesn't work that way, cupcake. We have different memories. They overlap, sometimes. She knows nearly nothing about the Anarchs. Only what I tell her. Likewise, I know nothing about anyone in the Camarilla. But, I do have an easier time tapping into…the Therese side. I can get more answers out of her. She doesn't like to talk to me as much."

"Hmm…I'm surprised you're so forthcoming with me."

"I might act like a ditz, but I understand myself more than Therese will ever understand herself."

"I've noticed. Rather quickly in fact. You're sharper than Therese gives you credit for."

She smirked, "I'm just…not very good with…cash management. Or paying attention. Business, social affairs, keeping up appearances." She counted on her fingers, "Those are the things I let her take care of. She enjoys it anyway."

"Seems that way, at least."

She sat back and crossed her arms, "So now what?"

"What do you mean 'now what'?"

"Well, now you know we're both madly attracted to you." She smirked, "I'm interested to see what your next move is."

"I'm still not sure what to believe."

"What good would I have lying to you?"

"For what I did to your club."

"We've both gotten over that!" Her voice was full of exasperation, "The _customers_ do worse on a nightly basis. You've seen the state of the place."

"I suppose. Still…you could both want revenge…leading me into a trap. I've fallen into traps before…ones that cost Poe and I dearly."

"It isn't a trap." She said firmly, "This sounds like something I would do. But not Therese."

"Therese isn't mad at me for what I did?" He asked, "Because she wanted me dead at the trial."

"She did. She's a little trigger happy. You should really talk to her about it, to give you more grounding. But, from what I've seen and heard, she's completely forgiven you. You've become one of the only people she can trust."

"She knows nothing about me." He said, " _You_ know more about me than she does, and you just told me that Therese doesn't really share your thoughts and memories."

She gave a little smile, "I think that just tells you more about her."

"Wouldn't she think that I'm going to stab her in the back?"

"I don't think she has the mental stability now to even handle the thought."

"What makes you so sure of that?" He crossed his arms.

"Because I'm the one that has to balance her when she thinks she's going to fall. And I've been doing quite a bit of balancing."

"Are you saying that I weigh a lot in her mind?"

"No, no, sweetheart, if anything, it's the opposite. You take away a lot of the weight there. The fear of the Sabbat is lifted away by…" She looked him over, "…all those big…strong…muscles…"

"Mmm-hmm…"

She slowly stood up, pushing the chair in, "Come here." She walked over towards the center of the room, "There's something I want to show you."

He got up and pushed his chair in, reluctantly following her. She smiled, turning around and slowly closing in, reaching up to hold his shoulders as she got on her toes to kiss him. He backed away, "Jeanette…"

She still had a smile on her face, "Now that, _that_ was a trap."

"Oh yeah?"

"Mmm hmm. You fell right into it." She stepped closer, still trying to minimize the distance between them.

"Technically, I didn't yet."

"No, not yet." She stood still, cocking her head to the side, "Are you afraid I have cooties?"

"No. I don't want Therese to get paranoid right _after_ I told her there was nothing between us. Which there isn't. You know that."

Her eyes narrowed as she smiled, "She doesn't need to know. You can't deny what we're both feeling…"

"The truth will make its way to the surface, Jeanette."

"Then you let me take care of it."

"What do you mean?"

"I'll handle Therese. I'll make sure nothing gets out, and cover it if it does slip."

"No…Jeanette, I can't…"

"Why not…?" She stepped closer, "Are you afraid…?" She reached forward to touch his arms, "Are you afraid that I'll open your wounds? Are you afraid that you'll hurt?"

He backed away again, "I'm not…interested in sleeping with women I hardly know…especially given…what you have with Therese. It would be inappropriate."

"You hardly know?" She repeated, "I think you know more about me than Therese does."

"Doesn't change the fact that we've only known each other for…weeks at best…"

She was about to argue again, to mention that she rarely saw people she considered close friends for more than a week. But then she faced away, "You're right. I'm sorry, cupcake, you can go. It is Therese's apartment, she would be furious if we dirtied her sheets."

"It's…nothing personal…you realize that…right?"

"I understand you don't want to offend me but…" She hugged herself, dabbing a tear away from one of her eyes as she continued to face away from him.

"But what?"

"But it hurts…" She turned around, "Am I not good enough?"

"Jeanette…I'm just some thug. Why the hell does my opinion matter so much?"

"Because…you're a thug who I…I like. I don't…I don't spend time with people I like, because people I like never like me back."

"I…I never said I didn't like you…"

"They never do…" She muttered, "They even tell me they _love_ me. And then they get scared, and run away, and I never see them again…"

"I'm not going to run away, Jeanette…unless I think you or Therese is endangering my life. Or Poe's."

"We won't. There's no reason for us to."

"Then I won't leave." He said, "I…I didn't know you were so…lonely…"

"I'm sorry…" She muttered, wiping more tears away, "It's late. I'm…usually in bed by now anyway, crying."

"Why didn't you say anything earlier?"

"Say what?"

"That you felt like this."

"I told you I had feelings for you."

"Well…I sort of meant the loneliness thing. Look, I'm not sure about being with either of you romantically…but, I'll keep you company. That's simple enough."

"Okay." She gave a little nod, "I'll take it." She closed her eyes, "You should probably go. The sun'll be up soon."

"Right. Goodnight Jeanette."

* * *

"You remember the last time we were both here, don't you?" Victor asked, as he and his two apprentices were overseeing the castle at the Rocky Mountains once again.

Delilah nervously tipped her hat out of the way, "What if they have reinforcements this time…?"

"There were quite a few of them there anyway." Leo said, "I'm not sure how many more 'reinforcements' they could have."

"It could stand to reason that the same Kindred that we fought last time will be here before." Victor said.

"Are we more prepared…?" Delilah asked.

"I would like to think so, considering it's been many months since our last assault on this base."

"I…I-I wouldn't be so sure, Mister Madison…"

"Nonsense. Now, let us cross the bridge."

Silently, the three Tremere crossed the bridge. Leo adjusted his glasses, "Wasn't Iphigenia with us on our last journey here?"

"Yes, but they also had Ebony."

"Well…" He hesitated.

"She isn't dead though, right?" Delilah asked, "Iphigenia? I haven't seen her in a while."

"No. She's perfectly fine." Victor said, "I heard that the LaSombra, Remus…nearly killed her, and he destroyed her house…but…she's alright."

Delilah's eyes widened, but then she looked puzzled, "Why doesn't she just live in the Chantry?"

"I'm not sure. Throughout her time with us, it was always a measure she was opposed to."

"She may be cautious around sleeping near others." Leo said, "I've met a few people like that."

"I don't think that's a problem. She trusts us." Delilah said.

"Or…so we can hope." He muttered.

A loud bang was heard from the windows of the castle. Victor tensed up and held his arms out in front of his apprentices. Blood immediately gushed out of one of them as the sniper shot made contact with him. He flinched and fell to his knees, holding his bloodied arm close, "Blood shields up…" He looked at both of his apprentices, "Immediately…"

Leonardo clad himself in a Blood Shield and narrowed his eyes as he searched for the sniper, while Delilah clutched Victor's other arm, "Are you alright, sir?"

"Yes, quite fine." He said, doing what he could to stand tall, as he activated his own Blood Shield, "Stay alert." He nodded to the entrance, where the huge palace gates began to slowly open.

A pair of familiar faces emerged from the castle, both of which were surrounded by numerous amounts of shovelheads, "Well, I see the Tremere have returned for a rematch!" Vernon laughed, while Raphael merely stood silently.

Leo simply held a hand out and used Purge. Vernon and all of his followers began vomiting, vulnerable for quite a few minutes as they kept losing blood, "Get him!" Vernon said, flaring up all three of his Brujah Disciplines at once.

"I'll take the Brujah and his cronies." Victor said, "You two should take care of him." He nodded to Raphael.

Delilah nodded as she donned her own Blood Shield and sent Blood Strikes out after Raphael. Raphael stumbled back as he was mildly burned by the blood bolts that struck him. He utilized Protean, turning into a large black panther. He gave a deafening roar as he dove at Delilah with his claws out.

She screamed and grunted as she hit the ground, feebly holding her hands in front of her face as her hat rolled away from her. He snarled, clearly wanting revenge of some sort from their stalemate during their last encounter. He slashed at her with his claws with absolutely no mercy.

She cried out in pain, hoping her death would at least come quickly before a series of Blood Bolts came raining down onto Raphael's hide from the side.

He looked back, only giving Leo a glare as he went back to Delilah. He bit into her neck and started drinking, given that he was in his war-form, it was all the more weight crushing her down as he began to feed. Delilah tried all she could to push him away before she quickly slipped into torpor.

"No!" Leo shouted, some distant pain throbbing in his heart. He ran forward and jumped on Raphael's back, grabbing him by the throat and trying to yank him away.

It didn't really dawn on him that Purge would do the job just as well.

Raphael tried to throw Leo off of him, it slowed his drinking speed, but didn't necessarily stop it. Leonardo growled as he jumped off of Raphael and finally used Purge.

Raphael threw up to the side, slowing getting himself off of Delilah to give Leo a predatory gaze. He held a hand out, and bats came out to do a similar blood theft to Leo. Leo grunted, fighting back with another round of Purge.

This time he was completely out of blood. He turned back to his normal form, writhing in pain. To fight off an imminent frenzy, he slung Delilah's body over his shoulder and started drinking from her again. "Get off of her!" Leo raged, running forward to punch Raphael in the face.

Raphael tossed Delilah aside, using his forearm to block the punch, he reared back to punch him back. Leo was undoubtedly floored, as he had absolutely no strength or stature behind any of his physical strikes.

Raphael frowned, running forward to perhaps diablerize Leo too, but Victor shot him in the back of the head from afar, "Leo! Take Delilah and go! I'll cover your back!"

Leo nodded obediently and swiped up Delilah, carefully holding her as he ran back from where they came. It certainly didn't help his anxiety that she was feeling particularly light.

* * *

"Edgar." Edgar jumped to the terrible sound of Cressida's voice right in his doorway, "Your phone is ringing." She threw the little cellular device his way.

"I'll get it. Just a second." He said, picking up the phone, "Hello?"

"Edgar?" He heard a familiar female voice, "It's Iphigenia…how've you been?"

"Iphigenia?" He asked, "I've been fine, what do you need?"

"Two things, if that's alright. I didn't mean to impose. I wanted to make sure it's alright if Halcyon works with you, first of all."

"Hmm? That's fine, I should have something rigged up for her very soon."

"Well…you see, that's the second thing."

"Hmm, what's the second thing?"

"I would like to come by, tonight. With Halcyon. I don't know where you are, or how to get there, but I want to make sure it's safe for her. And I need to speak with Gary, face to face."

"Yeah, a lot of those things are impossible…"

"Am I not allowed down there? I'm sure if you mentioned my name to Gary, he'd make an exception."

"He doesn't like anyone other than Nosferatu down here, aside from emergencies. That's what keeps this place a secret…and especially after that Malkavian Antitribu broke in here, we have to be extra sharp."

"Of course. I understand." There was a slight pause, "Could you put him on the line then?"

"Maybe, if I can find him." He said, starting to aimlessly walk around, "Gary? Hey, Gary!"

He found Gary in his dining room, drinking blood from a teacup with his skeletal guests, "Yes? Ooh, let me guess." He grinned, "Iggy."

"How the hell did you figure that one out?"

"I could hear you down the hall. The only other sound around here is the clicking and clacking of keyboards and cameras." He held a hand out, "Give her here. I'll shut her up."

"Alright." Edgar said, speaking into the phone, "Here he comes."

Gary snatched the phone, "Iggy!" He screeched, hoping to at least frighten her, before he spoke eerily soft and slow, annunciating each letter, "You've finally come crawling back to me…"

"No." Iphigenia's voice was disappointingly steadfast, "I'm not sure if you've heard what happened to the Sabbat recently."

"I've heard a lot of things about the Sabbat." One of his eyes twitched slightly, he went back to his normal speech, "Which are you talking about, and why does this pertain to me?"

"The LaSombra. You've had to have heard of that."

"The one the Prince flung out the window? Sure. What of it?"

"He kidnapped my sisters and blew up my apartment."

"Shucks."

"Gary, listen—"

"No, you listen here, you reprobate." Gary sat up, "You missed your opportunity. You had the chance to join a network of Kindred who would watch your back, but instead you chose the _Tremere_. That was the worst move you could pick. Now you can't fight, can't have a free will, you can't even take care of those little whelps you call sisters. And you come crying to Uncle Gary when you need help."

"It isn't like that—"

"I warned you. I told you they would never do you any good!" He spat, "You were the one that got away, and I knew you would be _absolutely miserable_." He growled out. At least Edgar could see how in his past, he was probably a very good actor, "It's too late, _sweetheart_. You chose your vanity over the safety we could provide you."

"Listen!" Iphigenia yelled, "I don't need you to help me with anything! I got them back, alright? I got them back, and I have a place to live. I'm not crying to you because I have nowhere else to turn. I'm coming to you because I need cash."

"…cash?" Gary asked after a pause, "You're coming to me…because you need _cash?_ "

"Yes. That's it. My sisters are safe. I'm safe. I don't need your protection."

"If you want cash so badly, go work in a strip club. It's not like that's any more morally justified than anything I'd have you do. Oh, wait…you're too revolting for that, aren't you?" He grinned, "You can't pick the middle road and get everything, hot-shot."

"Well, you're such an inventive man, I figured you'd find something for me to do."

"And you really can't talk to your Tremere friends? What, do they not accept you anymore? Are you too wild for them? What do they call it, a bull in a china-shop? I think that sums you up quite well, Iggy. You don't belong in a _library_. Those mages are going to pull your pretty little eyeballs out one of these days and toss them into their cauldron."

"Get your laughs in all you want. I'll wait."

"It's not fun when you're expecting it." He muttered, "Well…I can think of a few things, but it would hardly make you a dime. You're not exactly a sight for sore eyes. Maybe for the visually impaired."

"Thanks."

"You're not good with computers either."

"Not particularly."

He sighed, "Well…we could do some work, I suppose…"

"Look, I'm not interested in any pornography shit. I want real work."

"Then why the hell did you come to _me?_ "

"Because I thought you would feel I owe you."

"I do. And I think you owe me nude photos."

"I'll literally do anything else."

"Alright. Sleep with my boys then. They could use it."

"I am _not_ your prostitute! This is not a game!"

He sighed, sitting back as he crossed his arms, "Look, I don't have anything coming to mind that I can't make _them_ do. _They're_ in my best interest. Not you."

"Then think about it. And call me back when you do."

"No, no, no." Gary snickered, "On the contrary. You're going to think about the offers _I_ made _you_." He said, "You're looking at five hundred to one grand an hour, by the way, doll-face." He grinned as he heard a pause, "And when you do make up your mind, you'll call. Understood, Crystallia?"

"Stingy pay."

Gary snorted before he snapped the phone shut and handed it to Edgar. "Thanks. That was a nice bit of humor."

"I suppose she didn't get exactly what she was looking for." Edgar said.

"I don't know what she was expecting. An office job, nine to five, ten dollars an hour? Of course not. She's a spoiled brat."

"I guess it takes all different sorts of Kindred to build up the Camarilla, doesn't it?"

"Mmm…" Gary hummed bitterly, "You didn't know her when she was alive. Or him, I should say. Heh, heh."

"What?"

"When she was a girl, she needed cash. She never had parents, neither did her adopted sisters. She thought fame was the way to go, thought if she started boxing, maybe she could make a quick buck. But there ain't any female boxers, are there? So she taped herself up, cut her hair and worked on her six pack. No one knew that little Iggy Crystallia was hiding a dirty little secret. Until _I_ found her." He cracked his knuckles and sat back, "She walked all over me like a doormat. I offered her a position here, and told her about Kindred. Huge mistake. I thought being nice would pay off." He spat, "She did some snooping and found out about other clans. Embraced herself to the Tremere. Pretended I didn't exist." He gave a dramatic sigh, "I'm still contemplating killing her. Wringing her neck myself, if she becomes a nuisance. The one that got away…"

"So she rejected joining our little club, huh? Interesting."

"Real interesting. I have no clue what made her pick the Tremere. Probably Thaumaturgy. She probably just wanted power, wanted something to protect her sisters. Hmm. Dominate too. So she can keep erasing their memories. Heaven forbid they notice she isn't aging." He stood up and dusted himself off, "Regardless, if she calls, pick up. But if she doesn't offer to take up any of the jobs I've offered, hang up. She isn't worth the trouble."

"Will do."

* * *

 **A/N:** I wonder if Iphigenia will resort to any of those ideas…hmm…Thanks for reading!


	81. Chapter 81

**A/N:** Here's chapter eighty-one! A bitter rivalry that's lasted ages…or at least, a couple years…Enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs. Also, there is some fiery bits in this scene, if you're not a fan, feel free to skim over it.

* * *

"These walls don't talk to me as much as the others." Dragomir stood against the walls of their new room in the red tower, his palm pressed against the surface, "These are a lot younger. They've only seen their birth and our death."

Genevieve was lounging on the couch, "I like the red tower, it's spooky. Appropriate for the Wizard King."

"Yes, I agree…" He mused, putting a fist over his chest like he was suffering from some sort of gas, "The others inside do not."

"They do not share the views of the Camarilla."

"They do not." He said firmly, sitting beside her, "Hopefully they'll get over themselves. I'd like to be able to rest here without losing myself."

"That's why you have me." She said, giving him a hug.

He smiled and held onto her dearly, resting his head on top of hers, "None of the girls in Vegas were nearly as perfect as you are. I didn't even spare a smile. They weren't deserving of it."

She giggled, "I'm so glad you returned."

"I'm so glad _you_ returned." He closed his eyes and reclined, letting her lay on top of him, "He told me you had perished…"

"He wanted you to join him."

"He did. He also thought my humanity was laughable. Damn evil twin."

"You have had the devil's dessert twice now…"

"Mmm…he was right. In his own sense. To worry about me." He took his glasses off, setting them on the coffee table. "I've no clue how to…restore it. I don't trust myself around them. Kine."

"Let me be your hummingbird and fetch you nectar."

He chuckled and kissed her forehead, "Thank you, dear. You're a wonderful hummingbird. But I don't want that to be your job. I want to be able to do something. Eventually. I'm going to go mad in here, locked up, the same thing every day. I'll lash out at you."

"Perhaps…but there are other bloodsuckers in the tower to play with."

"None of which will make me any more saintly."

"But what of Greenhorn…or…or the Obsidian Thunder…Blood Frost? Even…even Juice Pouch?"

"I'll see them, gladly. But they won't help me much."

"They won't stop you from being lonely?"

"They won't regain my humanity."

"No…" She looked down, "I suppose they won't…"

He gently held her shoulders and gave them a nice massage, "You let me handle it." She gave a quiet sigh, melting a little in his arms. He grinned, "It's been a while, hasn't it?" His voice almost came out in a purr.

She snickered mischievously, "It has…"

His hands roamed down and he rubbed her stomach in slow, trance-like circles. His lips kissed the back of her ear, "I have more blood now." He whispered.

"You do…" She sighed.

His hands slid beneath the rim of her pants and panties so he could rub her hips, "How does that make you _feel_ …?" She let out a loud gasp, gripping on him tightly as she shuddered in his grasp. He chuckled, slowly pulling his hands away, "Why don't you turn yourself around so I can see that pretty face?"

She obliged and quickly turned around, kissing him on the lips for a while. He held her chin as they kissed, it slowly got sloppier and sloppier until his hands ran down her back and he grasped her rear tightly, holding her in place. She groaned, rubbing his back shakily, "I…I t-think you missed something of mine…"

"What's that?" He asked with a silly grin.

"My…my boo…"

"I simply have no idea…" His hands slipped past her pants and panties again as he gripped the cheeks, "What you're talking about."

"Dragomir…" She moaned, unbuttoning her pants and pulling them off, along with her heels.

"See, now this is difficult for me…" He kissed her lips briefly, "Because you're on top of me and I'm fully clothed…"

She moved away quickly, pulling her shirt off, then she unlatched her bra. His eyes widened with lust before he kicked his shoes off, then tossed his jacket aside.

"Much better. The pants will come later." He laid back on the couch and pulled her on top of him. She groaned a few more times as she started making out with him. She then pulled her bra off and pressed her boobs up against his chest. He did his best to keep up with her kisses as his hands grasped her breasts, "Ahh…I missed these too…"

"And they…they missed you too…"

"Did they?" He reached down and grabbed her rear, using it to hoist her up a bit so he could bring one of her breasts into his mouth.

She smiled and sighed, eventually she took her panties off and started to grind up against his chest, making her tremble about even more. He held her hips and helped her keep a rhythm as his tongue danced across her nipple.

When she was nearing the edge, he simply switched to the other breast. She let out a deeper moan, as a mess was starting to accumulate all over Dragomir's chest, nevertheless she continued grinding, in complete bliss.

He chuckled softly before he let up and met her eye, grinning at the look on her face, "Where should I head next?"

"Where…wherever you like…"

He reached down and unbuttoned his pants, hastily sliding them down around his ankles. "Those lovely legs of yours…"

"Very…very well…"

He rolled them over, "I have an even better idea…" He crawled down a bit, his head rather close to her womanhood. "Wrap them around me. I want to feel constricted…"

"Yes, sir." She squeezed him tightly with her legs. He sighed blissfully, rubbing his hands around her legs before he dove in and started tending to her with his mouth.

She nails dug into the couch cushions as she instantly began to build up a rhythm. She was making quite a bit of noise as she felt him explore her insides, shuddering and sighing his name occasionally. He hummed pleasantly as his tongue was deep inside her, sending chills down her spine. His hands gripped her hips with a bruising amount of force, keeping a steady pulse between both of them.

She bit her lip, trying not to get him too wet, but this was soon impossible as he kept going in deeper and deeper. She gave a few quiet sighs, until a loud moan followed, as she continued quivering with ecstasy. Finally he moved his face away, licking his lips, "What a lovely dessert…"

She gave only a weak moan as a response. He chuckled and moved up a bit, "You're comfortable?" He asked, "We could move to the bed if this couch is too strenuous on your back…"

"Whatever you'd like…"

He kissed her neck and activated Blood Buff, slowly teasing her entrance with the very tip of his length.

"…Dragomir…" She moaned, completely exhausted, "Dragomir…"

He snickered, plunging into her and sighing. His hands gripped the cushions outside her shoulders, giving her full view of his chest and abdomen with each powerful thrust. She gave a reenergized scream as she felt him enter her, gasping and sighing to keep up with his newfound vigor.

She certainly noticed a difference with his endurance, as usually he came within a few moments and drew himself away, but now he lasted even longer, his mouth landing by her neck so he could kiss and lick there. Something about feeling her throat when she screamed got him fired up even more. It was clear that she was getting tired, nonetheless she squeezed him with her legs and trembled with pleasure, giving a few more pitiful moans before she completely tired out.

He rolled over so she could rest on top of him, laying his head back on the arm of the couch, "There you are…ah…nothing like seeing you completely exhausted to mark a good day's work…"

"I love you…" She kissed him.

"I love you too, my dear." He combed his fingers through her hair, "Your guidance saves me…"

"I will guide you forever…"

* * *

"Jeez…" Sirius said, "I can't believe we actually use all this shit…"

"Well…not everyone has the best aim." Damsel said, "We go through a ton of this shit just because the newbies can't hit the broad side of a barn." She reloaded a shotgun and checked the scope. "Dammit. The sight's a little off again…" Skelter grabbed a box and started carting it when she whipped around, "Hey, be careful with that!"

"What?" Skelter turned over his shoulder, "What's in it?"

"Explosives. Don't drop it." She said, then she turned to Sirius, "Oh, yeah, watch that one too, it's got a ton of blood in it."

"Yeah, yeah, I've lifted boxes before." Sirius said, heaving one up.

"Alright…" She muttered, "You don't act like it." Skelter hid his snicker.

His snake-like eye sharpened and his tongue flickered out a bit. "So what's on Nines's mind lately? We haven't met as a group in a while."

She sighed, "I wish I knew." She finally disassembled the gun and packed it back up, shutting the case and stacking a few in the back of the truck, "He's been kinda quiet with me, too."

"The spy, right?" Skelter asked, setting down a box to stretch out his back, "Can't get much shit done with them hangin' around."

"Still, if we do nothing, the Camarilla might as well win." Sirius said.

"The first thing is this spy. We can't act for shit if they know our each and every move."

"Eh…I guess Catalina needs a kick in the pants or something…either that, or the Nosferatu are more skilled in this state than I thought…"

"Well, you could help." Skelter unloaded another crate. "You got Obfuscate, right?"

He raised a brow, "Where would I even begin to go?"

"Around the perimeter. In the building. Outside the building. You gotta scope around everywhere. Anastasia and I haven't smelled anything yet, that's about the best we can do. Our heat vision doesn't help much when we have kine bustling around all over."

"Yeah, well, the last Kindred who weren't Camarilla who entered the tower were either dried out or thrown out the window with super powers, so I'll go with outside the building."

"Alright." He nodded before he briefly went into the stockroom and came back for more boxes.

"At least these guns are gonna be fun…" Damsel looked back at another gun she took out, "Did you want one, Sirius?"

"What kind are they?" Sirius asked.

"The…you know. Special ones. We only have two. I'm taking one, the other's up for grabs."

He gave a hungry grin, "Well, I'm touched, Damsel." He said as he snatched the other one up.

She hummed and kept digging around, "Here, ammo." She threw a little plastic bag his way. "Careful. Super flammable."

Skelter walked over and crossed his arms, "You gave the gun to _him?_ "

Damsel looked a little pressured, "I mean…you have war-form…I just figured—"

"The hell? I told you I wanted it."

"I know, but, you don't need it. It would slow you down, right? You're always better hand to hand?"

"And I'm just as good with a gun. He's invincible, anyway. Nothin's gonna take him down, there's no point."

"Well, he'd be a good shooter then. He could just keep firing and never have to worry about getting hit."

He sighed, leaving a tense pause. "Yeah. Alright." He grabbed another box and started bringing it in.

Damsel sighed, "Sorry. He can be a prick sometimes. Most of the time."

Sirius looked over at Skelter, "Here, take it." He held the gun out, "It'd be more useful for you."

Turning back, Skelter took the gun, looking over it and holding it over his shoulder before he shook his head and handed it back, "I'll take it when I need it. It's better off in your hands for now."

"Suit yourself." Sirius smiled, then it faded, as he heard a howling black wind, "Aw…fuck…"

Tsubasa held her blade firm as she appeared from thin air, Jun stepping up to her side, "Hey…" She said, "The invincible one isn't invincible today…"

Sirius looked down at himself as bloody scars opened up inside him, "Oh, was that me you hit? Couldn't even tell."

Jun narrowed his eyes, "He couldn't be hurt the other time we fought him. What's different tonight?"

"Shit…" Damsel muttered, "Don't use the new guns. I mean, use the new stuff, not the _new_ -new stuff. You know what I mean, Sirius. It won't do anything."  
Skelter, meanwhile, activated his war-form right away to charge at Jun. Jun created a flaming sword and a sword of blood out of thin air, crossing them in front of himself defensively.

"Shit…" Sirius said, getting cut up by Tsubasa, "This bitch is too fast!"

Damsel grabbed a shotgun and tried her best to catch up with Tsubasa and fire right into her gut. Tsubasa blocked all the shots, regrettably it seemed that she was a little bit faster than her.

"Damn…" Sirius said, watching Damsel and Tsubasa practically run circles around each other. He turned into a giant green snake, slithering over to Skelter and Jun to help the former, though the latter held his swords defensively, making it hard for the beasts to gain an attack.

Skelter snarled, stepping back to summon two wolves into the battle. Jun jumped back, now trying to take on the wolves too. Sirius turned back to his human form, a green glow came out of his hand as he flung snakes at Jun. "I have an idea…" He grinned, as Jun was slowly overrun by animals. Skelter put his Protean down, putting the last nail in the coffin as he summoned a horde of insects to swarm Jun.

At least, that's what he hoped for.

Jun twirled both his swords around, burning most of the animals with relative ease, before he took the offensive again.

"Damsel!" Sirius said, "Get back near us!"

"What about this bitch?" She asked, flashing over towards them, but still facing Tsubasa.

Sirius took a deep breath. Kuei-Jin were inches away from them. A huge gust of sand blew out, knocking them both back. More and more sand jettisoned out of his mouth, until it looked like they were all in a desert. The sandstorm caused a great deal of ruckus and damage, and was more than enough to make the Kuei-Jin forces retreat.

"Jesus Christ!" Damsel grabbed onto Skelter to hold herself in place, bringing her shirt up over her nose and mouth as the whipping winds and waves of sand gushed across the lot. Skelter stood like a statue, his eyes narrowed as he watched them get blown away.

When all was calm, Damsel let go of Skelter and wiped her hand on her pants, "Sirius…you didn't have to take the truck with it…"

Sure enough, the truck was gone. As was all the supplies they had moved.

"Eh…I guess the storm's a little stronger than I remember." Sirius said, laughing, "Oh well, least we won."

"Yeah…that's good." She sighed, "Alright. Let's get back to loading them in."

Skelter sighed, "…yes ma'am…"

* * *

"Yes." Lafayette said sitting at the head of the table, "Let us open this meeting with our progress throughout the battlefield…"

"I am uneasy about the Kuei-Jin." Gideon said, "They seem to have plans that far outpace my gray matter." He said, Antoinette giving a timid nod in agreement.

"They are indeed powerful." Cedric's deep voice echoed from his mask, "One of them may be as old…if not, older than me."

Lafayette nodded, "It is fortunate that Remus was able to take care of some of them, as well as the hunters, and the putrid Anarchs…" He said, "But…now that he is lost…"

"Sorry I'm late, guys." Sirius said, sitting down, "Anarchs and I were attacked by the Kuei-Jin."

"Speak of the devil…" Vernon said, "Raphael and I are still being beset by those blasted Tremere." He said, "Though we were able to drive them off, you almost feasted on one, didn't you?" He looked over to Raphael, who gave a simple nod in response.

Archie sighed quietly, sitting back and pondering. Of course, Aschat was lingering in the back of his mind, like a dog he kept in the back of his car with all the windows closed. "May I speak?"

The vampires at the table all looked at him at once, though only Lafayette bothered with a smile, "You have the floor."

"The Tremere…they are arguably one of the major problems we have ahead of us. Vanderbilt has, unfortunately, pushed himself into hiding, and the Anarchs are still weak-hearted as ever. Are there any means in which we could locate a Tremere on _our_ side? I understand the general concept for them is frowned upon, but there are always the outliers…"

There was a pause. Most of the Sabbat either exchanged a glance or looked at Archie as if he had four heads.

Vernon folded his hands, "There are no Tremere Antitribu." He said, "At least, not anymore. Not ever since ninety-eight."

"Indeed. Neo and Ebony were our last two." Gideon said, smiling despite the subject matter, "The only reason they even existed was because they defected _after_ that fateful year."

"Goratrix, the leader of the Tremere Antitribu was destroyed along with his clan mates in his Chantry in Mexico, supposedly by Tremere himself." Lafayette said, "Or at least, that's how the story goes."

Archie crossed his legs beneath the table, leaning back, "Then a Ventrue. LaSombra in disguise, a Toreador. We need someone on the inside."

"Such things are possible." Lafayette said, "Aren't they, Sirius?"

Sirius smirked, "They ain't as easy a nut to crack as the Anarchs, but I guess I'm your guy."

"Follower of Set…" Archie mused, "You'll have to be careful. Or be a Ventrue."

"Eh, what would the Prince have against my kind?"

"It…it's such a shame that Remus isn't here. He would easily follow such a plan…it's unfortunate that he went as…rogue as he did…" Lafayette said.

Archie lowered his head as the conversation drifted away from him. To think, Remus seemed to be such a promising ally.

"I hear that the old hag Vaska is battering on the Tremere's walls too." Gideon said.

"I still don't believe it was a wise idea to sever ties from her." Vernon said.

"Nonsense." Lafayette folded his hands, "If she wants to do our work for us, then let her. But I will bring her Final Death, I owe her that much." He paused, then asked, "Were there any other pressing matters, for this meeting?"

"The Kuei-Jin." Gideon said, "Let me take care of them, I will do what I can to kill them, or at least learn more about them. Their fate is bound to another."

Lafayette nodded, "Very well. This meeting is adjourned."

Everyone rose from their seats, including Sirius, who was contemplating the faction, (or bedroom,) he would visit. He was on his way to the door when he heard, "Sirius? A moment of your time."

"Yeah?" Sirius asked, "What do you need, more blood? Has it been a month already?"

"No, there's time yet." Archie adjusted his tie, "I have another favor to ask of you, which would come with regular pay, of course."

"Oh yeah?"

"There's a girl of mine. I sense something in her, something different than just the regular stripper or whore. She's got actual ambition, real heart. Four-hundred tons wouldn't crush it, lord knows I tried. I can't risk losing her. I've never had anyone bring in as much as she has. I need her to become a ghoul."

"You want me to ghoul this chick?"

"Unless you have another potential regnant in mind. I understand having multiple ghouls may become bothersome."

"I'm not made of blood…" He said, "Although in some cases I am." He grinned, "You're lucky you know such a powerful Follower of Set of low generation."

"I really am." He grinned back, "I'll introduce her when you're ready."

"Alright, sounds good."

"Very well. Thank you very much." He bowed.

"No problem."

* * *

 **A/N:** Poor Sirius…three ghouls at once, how will he keep tabs on them? Thanks for reading!


	82. Chapter 82

**A/N:** Here's chapter eighty-two! This chapter focuses mostly on the mental torment between two couples…enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs. Also, these two couples can be quite lemony, if you're not a fan, feel free to skim over it.

* * *

"Panagiotakis! Dinner!"

The sea didn't answer. The salty smelling breeze caught her hair and flooded through the open door, into her house. Maybe it would wipe away the smell from the parts of dinner she burnt and discarded, hoping he wouldn't notice.

"Pana?" She called again. Maybe a shark had eaten him.

And then he appeared, over the edge of the dock. He had a huge web full of fish, some of them still writhing. He left them there, on the ledge. He thought leaving them out to drown overnight gave them good flavor in the following days. When he came into the house, grunting an acknowledgement at her, she felt peace. He wasn't in one of his moods.

His 'moods' could last days. The symptoms varied, but they always included nonstop hunger, a swollen ego, and bitter anger towards anything that wasn't his 'right'.

"What the hell is this?"

Maybe it was too soon to declare whether or not it was true. She walked into the kitchen, nervously tracing her fingertips over the hem of her skirt, "Meatballs. What? You've never had them?"

"No." He grunted, seating himself and poking them with a fork, "What on earth is it?"

"…meat, in a ball. I thought you might like it."

He stabbed one and took a bite, making a face.

"What?" She asked, "What is wrong?"

"It is disgusting." He spat it out on his plate, "I taste cheese! And…what is the green?"

"Spinach…?" She asked.

"It is poison!" He stood up in a huff, "You are trying to kill me!"

"Relax." She held her hands up, "Perhaps I should have made _porcoeccitato_ …"

He stomped over to her and grabbed her by the neck, hoisting her up, "You are my…my _b_ _rava massaia_ …" He stumbled over the Italian language again, "And you are failing."

"Good." She gripped at his hand with her nails. "I wouldn't…" She choked for air, "…want to impress you."

He gave her another shove, knocking her head against the wall, "You will pay for this. Tonight."

"Forgive me." She tried to catch her breath, "I thought…with such a pig-like face…you'd have the same appetite…"

He dropped her and smacked her across the face. She held her hand over her throbbing cheek as he spoke, "You do _not_ talk to me that way, woman."

She glared daggers at him, "I talk to you however I like."

"No, you do not." He spat, "Because you are mine. You are mine until the day you reach the grave, and for all eternity afterwards!"

Darkness consumed her. And pain. So much pain, twisting, squeezing, churning, rotting, burning her insides. Like her lungs and intestines switched places, her tongue was pulled back down her throat, her stomach as squeezed by a giant claw. Her gums were on fire, her inner cheeks were torn to shreds, her tongue was swollen and tasted of blood and pus. Her head longed for the throbbing of a steady beat that did not exist. Her muscles ached, every one, like she had run a-hundred marathons while carrying a-hundred pounds.

And then she opened her eyes. She lay on a slab of stone, or wood, or some smooth, hard surface, giving no support to her aching body. The darkness greeted her, even when her eyes were open. Her vision was incredibly blurry, like there were tears in her eyes.

She felt a hand, a gentle smooth touch, cold and soft, completely contrasting to the feeling in her body. The hand traced down her arm and side, then held her face. Little delicate fingers lingered there, before her vision began to clear. It was her, those white, luminescent eyes, the twirling tattoos, the long hair. She looked at Phaedra with longing, perhaps. A maternal concern, a connection. Phaedra felt her heart flitter as her sire moved her hand away and spoke.

"Can you hear me, childe?"

Phaedra opened her mouth to speak, but was only greeted with pain. Her stomach lurched, her tongue froze and her jaw locked.

Pisha reached forward again and held her jaw, "Shh…rest. You are not yet well."

Phaedra let her eyes close. Her own darkness was better than the mysteries in the real world around her. She felt Pisha's hand slide down her arm, landing just above her elbow. It squeezed there, gently, to attract her attention. She peered an eye open and saw Pisha extending a handful of pink and red flesh.

Her stomach lurched again. But this time, her mouth opened. Her arms moved too, everything moved in front of Phaedra, like her mind was unconscious but her body was not. They snatched the flesh and pulled it into her mouth, chewed once or twice before swallowing. Nothing had ever tasted any better.

She felt Pisha's cold, wet hand land on her forehead, like a mother with a child who was running a fever. "Rest, childe. You have been fed. Your beast is settling within you. Your body is changing. Your survival through this time depends on your inner strength. There is no more I can do for you." She moved her hand away and looked Phaedra in the eye, "You are mine. And it will remain that way, so long as Gehenna does not tear us apart."

And then it grew cold. Cold, cold, colder, still. Phaedra tried to open her mouth and cry out for Pisha, but couldn't. She couldn't make a sound. Pisha turned and left, perhaps to feed herself. But the chill didn't leave Phaedra. It grew worse and worse until her eyes snapped open.

The bedsheets had fallen off. She laid there, completely naked. No wonder she was cold. Well, it wasn't as if the bedsheets offered any warmth either.

She sat up, rubbing one of her temples briefly. And then, she grabbed the bedsheets and threw them back over the mattress. She could have sworn she fell asleep in bed, _with_ Poe. Where had he gone?

She dressed herself rather quickly, grabbing her scarf on the way out as she left the bedroom and headed into the living room. Seeing him sitting on the couch sobbing wasn't exactly the most welcome of images to her right now. "Polonius?" She froze for just a second, then stepped closer, slowly sitting next to him, "I'm here, it's alright, dear."

"Phaedra…I…I can't do this…" He cried, "I can't…"

She edged closer and embraced him, "Can't do it…can't do what?" She asked softly.

"I…I miss them…I…I want to be with them…I need to go with them." He squirmed.

She let him go, "Polonius…listen, sweetheart…there…there really is no way to ever see them again. I really wish there was…but you must understand, I want what's best for you. I only want you to be happy, but more importantly, I want you to be safe. If you were to take your own life, and not be able to see them again…" She paused, "How would you feel? You would have…torn yourself away from the people here that do love you, torn yourself away from the family you have right in front of you."

"No one here loves me…not like how they did…"

"Not your brother?" She asked.

"He…would understand if I left…"

"And me?" She held his shoulder as she looked in his eye, something sorrowful there, deep inside. Like he had taken a knife and cleaved her heart from the rest of her.

"I think you only like me for my outward appearance anyway."

"If that was true, I would not have spent my night with you. I do not spill my weaknesses, address my past or give myself to those who I do not love."

"But it's all you ever talked about when we fought."

"Because that's all I ever knew. That was all you ever gave me. It wasn't until I knew you…I heard you speak your heart, that I truly began to love you." He didn't respond, he just kept crying on her shoulder, giving her a squeeze. She held onto him, gently rubbing his back, "I love you, Polonius. Gottfried loves you. You mean something, here, where you are. We care about you more than you can imagine."

"…it stills hurts…"

"I know…" She closed her eyes, "I will be here for you, through all the pain. I will take care of you. I will do anything I can to make the hurting stop."

"But…I spent decades killing and maiming people and Kindred, in the name of 'vengeance'…I don't even deserve to be alive, even if I felt like it."

"We've all sinned, dear. Your realization now is what saves you. What redeems you. You will do good now. It's safe to say you will never lash out like that again. You realize what you've done is wrong. So long as you choose to save the lives of others, you deserve to have one yourself."

"It…it doesn't feel like it…"

"I know." She held his hands and kissed his lips, "Let's try and wait, okay? Build a routine, visit people, create a peaceful life…and if you're still miserable, we'll seek help. I want to be able to give you anything I can to make you smile again."

"I don't want to meet new people…"

She smiled, "How about I invite Gottfried over?"

"Not right this second…"

"Alright." She combed her fingers through his hair and held his face, "Your eyes…" She smiled fondly, "They're like the color of the sunset in Egypt. Late sunset, twilight, when the stars just dapple the sky and the fogged moon colors it a faded royal blue…"

He gave her a squeeze, "Thank you."

She held him back, "Mmm…" She hummed, gently rubbing his forearms. His squeeze became a bit tighter, he kissed her on the lips with a fiery passion, rubbing her back slowly. She sighed, leaning into him as her hands held his shoulders, "Polonius…" She sighed, keeping her lips just an inch apart from his as her eyes flickered to his gaze.

His hands reached the small of her back, making sure to be delicate as he kept kissing her. She traced her tongue along his bottom lip before she moved her head away and pressed a kiss to his neck, "Did you want to move elsewhere…?"

"If you would like to." She stood up slowly, taking his hand in hers as they walked to the back of the living room. But, he noticed she was guiding him towards the bathroom.

"…Phaedra…"

"What?" She smiled playfully, "I think you could use a hot bath to decompress…"

"I'm not…I'm not sure how ready I am for this…"

"We could go to the bedroom instead, I wouldn't mind."

"I'll go with whatever you want."

She took him to the bedroom, taking off her scarf before she untied her dress and let it fall.

"Did you want to do the bathroom?"

"I don't want you to be uncomfortable. We can settle in a bit first."

"But I can handle it."

"That's alright. You seemed to have something on your mind. I'll wait."

"Me? I just wanted to go inside you."

She chuckled softly, "Well, then, I'll let you surprise me." She walked up to him again to kiss him. He kissed her back, holding her close and giving her butt a small squeeze occasionally. She giggled and put her hands on his chest, her dark red nails just barely digging into the skin as they pushed him back.

"You're not…wearing anything under your dress…"

She smirked against his lips, "Yes…?"

"What if we were assigned a mission, or a meeting?"

"I would put something on."

"You should get on the bed."

"Should I?" She raised a brow and turned around, sitting back on the bed, "Yes, sir."

He started taking his clothes off, no sooner than that he ambushed her on the bed, kissing her over and over again. She giggled as she kept up with his kisses, her hands slowly sliding down his back as her legs wove their way around his.

Unlike before, he seemed a bit more relaxed whenever she touched his back, like he knew her touch was safe. He closed his eyes and held her for a moment or two, until he eventually reached up and held both her breasts with a gentle touch. She gave a soft sigh, moving in to kiss at his neck, so tempted to bite there yet she knew it would drive him away.

"Do you mind if I move somewhere?"

"Please do…" She smiled eagerly.

He moved back to her legs, feeling incredibly dirty doing so, but he started giving her a foot massage. She sighed and melted into the mattress, holding one of her feet up, "Ahh…that's simply divine after walking around so much in my heels…"

"You like it?" He asked meekly.

"I love it…"

He squeezed the foot that was in the air, before he leaned in and started licking at the ankle. His sigh was more pronounced than anything she could remember. And by now the only thing he was wearing was his underwear. Despite this, she could see every detail about his bulge in there. That was what really drove her to moaning, before she reached her other foot out to nudge the bulge there. He hissed as he unintentionally bit down on the ankle harder, "Phaedra…"

"Yes…?" She pushed a bit harder.

"You're going to make a mess…"

"I hope I do…" Her eyes glittered with lust.

"No, no, no." He started shaking, moving away from the area altogether so he could go back to kissing her lips.

She kissed him back, "What's the matter dear, you don't trust me?" She rubbed the backs of his shoulders.

"I don't want to embarrass myself…"

"You wouldn't. I think it would be cute."

"…no…"

She giggled before she pet his hair and kissed his forehead, then brought his face down to one of her breasts. He kissed it endearingly, giving each of them soft rubs as he gave her an occasional squeeze. She sighed, "Oh, I love you so much, dear…"

"I love you too." He said, taking his underwear off and letting his large bulge lay right on her lower abdomen.

She gave a high pitched sigh as she faced away and closed her eyes, "Tell me Poe…how does it feel…?"

"How does what feel?"

"This…" She moved her hand down and slowly stroked his shaft.

"It's throbbing…" He bit his lip.

"Yes…it is…" She grinned, kissing behind his ear as her hands grasped his rear and started a grinding motion between both of them.

"It's going to need to go inside you for a little while…"

She spread her legs just a touch wider, "Go ahead…"

He let her preliminary grinding do most of the work as he eased his way inside of her. Once he started his penetration, he refused to leave, even after humping her for the better part of a handful of minutes.

She choked out his name, her hands holding onto his back, yet not a single nail dug into the skin. She kept most of her focus on her hips, squeezing him in and pulling his legs closer with her own to bring even more of him inside. His sighs were quite passionate, as were his gradual groans once he got a little deeper.

He kept a fervent attack on her with his length, one that seemed to never end. Luckily, she had the endurance, or maybe she was just in such a fit of lust that every thrust only drove her further and further into a blissful daze. Just the feeling of his smooth muscle against her skin, his soft lips and teasing bites were plenty to drive her over the edge more than enough.

Even when he was tired, he was still in there, giving her a few last thrusts. It seemed he was always stubborn when leaving her entrance. Like he didn't want it to end.

She closed her eyes when he finally pulled himself away, "I…must be the luckiest woman on the planet…"

"I'm not too sure about that…"

"What makes you say that…?"

"I'm not sure…I can't be treating you _perfectly_ …"

"Certainly feels that way…"

He smiled, giving her a hug, "I wish I could just…feel normal…"

She held him dearly, "No one ever feels 'normal'…" She kissed his forehead, "Sometimes I feel very serene…other times I feel depressed, overwhelmed, hopeless…but I know such things will always pass. I know time will change things, and I have to make the best of it all…"

"It was always hard for me…even before Celia happened…"

"I understand. And, part of that is just who you are." She brushed some of his hair out of his face and smiled, "But I'll be here to help you find your smile as much as I can."

He smiled back, kissing her lips, "Thank you, Phaedra."

"Thank you, Polonius." She nuzzled her head beneath his and closed her eyes, "Are we napping?"

"Oh…I forgot the night only just started…"

She chuckled softly, "That's alright. A quick rest shouldn't hurt."

"Very well." He squeezed her, "I hope you rest well."

"You too." She kissed his nose and held him tightly before she dozed off.

* * *

Prospero heard Angel's pacing for a few minutes, but more or less ignored it. It just meant he wanted something, something May could take care of when she got out of the shower.

Until Angel stopped pacing and sat in front of the TV, growling at him.

"Quiet, you." Prospero said, "I get it. I'm an embarrassment to my fellow Kindred, and to May…and to everyone else I care about. I'm Madame Vaska's puppet and nothing better. You don't have to tell me anything." He said, then he sighed, "I'm arguing with a dog…"

Angel put his ears back and gave a quiet and muffled, " _…woof._ "

"I know…at first it was just Giuseppe Giovanni who was on my plate…but now this broad too…?" He sighed, "I'm as good as dead, we all are, depending on what she does next…"

He perked his ears up whenever Prospero spoke, then put them down when he stopped. He scooted just an inch closer, his bark a little more authoritative this time, " _rrr...woof._ "

"Maybe I could Embrace you or something." He said, "We'll have a super vampire dog in the Camarilla or something, that'd be cool. No one would see it coming." He said, "Course…it wouldn't work…"

All Angel offered was a little whimper as he lowered his head.

"Yeah, I had a feeling you wouldn't be too into the idea…"

He stared up at Prospero with his deep chocolate eyes, stepping forward enough to where he could rest his head on Prospero's knee and whimper quietly.

He pet his head, "I know, we're in deep shit. Very deep shit."

Angel growled as soon as Prospero touched him.

"Aw, jeez…where the hell did she find you? The depths of hell?"

He put his ears down and just stared at him, before he jumped up on the couch and rested his paws in Prospero's lap. He then gently took Prospero's hand in his mouth and dropped it over his flank as he rested his head down over his paws.

"I guess you two suit each other, that much I'm sure of…"

Meanwhile, once May got out of the shower, she grabbed a towel and put her hair up, slinging on her translucent bathrobe. She then reached for her cell phone and flipped it open, dialing one of the numbers in her head. (She had many lurking around in there, being a secretary). "Hello? Slade. Yes, I need a word with you."

"Hmm? Oh, hey May, what's up?" Slade asked from the other end.

"I need your help with something."

"Okay, what is it?"

"Madame Vaska. I need her dead."

"…right…I should have expected this. Yeah…I'll see what I can do…"

"I'd like you to assemble any other allies you'd like. I'm calling more people to help you."

"Right…" He said, "This…this isn't going to be easy May…I know you don't know much about vampires…but…even if we bring an army, Vaska has an advantage…"

"Then talk to her. Do something. She will be dead, and she will be dead soon. Meet me here, tomorrow at midnight." She hung up, then dialed another number, "Hello, Miss Kokinos?"

"Hmm…?" She sounded sleepy, "Yes?"

"This is May Virgo. Secretary of the red tower. I need your help."

"Oh, gladly dear…" A yawn, "What can I help you with?"

"Madame Vaska. She needs to be killed, and I need your help to do it."

"Oh? Alright. I'll do my best."

"Great. We're meeting at my place, midnight, tomorrow. You can bring any other allies you think might help."

"Wonderful. I'll make a note of it, darling."

"Thank you." May hung up, then paused. Turned out she really didn't know that many Kindred.

She walked back into the living room, taking her hair away from the towel. "Angel…you sure made yourself comfortable.

Angel lifted his head and yawned, then whined.

"He wants to run…ugh…" May sat next to Prospero, "I am in no mood to run…"

"Don't look at me." Prospero said, "It's a miracle I can even _touch_ him…"

"Well he doesn't like other people touching him. He knows I spend good money to keep that coat clean."

"Mmm-hmm…"

"You wouldn't mind a little jog with him, would you? I'll put him on the leash for you."

"I mean, I could try…"

She stood up, combing her fingers through her hair, "I need to blow-dry this anyway. Then straighten it, and add more conditioner. Try somewhere around half an hour, it should be enough for him." She grabbed the leash from the door, then attached it to his collar, handing it to him.

He snatched the leash away, muttering something about how everyone was trying to kill him, he then proceeded to leave and give Angel a walk.

By the time he came back, he found May laying across the couch with a glass of wine, watching the news, still in her robe. Her hair did look much nicer.

"Alright, that's all done." He said, freeing Angel from his leash, and sitting next to May.

She scooted her feet in to make room, "That wasn't too bad, was it?"

"Eh, I guess not…"

"He really likes you."

"I'm touched." She gave a little smirk, then turned herself around so she could rest her head in his lap. He sighed, petting her hair gently, "Anything good on?"

"Not really. I just put on the news."

"Hmm…the kine's news always seems boring compared to what we have to deal with…"

"It's nice. I think, at least…relaxing, in a sense…"

"Sure…relaxing…"

She took one of his hands and squeezed it, "Just don't think about her."

"Hard to do that when she could take control of you at any moment."

She closed her eyes and squeezed his hand much harder, painfully, "She'll be dead sooner than you can imagine."

"How? She can control anyone she wants who's younger than her and we don't know how old she is…"

"I don't like it when people hurt me. I take care of them when they do. That includes that bitch."

"She might be a little more resilient than an abusive father or a flamboyant ex-boyfriend…"

"That's why I broke out the big guns. Don't worry, I have it handled. I just want you to relax."

"But…but I beat you…"

"You didn't hit me. She did."

"But she was using my body…" He said, "I feel like…such a jerk…I can't live with myself after what I did to you. I could have killed you. One more punch and that would've been it. You know she can just do it again, right? How are you not living in constant fear of me? Why are you still around someone as weak-minded as me?"

"You're not weak-minded. She's just a bitch, it has nothing to do with you." She held his face with a hand, "I love you. I'll be there with you no matter what."

He closed his eyes, putting a hand on her hand, "I love you too…"

She gave a little smile, still looking worried, but then she just cuddled up next to him again.

"May?"

"Hmm?"

"Is there something you wanted?"

"Hmm?" She looked up at him, confused.

"Are you excited?"

"…for what?"

"Screw it." He started kissing her on the lips, reaching for his shirt to take it off. Her eyes widened before she kissed him back, shuddering as her skin was soon covered in goosebumps. He took his pants off next, shoving her back on the couch so he could lay on top of her and keep kissing her. Her robe opened as he pushed her back, she had nothing on but a lacy set of white panties, which were rather skimpy anyway.

He reached up and squeezed both of her breasts, kissing her harder and letting out a groan. She bit her lip, scratching her nails across his back while she left wet kisses at his neck. "Damn…" He squeezed slightly harder, "How can these things be so big?"

She panted a bit, "I'm not sure…you won't hear me complaining…"

"Here…maybe I should cool them down…" He backed away slightly to start mercilessly suckling on one of them. She gasped, grasping at the cushions to hold herself still as she pushed herself towards his mouth. He bit down on it playfully, sucking and licking it with his tongue as he tried to hold her firmly.

"P-Prospero…" She whined, grabbing onto his back to stabilize herself.

"Sorry…" He backed away, "Damn near broke my jaw…" He said, "So, now that I had my fun, what were you in the market for?"

She panted, completely breathless, but from the twitching in her hips, he could tell she hadn't reached an orgasm yet.

"Oh, you're kinda stuck, aren't ya?" He reached down and massaged her butt, "Well, does this help, or do you want something else?"

She moaned, "I…I-I need…"

"Yes?"

"Please…" She gasped, spreading her legs.

He quickly took his underwear off, forcing the blood through his system before he let himself in the opening that she provided. He closed his eyes and squeezed her close, letting the noises she made power his orgasm from start to finish. He tried to be gentle with his penetration, as he wasn't convinced she completely recovered from the treatment she got to her breast. To remedy this, he softly rubbed the one he had sucked on, when he had time. And once he finished, he pet her hair. Overall, it was a rather warming love-making.

Until she grabbed him firmly by the shoulders, "Prospero…I need you to _fuck_ me…"

"What the hell do you _think_ I'm doing?" He raised a brow. This would have been more of a problem if he were still human. As it were, he just spent a little more blood to keep the stiffness down there active, and he pushed inside a little more, "Jeez…feels like I'm gonna…break something…"

She grunted, then moaned, "Faster…faster, please…drive it into me…"

"Alright, alright…" He tried looking her over to give himself more inspiration. Her glowing pale skin, her thin waist, her large breasts and firm butt. She grit her teeth, holding into him for dear life as her legs latched around him. Eventually, she cried out, he could feel her clench around him with a tightness he hadn't felt from her in ages, possibly ever. He bit his lip and tried to speed things up for her, trying not to appear tired or ragged even though that's exactly how he felt at the moment. She let her nails dig into his shoulders and her teeth bite there as well as she let out another orgasmic moan.

Finally, as he pulled out, she seemed completely satisfied. Her body was nearly limp, clinging to him like a second skin.

"You…uh…you wanna tell me what that was about?"

"…hmm…?"

"Was I doing a crappy job or something?"

"No….no, it wasn't you…" She kissed his jawline, "Sometimes it just…sometimes…I don't know…"

"You know…it was kinda hot…banging you for _that_ long…" He said, "I could get used to it…"

"Oh, please do…" She smiled, "Then I'll be sure to come…"

"Challenge accepted." He kissed her lips, "For now, let's go to sleep…"

She closed her eyes, squeezing him, "Yes…goodnight, Prospero…"

* * *

"Is this everybody?" May asked, looking around.

"I believe so." Phaedra said.

"Yeah, I tried to call Cadmus, but he wouldn't pick up." Slade said, "I had to have called…like…five times or something…it's weird…so I brought in a substitute…"

Victor folded his hands, "I hope the lot of you view me as more than a mere _substitute_."

Poe was more or less hiding behind Phaedra, while Gottfried stood next to her with his arms crossed.

"Well, the goal is to kill or bargain with Madame Vaska. As long as she's out of our way. She's a huge threat and I can't handle it anymore. Get rid of her however you can, as soon as you can. I'll pay." May said.

"Ah yes, I recall that woman." Victor said, "She has since detached her reigns from the Sabbat movement in this city, nevertheless she is quite dangerous."

"Do you know where she is?" Tess asked.

"Yeah." Slade said, quickly glancing at Tess before looking ahead, "Most of us here had to attend a meeting at her castle. It'll take a while, but we'll find her."

"Wonderful." Dragomir said, "Let's fly."

The seven of them departed for Madame Vaska's palace, as usual it was located in the craggy landscape on the outskirts of California. The Kindred got more and more uneasy as they neared its entrance. "I'm not looking too forward for this…" Slade said.

"Even I am unnerved." Victor said, "No matter, I'm sure it will be a very interesting encounter."

"She seems to be one for peaceful talks." Phaedra said.

"Look, Cainites waltzing amongst our castle grounds, brother!" A man said, coming out in a leather jacket and no hair.

"I see that, brother! Let's stop them, for the great Lady Vaska!" Another man walked out, looking identical to the first one.

"Don't forget me brother!" A third man came out.

"And me!" A fourth.

"Me!"

"Me!"

Gottfried made a face as the clones seemed endless, "What…what are these things?"

"Blood Brothers, how lovely…" Victor said.

The skinheads all aimed their guns at the seven vampires, "You are trespassing on the great Lady Vaska's grounds!"

"Are they human?" Phaedra asked.

"Kindred." Victor said, "Almost like a dimwitted secret order." He explained, "Not many know how to create them anymore, I suppose it really shows Madame Vaska's true age now, doesn't it?"

The army immediately opened fire, filling the seven Kindred with tiny holes, until Victor raised a hand and made them all vomit up blood, "Now, that's enough of that, where are your manners?"

Phaedra raised a hand in attempt to use Suicide on one of them, while Dragomir activated his war-form and charged forward, shredding them with his teeth and claws.

Victor watched with amusement as Dragomir roamed around with his Protean. The Malkavian neonate was walking a fine line in the Jyhad society.

Dragomir knocked one of them back, opening up a considerable wound in the thug, "Brother, I need assistance!"

The clone held a hand out, and his brother's wounds were being healed. The same wounds now appeared on the donor's body, "There you go, brother!"

"Thanks, brother!" He said, flaring up Potence and Fortitude as he drew a sword to fight Dragomir.

"What the hell's with these guys…they can heal each other!" Slade growled, dashing around the field with Celerity, along with Poe and Gottfried.

"You need to kill them at the same time, or else they'll just keep healing one another." Victor said.

Phaedra turned to Victor, "Do you have access to Mass Suicide?"

Victor's eyes lit up, "Of course." He raised a hand, effectively clearing the field, "I must say, I do feel like somewhat of a dimwit now…"

She chuckled softly, "That's quite alright. I didn't know they needed to be taken down in pairs. It is a fascinating science…" She mused, twirling her scarf, "I wonder where she might be."

On cue, the sound of heels clicking against the rock could be heard, as Madame Vaska passed through her castle gates, "I'm equally impressed, and annoyed." She said, "Those Blood Brothers do not come so easily, Tremere…" She glared.

"Oh…right, this woman is a Tzimisce…I had nearly forgotten…" Victor said.

"Maybe you should invest in better security then." Tess crossed her arms.

Madame Vaska chuckled, "Did you really think _they_ were all I had?"

"It's best not to underestimate her." Phaedra clarified, "It seems you've made a habit of…controlling the body of a certain Brujah."

"If I were you, I would be more worried about yourselves. _None_ of you even crack a century."

"We're just here to ask you to stop." Phaedra said, "With him, at least. His ghoul is very upset."

"And if I refuse?"

"Well…I'm not so sure. We didn't think that far ahead." She grinned.

Madame Vaska frowned, "Kill them!" She ordered, as dozens of more Blood Brothers ran out to fight the lot of them. She meanwhile was looking for someone to Dominate, narrowing her options down to either Victor or Dragomir.

Dragomir turned to Victor, "I think we both know what this means."

"Yes, how many Kindred have you exactly eaten?"

"We must knock each other into torpor."

He looked utterly confused, never hearing a tactic so unorthodox, "Is such a thing possible?"

"Well, we can't be her slaves if we're unconscious, can we?" He laughed.

"But how are we to knock one another unconscious?"

He scratched his chin, searching the area for a stick.

Half the Blood Brothers on the field started laughing as they all merged into one another, until they turned into a huge fleshly monstrosity. The monster charged at the Kindred, as more Blood Brothers filed out of the castle.

Victor's eyes widened, "Their Sanguinus is better than I had imagined…"

"What the hell…they can just fuse into monsters whenever they want?" Slade screamed.

Madame Vaska held a hand out, causing a blue glow to surround Victor's head. She forced Victor to cast a Purge, making all of his allies throw up.

Phaedra grimaced, "We're going to have to retreat!"

"But what about Victor?" Tess asked.

"We _have_ to knock him into torpor now!" Dragomir called, grabbing a stick and rushing forward with Celerity to jam it into his chest. Victor coughed up blood, getting knocked out as the blue glow around him faded.

Madame Vaska hissed with rage, sending out tiny black shards which stabbed into Dragomir's flesh as she cast them out.

It took only a second or two before he lost his will to the Beast, flying towards Tess with her blood on his mind. Phaedra luckily acted fast and used Dominate, knocking him out as well, "We have to go!"

"Yeah, quick, go, get outta here!" Slade yelled, "Before that monster gets us!" He said, as they all made their escape.

* * *

 **A/N:** Appears Madame Vaska isn't as easy to take care of as they thought…thanks for reading!


	83. Chapter 83

**A/N:** Here's chapter eighty-three! Did you think the Voerman sisters actually made a friend? Ha, ha, ha, ha, WRONG! Enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs. Also Miranda.

* * *

"Are you ticklish?"

Gottfried didn't even see Jeanette walk over to him. And it wasn't like he was napping on the job. He supposed she must have snuck by.

"I…I don't think so…" He said listlessly.

"You don't think so?" She narrowed her eyes, like she was tapping into his psyche, "Hasn't that little brother of yours ever tickled you when you were younger? Playing games in the setting sun before mommy and daddy called you in to…put bandages on your scraped knees and take your toys in to be washed…?"

"There wasn't ever a 'mommy' for Poe."

"There wasn't?" She asked, "Well, that really crams us into the lifeboat, doesn't it?" She smiled and looked up at Gottfried, "Why is he on your mind?" She asked softer.

"He had a fit the other day…" He sighed, "He's still thinking about his dead wife and children…deep down…"

"Well, there's nothing we can do about it. You'd think time would wipe it away but…it won't. It won't, ever." She looked up at him, "He needs a distraction. Or at least, that's what Therese and I have always done. She buries her head in her work and…I burry mine between a fly."

"That's no way for him to live…"

"Well, what do you want? You want him to forget all the trauma? That's not how the human mind works. Take it from me. It's the cold truth, sugarplum, but it's not all bad. There are other ways to distract pain. Everyone has _something_ they run from. He could paint or write or make music. Certainly more innocent and less…dangerous, options." She smiled, "Art wouldn't exist without pain."

"Splattering paint on a canvas isn't going to fix anything either."

"You'd be surprised. He just needs to find the right thing that ticks for him. Something that takes him away from the world and leaves him in a place of joy."

"Mmm-hmm."

"It doesn't have to be art. Maybe he likes having power. Maybe he'd like to be an art critic. Maybe he likes peace and signs of progress. He could grow a garden." She looked up at him, "He needs to do something with himself, or else he'll be no better than a patient locked inside an asylum." She faced forward again, "Therese never wanted to leave that asylum. It wasn't until she heard me outside, calling for her, that she finally made her escape."

"So he should escape?"

"If he's locked himself in his room, you need to help him get out. He needs to find something to do, or he'll have no purpose. He'll get stuck on that wound and never get over it."

"But he likes to be alone…"

"Then let him be alone. But give him something to do while he's alone." She crossed her arms, "Besides, Therese always pretends she loves to be alone. But you've never seen her cry herself to sleep. The woman is absolutely pathetic. It breaks my heart. No one ever likes being alone."

"Poe would surprise you. Aside from Phaedra and myself, he's perfectly content."

"Well, then maybe two or three people is all it takes. But that certainly isn't alone. What do you think he'd do without you?"

"I don't know. I don't want to think about it. That's why before I knew either of you very well, I was paranoid that you'd kill me, leaving Poe to fend for himself. Your sister was quite against both of us surviving the trial."

"Sorry, dumpling. Didn't mean to scare you so much."

He sighed, "As long as he's safe now, I just wish he was free of these fits…"

She smirked, "I could talk with him if you want."

"I don't think he'd be interested in seeing you." He said, "He most likely hasn't extended the same trust towards your sister than I have."

She giggled, "No, certainly not." She said, letting an airy sigh fill the air. She then reached over to tickle his armpit.

He sidestepped accordingly, "Jeanette."

"What?" She giggled, "I'm curious."

"Don't."

"So you must be ticklish then."

"That's not true at all."

She reached forward to do it again. This time he didn't move and let it happen instead. But he didn't even crack a smile. Her grin widened, then she stepped in front of him, reaching up to tickle around his neck.

"Jeanette." He said, "It's not going to work…"

"Hmm…" She crossed her arms and eyed over him, "Well, I am."

"Neat."

"…you want to try…?"

"No."

"Did you want to talk upstairs?"

Their eyes finally met, his looking rather somber and depressed, "I'm not sure if there's anything more to say on the matter."

"I have a lot of things to talk about." She reached both her hands forward to take one of his.

He moved away from her, "Very well." He said, "Let's talk." He said.

She strutted towards the elevator, letting him in. Again, the machine jerked before it started going up, "How much do you weigh?"

"At least two-hundred."

"Mmm…I was almost thinking three. The elevator gets a little queasy when you get on." She giggled.

He finally cracked a smile, "I suppose it does."

It finally came to a halt, creaking a bit before the doors opened, "One of these days you're going to get us stuck. And you'll be the one punching a hole through the walls to get us out."

"You two can't afford renovations?" He asked.

"We could." She opened the door and stepped into the bedroom, "But I wouldn't be able to punch through that."

"I guess not."

She sat on the bed, "Have you thought over what we talked about?"

"Meaning?"

"You know what I mean." She smirked.

"I need a refresher."

"I like you. And Therese likes you."

"Oh. Right. My completely typical situation. How could I have forgotten?"

She giggled, "Oh, I don't know. Maybe you distracted yourself from the pain."

"I admit, with everything going on, I did forget it at least to some degree." He said, "I was just out at the edge of the state fighting with Madame Vaska. Do you know anything about her?"

"Never heard of her before."

"Hmm…never mind." He said, "Apparently she used to be with the Sabbat, but now she's Independent…she has all sorts of crazy powers that I never even _heard of_ …we were completely destroyed…"

"Are you upset about it…?"

"Sort of. It was my first task for the Camarilla, and I preformed shamefully…"

"I don't think it was shameful…" She said, untying her top and looked up at him with puppy-dog eyes, "I think this is shameful."

He looked away, "Jeanette."

"It's polite to make eye contact to a girl when she's speaking to you."

"I knew coming up here was a bad idea…"

"Why? Tell me, why you think it was a bad idea."

"Because I knew that…that… _this_ was going to happen…"

"That what was going to happen?"

"You were going to try and have your way with me."

"Did I say that?" She stood up, adjusting the straps of her red bra so her breasts wouldn't bounce as much, or maybe just because she could. She smiled and tried to stand in front of his line of sight, "Maybe my shirt just got uncomfortable. You were the one to bring sex into this. It's on your mind, somewhere."

"I'm going back downstairs."

She giggled, "I think it would help alleviate a lot of the stress you've been under."

"I think it would create more than it would destroy."

"Why? You're worried about my sister?"

"For one thing." He said, "I don't know what she'd think if I was sleeping with an Anarch. No less, her _sister_."

"She won't think. Because she won't know. We play around, you take your things, I hand you your pay for tonight, and you head home. Tomorrow slides by and she doesn't have a clue. You got your pay, no Sabbat sightings, she's content. No questions asked."

"I don't want this to be founded on lies."

"There won't be any lies. Especially if you ask her out on a date. Then you'll be hooked up with Therese Voerman." She shrugged a shoulder, (which did create a bit of a bounce,) "That isn't a lie. You would have slept with and dated Therese Voerman. I thought you've figured us out." She grinned.

"I know…that…that doesn't mean being with both of you is right…it…it just sounds…so…so, so wrong…"

"There isn't a both." She hissed, like it was a secret, "You show yourself in public with Therese…and I come out to play when it's dark and quiet…there are no lies there. Nobody will know anything. And if someone catches us…" She shrugged and deepened her voice just a tad, sounding exactly like her sister, "I'm sure arrangements can be made."

"…so…I should go downstairs…in case…in case the Sabbat come…"

She giggled, back to talking like herself, "You've run out of excuses, sweetheart."

"I don't need one. I'm leaving."

"Please…" She stepped after him, holding a hand out, "Gottfried…"

"Jeanette…I can't…"

"Why?" She sounded torn up.

"Because…" He said, "There's…too much on my mind right now…"

"And I can help you clear it."

"Not that way."

She looked down, ashamed of herself, it seemed. She crossed her arms over her chest and looked away, "Then…just a kiss."

"No."

"Please. I'm not asking much."

"I'm not going to kiss you."

"Why?"

"Because I don't even know who the hell I would be kissing!" He snapped, "If the best idea you have is keeping up a ruse of myself courting Therese while I'm secretly already with you…then you've got a pretty dismal view on a person's life. Why can't we just be allies, friends? Is this what you do to everyone else? Is this why you're lonely and everyone leaves you? Do you cram sex into their lives too? Can things just not stay at a friendship level? Is that impossible?" He asked. "It may be some sort of nonchalant goodie to you, or whatever, but you could ruin people's lives with the plays and the gambits that you make, all for a good time. Now, if you don't mind, I have to get back to the ground floor, as that is where I'm supposed to be stationed."

She looked at him bitterly, her eyes glazed with tears. "Fine. Then go. Go, and you know what? You can leave forever." She whirled around, pulling her shirt back on and tying it a bit too tight, "I can fire you, you know, because you work for me too." She opened a drawer in her vanity and got out a gun, "I can kill you, too." She slammed the gun down on the surface, then whirled around and held a hand out, leaving the gun behind her as she faced him. She was biting her lip, tears streaking down her cheeks at a rapid pace, "I can do things Therese can't! Like fire you! Or yell at you! Or look you in the eye and ask you why the hell you matter so much to me! I can address my weaknesses, and realize I'm not the perfect girl she wants to be! I _am_ better than her! I can't make friends, but neither can she! Friends will always stab you in the back, when times get too hard, they run away and leave you. I don't know why anyone would _want_ that! I want someone there, at my side, when I'm at my weakest. I want someone to call me pretty and give me funny feelings that take away the pain. I don't want a friend! I want something better than that!"

"You want to kill me, fire me, fine." He held his hands out, "I'll take good care of Poe's kids then, seeing as how Phaedra has the man himself covered."

She sniffed as she lowered her hand, "I could never kill you."

"Really? I'm pretty sure they call it Visions of Death."

"I _would_ never kill you." She wiped some tears away, "Because I love you. I don't want to be friends."

"You can't fire me either." He frowned, "Cause I quit."

Her lower lip quivered, "Please don't…Gottfried…I'll…I'll…"

"That's right. You're going to have to tell Therese you blew it. Big time. I already know how this works. I'll go back to the tower, ready and able to help Strauss with something that actually _matters_."

"I'll end it. I'll end it all." She said with a quivering grin, "And I'll leave a note. You know when I die, she does too. And then you'll be convicted of killing a Primogen."

"As I said before, dying doesn't particularly bother me. And Strauss could probably find a better Malkavian Primogen quite quickly."

A sob finally slipped past her lips, before she crumpled to the floor and just started weeping. He gave a small grunt before he turned around and left, slamming the door behind him.

* * *

Honestly, the back lots of the red tower frightened her. They were dark, poorly lit, for the most part. She felt as though she could be attacked from the shadows by anything. Hearing someone else talk made her jump, "Glad you could make it." Cadmus said.

Delilah adjusted her hat, "Oh…um…it isn't a problem."

"There's Sabbat activity to the north, sort of near the woods. We'll take one of the choppers."

"Okay." She walked over him, naturally being a follower, she more or less clung to him.

The duo entered the first copter they could find, Cadmus immediately waved a hand towards the pilot, as a blue glow came out, "Fly." He said, and the chopper took off.

She lurched and held onto him as the machine started flying, "Oh…oh boy…"

"Were you airsick when you were alive?"

"I'm…" She shut her eyes, "Afraid of heights…and…motion-sick…"

"Oh boy…" He said, "We'll be there soon…"

She hugged his arm, trying not to shake too much or moan too loud.

"Uh…sorry there…I…sort of need to fly…"

"It's okay…" She muttered.

Horrendously loud gunshots were heard, as the helicopter was rocked back and forth. She gave a loud scream as she hugged his entire body, trembling like mad. "Shit." Cadmus said, "They found us…Lower the helicopter!" Cadmus rose his voice to compete with Delilah's. As it lowered, he said, "Alright, we gotta jump off to start our assault, got it?"

"Jump?" She squeaked.

He headed for the edge, opening the door, "It's a safe drop, don't worry."

"Can you…can you hold my hand…?"

"Uh…" He sputtered, "Yeah, sure…whatever…"

She held his hand with both of hers as they jumped, before one of her hands flew up and grabbed her hat.

Cadmus more or less clunked on the ground when he hit it, rolling to break some of the fall, his eyes widened as he saw the two generals overseeing the carnage, "Alright…who do you want to fight…?" He asked, looking from Cedric to Raphael, "The edgy guy, or the grim reaper?"

Her head was rushing too much to hear. She held her hands out to use Purge right away. Cedric and Raphael immediately threw up, (as did any other Sabbat shovelhead). In turn, they both headed for Delilah. Cedric got his scythes out, while Raphael went to his Black Panther war form.

Cadmus pulled his axe out, blocking Cedric off from hitting her. She held a hand out to send a few blood strikes down at Raphael before she used Purge again. She tried her best to block out any of the funny feelings in her lower abdomen from the memories of him biting into her.

Raphael threw up again, then he sped at her, closing the distance as he turned back into his human form, leaping in the air and pinning her gasped as she hit the ground, now the burning feeling was rushing into her head as well. She met his gaze with hers, biting her lip before she closed her eyes and drew her feet in to kick him away.

Raphael grit his teeth as he was kicked, but he remained on top of her, specifically aiming to keep her hands trapped. Once that he was done, he reentered war form and started clawing at her. She screamed in pain, trying to use blood bolts to knock him away. He snarled and bit into her again, starting to suck away at her blood.

She gasped and felt the world spin around her a few times, holding a weak hand out to Cadmus before she used her remaining energy on Purge, falling into torpor. Raphael threw up again, scooping Delilah up and trying to escape with her.

"Hey!" Cadmus snapped, "What the hell are you doing!" He ran after Raphael, and Cedric in turn ran after him. The chase was intercepted by Cadmus's helicopter, blasting away at the Sabbat members.

Without the blood to use Fortitude, Raphael was getting shot down pretty badly. He released Delilah back to Cadmus, and Cadmus retrieved her and took a great leap back into the helicopter, flying off.

* * *

Miranda didn't wear shoes.

That was fine with Ferrum. He didn't care. It made her happy, and she was already undead, so if she stepped on glass or sharp metal, she didn't have to worry about getting sick or anything. It was really no big deal. And it wasn't that gross, either. She always bathed and washed her socks, so really, there was no reason for it to be a problem.

But, without shoes, her footsteps were very, very quiet.

When she came home after a mission, shutting the door behind herself quietly, she saw most of the lights were off. There was the distant glow of the light left on in the bathroom down the hall, but maybe Ferrum just left it on. He wasn't the best with household tendencies yet, but he was getting there.

Speaking of inexperience towards household tendencies, she headed down the hall to turn the light off, when she heard something from the bedroom. Something that sounded like grunting, or maybe quiet growling. The door was open, but from where she was standing, she couldn't see into the room. Had someone snuck in and done something to Ferrum?

She finally walked into the bedroom, only to see him standing by the garbage, a wad of tissues in his hands, his pants down around his ankles, and, well…

A photo of her in his other hand. One of the candid photos Gary had snapped. And it seemed he had no idea she was even in the room at all.

"Did you need a little help?" Miranda smiled.

He nearly jumped a foot in the air, clumsily falling back onto the nightstand, knocking the lamp over and shattering it, "Fucking hell…"

She took her socks off, and then her kimono, "Come here." She held her arms out.

He yanked his pants up and blew some of the hair out of his face, "Look, I'm sorry, I didn't know when you'd be back…felt like fuckin' ages…and, and then I found that picture and I…uh…" He hugged her. "Sorry."

"Let me give you a proper release."

He cleared his throat, "Like…right now? We…hardly did anything…" He pulled his shirt off, then let his pants hit the ground again.

"You don't have to go right away, I just want you to feel relaxed." She bent down and started sucking on his length, grabbing onto his rear for stability.

"Shit…" He hissed, grabbing onto the back of her head, "Can't say I…" He grunted and started to build up a rhythm as he thrusted into her mouth, "Was…er…e-expecting this…"

She gave a soft, pleasurable moan as she sucked to her pleasure, her tongue dancing around his shaft at the pace of an expert.

"Christ…" He pulled on her hair, part of him feeling bad since it was always so pretty, "I don't have nearly as much endurance as you think I do, princess…" He spat out.

She slowly and seductively let his length free, "Were you ready?"

He sighed, "Oh…oh hell yeah…are…are you good? I could go down there…"

"Um…perhaps…stimulation on my end…wouldn't hurt…but do what you're comfortable with…"

He stepped closer, squatting as he picked her up so he could grab her by the thighs and get a nice face-full of her breasts. He then threw her on the bed more or less, taking her by knees and spreading her legs. He paused there, kneeling between her thighs, taking in the sight of her, "God, you're beautiful…"

"Thank you…" She sighed with a smile, "You just go in when you're ready, I'm starting to get quite excited down there…"

He moved his head in and started licking the area, like he was testing the waters. Then pressed his index and middle finger of both hands against the outer layers of her womanhood to give himself enough room to plunge his tongue deep inside. She gasped, letting out a scream or two as her legs widened a bit to give him some more room. She started moving her hips in a mesmerizing rhythm.

He moved his hands away and grabbed her hips, easing her into a faster rhythm, trying to reach a little deeper. Her groans were getting gradually more and more pronounced, "S-Steadman…"

His eyes widened before he slowly pulled his face away, licking his lips and crawling up so he could line himself up at her entrance.

"Where…where did you learn all that from…?" She asked, her eyes both lustful and devilish.

He grabbed her breasts and squeezed them, twirling his thumbs around her nipples, "My dad was a ladies man…guess I inherited it…" He leaned in and kissed her collarbone, "Besides, I like go by ear…you scream louder, I do it harder…"

"Fair…" She gave a loud gasp, "Fair enough…"

He sat back a bit before he eased into her, "You want it fast er slow?"

"I don't…I don't have a preference…just…just do something soon…"

He pulled all the way out before he pushed himself back in, rocking in and out quickly, mostly because he knew she could handle it. The other half of him loved watching the way her body caved into his thrusts, the way her hips drew towards his every time he pulled himself away, the way her hands gripped onto him and felt the muscles wherever they could go. Especially the bouncing of her breasts whenever he gave a sudden and deep thrust, which made him latch onto them and bite at her neck.

She gave a relaxed groan once he pulled out, opting again not to say anything, instead she lay there, completely exhausted. He threw an arm around her waist as he lay behind her, spooning her, "You alright?"

She gave a slight nod, weakly squeezing his arm.

He snickered, squeezing her a bit closer, "Missed ya, toots." His voice was soft but still gravelly in her ear. She smiled, then turned slightly so she could kiss his cheek.

* * *

 **A/N:** And…Delilah falls into torpor again…maybe one day he won't try to eat her…thanks for reading!


	84. Chapter 84

**A/N:** Here's chapter eighty-four! A little fluffy chapter this time around…hope you enjoy it!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs.

* * *

Sometimes Rainy wondered if her sire could pass as a Tremere. The amount of books she read and amount of time she spent quietly pondering who knows what certainly seemed passable.

"What are you reading?" Rainy asked.

Raven peered up, then sat back on the couch, "I'm trying to see if there are any meaningful translations in this book…it's an old book I found in a library in Latin."

"Translations? For what?" She sat next to her.

"Anything that might be important."

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

She smiled, "Keep me company."

She smiled back, wrapping her arms around Raven's waist and holding her close, "It's been peaceful here…or at least…in the building…"

"It has. It's very nice." She set the book down and cuddled back with Rainy.

"I wish it was just as nice out there…sometimes…Phaedra calls…and tells me what she's been up too…and I get scared…I worry that something's going to happen to her…"

"Is she living alone?"

"She's in the red tower…" She said, "But I think she has a few friends in there…"

"Then, she's safe. Safe enough." She kissed her cheek timidly, "It's nice that you're still in contact with her."

"I just want to make sure she's okay."

"I'm sure she appreciates it a lot. She must worry about you, too."

"I always tell her that I'm safe with you. Especially now, we haven't been attacked once since we've been here."

"It's like heaven…" She giggled, leaning on Rainy.

She rubbed the back of her head, "Tired?"

"Not that tired…" Raven held one of Rainy's hands, "Why, were you?"

"Not especially, sometimes you just wear yourself out and you're too selfless to tell me."

"Well, that isn't the case." She smiled, "Did you want me to get you a drink?"

"That's okay." She smiled back as their foreheads lightly touched, then she leaned in to kiss her on the lips. Raven held Rainy's shoulders as they kissed, then her hands. As they'd been living together, Rainy started to notice Raven was a little less bashful when it came to hugging and kissing, but she still didn't push anything. She sighed as their lips parted slightly, "I love you." She said, then she resumed.

Raven slowly wrapped her arms around Rainy, holding her in a warm embrace. Rainy's smile grew, she only stopped returning the hug to instead rub her shoulders. Raven relaxed considerably, her shoulders melting, "That's so…so nice…"

"They're always so tense." She said, "But…I have no room to judge…"

"I'd offer to help but…I'm not very good at it…"

"Shh, it's okay." She kissed her cheek, using her thumbs to really get in there. Raven bit her lip and let a little moan slipped out before she covered her mouth with a hand. "I got you." She said quietly, holding onto her a little bit more firmly as she kept massaging her shoulders and the base of her neck.

"Rainy…" She sighed, "That feels wonderful…"

"Good." She squeezed her, "I'm so happy. Did you want me to get anywhere else?"

"No, you don't have to…"

"Okay." She said, "I'm glad you're all loosened up now."

She giggled, "Loosened up for what?"

"Just…in general." She rubbed her back, "You're always so tense and focused, you need to relax every once and a while." She said, remembering that Phaedra recited something similar to her.

"I…I haven't been able to do that in…in a very long time…" She closed her eyes.

"I know. We're alike in that regard." She said, "We're these quiet loners who are always on their guard. But now we can look out for one another."

Raven smiled, "I'm so glad I Embraced you…" She whispered.

"Me too." She kissed her forehead.

"Sometimes I think you're really mad at me…"

"For…the Embrace?"

"Mmm hmm…"

"Raven…no…I was…just some quiet little nobody who hid from everyone in school. No one ever knew who I was, and I never had friends. You…didn't really take me away from much…"

"I took you away from safety."

"But I like this better than loneliness." She pet her hair, "I finally have someone…who loves me…"

Raven smiled, "And…I finally have someone who loves me, too…"

"Mmm-hmm." She said, "Raven, don't ever feel bad for…for what you did to me…I'm happy with how things turned out, and I'll always be there for you when you need help."

She smiled and squeezed Rainy, "I'm so glad…I know I didn't feel that way at all, when I was Embraced…"

"What was your sire like?"

She sighed, "He was nice. He was very nice, polite, quiet. He took a liking to me because I was a human and because…I was dumb. I didn't know about Jyhad, I didn't know about his clan or anything…that was why he Embraced me. He didn't want to be alone…"

"Right…" She said, "I'm surprised I know of so many Salubri in the first place…"

"It was a one-in-a-million chance. But I still ran. I was horrified. That's why when I Embraced you and…did the same thing…I thought you'd run, too."

"I guess the circumstances are different." She said, "Because I would never run away from you…" Raven smiled, then kissed Rainy again. "I love you, Raven."

"I love you too, Rainy."

* * *

Catalina didn't like the look on Cissy's face. She had seen it dozens of times before. It was like a hungry coyote, hunting for something. But she knew Cissy was hunting for cash and clothes, rather than food.

"Whatever you're looking for, I'm sure you'll be bored of it within a week." Catalina said, "That's sort of how you work…"

"Yeah, then I'll just find a new toy."

"Of course, of course, right. I forgot that you had a convenient Cissy mantra for everything."

"Mmm hmm." She said, "Ooh…look at that girl's jacket…"

"No." She said, "We talked about this, no stealing from people."

"C'mon…"

"What did that person ever do to you?"

"…have a cute jacket? I don't know, I don't care about her. Look, she's getting away."

"That's too bad."

"Ugh. You're so annoying sometimes."

"Yeah, I stop thievery. I'm so evil."

"You're just frustrating."

"Watching a brat try to steal something every ten minutes is frustrating."

"Don't call me a brat."

"I mean, you do act like one."

"Lay off, would you? Christ, you sound like my dad."

"Let me guess, he was responsible and wanted the best for you."

"Pfft. Shut up. You have no fucking clue."

"I know you ran away from your parents. You told me that much." She said, "So I can assume that their standards were too high for you. They pressured you with their wants and their expectations of you, so you ran away from it all. You couldn't take the heat from them."

"Yeah, when they started hitting my sister for getting an A minus instead of an A, that's when I ran."

"So I remind you of them, is what you're saying?" She frowned.

"You remind me of my dad when he used to yell at me, yeah. He'd call me a brat all the time."

"I think beating someone and stopping someone from _stealing_ are two completely different things."

"Yeah, whatever, I get it. Bad comparison."

She huffed and looked ahead, her feathers looking more than just a little bit ruffled now, "I guess the Anarchs still haven't found this stupid spy…I guess they want me to pull him out from the nearest manhole cover or something. Like it's that easy."

"I'll try and help. When did you want to go scope around?"

"I was trying to do it now."

"Oh. Alright." She peered around, "I don't see anyone."

Catalina scanned the streets, then her eyes widened, "Look out." She stood in front of Cissy, seeing a horde of hunters gradually surround them, along with their lead hunter, Gavin.

"Shit." Cissy muttered, crossing her arms.

"Make this easy on us and surrender, won't you?" Gavin aimed two flamethrowers at both of them, "Spawn of Satan."

"Yes…we really enjoy worshipping Satan…we do…" Catalina rolled her eyes, "What makes you think we would throw in the towel to you losers?"

Cissy grinned, "I should Embrace one of 'em."

"Don't, just…stay focused…" She said, then her eyes widened as two burst of flames came their way, all the hunters began to open fire. She dove out of the way, holding a hand out as she glowed red, she stole blood from all the surrounding hunters, weakening them severely.

Cissy stumbled back, then held a hand out as a swarm of ravens flew down to attack them. Catalina took the time as they were distracted to start shooting them down, "Go! This flank is the weakest, let's get out of here!"

Cissy nodded and booked it, looking over her shoulder to make sure her best friend was following. Catalina seemed more or less nonchalant as they escaped the crowd of hunters, "Idiots…humans are no match for Assamite especially…"

"Yeah, that was pretty quick thinking." She smiled, "Thanks for the save."

"Mmm-hmm." She said, "If things got worse, I could have just, had them sweat out their blood like last time…"

"Yeah, that could have worked." Cissy said, "So…did you want to go shopping?"

"Sure." She said, then her tone hardened slightly, "If you're going to shoplift, make sure they don't see you."

"I will. I'm good at it."

She sighed, "Right…of course…"

"I'll go wherever you want."

"I don't have a preference. You brought it up. I…thought you'd have a prime stealing spot or something…"

"I dunno. Clothes store? I want you to pick. Where someone shops says a lot about them."

"What if the person hardly shops?" She wondered, "Whatever, I buy weapons more than I buy clothes, let's pick this place." She picked the nearest clothing store at random.

Cissy peered around, "Hmm…not my style, but…" She looked at a tank top, "You never know."

"Yeah…I guess not…" She crossed her arms and peered around, uninterested, for the most part.

"Well, this is a sports place, mostly. See anything you like? I do have some cash if you want me to get you something."

"It's fine, I'm comfortable with what I have."

"Okay." Cissy said, checking around for cameras before she stuffed a tank-top down her shirt, "We're going to need to buy _something_."

"Why is that?"

"You can't just go into a place and buy _nothing_." She said, then she muttered, "And it makes stealing something less obvious."

"Alright, find something pretty you want to buy. I'll cover it."

Cissy smiled, then looked around, "I'll make it something cheap." She grabbed a sports bra. "Or…you know, just useful. Look, it's red and black too, my favorite."

"Alright, good, we'll buy that."

Cissy brought it up to the front desks, smiling at the cashier as they purchased the top, then left. Cissy giggled like a little girl as soon as they got away, "You don't know how good that makes me feel…"

"What? Thievery?"

"Yeah! It's like a fire in my heart!"

"Mmm-hmm…I feel like a lot of dirty things have that effect on you…"

"Oh yeah."

She sighed, "Whatever, let's just get back to the apartment before more hunters jump us."

"Good idea." Cissy said as they hustled back to the apartment. Cissy then pulled the tank top out from her shirt and looked at it, tearing the price tag off with her teeth, "This is a nice one too…fifty bucks. Ha! Eat my ass!"

Catalina already slipped out of the room, Cissy heard the clattering of her weapons, which meant she was going to either clean them or go practice.

* * *

When there was a knock on Cadmus and Angelique's door, Angelique's pink eyes flickered up. She slowly approached the door, then opened wider, "Oh, Phaedra. Did you…" She looked back at Cadmus, "Want to come in…?"

"That would be lovely." Phaedra said.

Cadmus moved towards the doorway as Phaedra entered, "Need something?" He crossed his arms.

Angelique shut and locked the door as Phaedra sat at the counter, "Just a visit. Am I not allowed?" She asked.

"No, why would you think that?"

"I hear you've become rather reclusive."

"Maybe you heard right."

"Is everything alright?"

"No…I don't know why but…they're after me…first it was the LaSombra punk we fought at the pier. Remus or whatever his name is." He said, "Course, you could say with him dead, I'm home free. But that stupid Malkavian Antitribu is out to get me too. Gideon, or whatever his name is…I don't know why they picked _me_ , but now he'll just nuke my brain every time I freaking go outside."

She paused, "That seems like quite the conundrum…Angelique is able to sustain you?"

"Get him blood, you mean?" Angelique asked, "Yeah."

"Good. Did you contact anyone about getting rid of Gideon?"

"I'm not exactly sure who could get rid of a Malkavian who can basically lobotomize you on the spot." Cadmus said, "Maybe Victor…"

"You could ask the Prince."

"He's busy enough as it is."

She gave him a look, then smirked as she sat back, "I no way do I mean to…overinflate your ego, but in case you haven't noticed, Vanderbilt, you are a key player in the Camarilla. Without you, we lose a good amount of focus and morale. We need you. You are part of the Camarilla, a limb, if you will. We cannot function the same without you."

"Yeah, I was important in taking out LaCroix's Camarilla…this one can work just fine with the Tremere running it."

"No, it can't. Call anyone, they'll tell you how much you are needed."

"Look, I've worked out a solution anyway." He said, "I just take a helicopter anywhere. Last time I checked Malkavians can't fly…"

She snickered, then laughed, "Yes, I suppose that is a good idea!"

He turned his back to her, his arms still crossed, "I know why you're really here."

"You do?" She asked, "I don't…I was here to check on you…"

"You're here to see if the tables have turned. Now I'm the one who's hiding…"

"Well, I have less people to hide from. Eventually, your killers will cease, too. I hope. I wanted to help you because I understand the pain being hunted brings."

"Even after I was such a dick to you when you were being hunted?"

"Water under the bridge. Your temperament reminds me of a spicy dish of food, it's easy to forgive." She smiled.

"Who's to say the Setite and the Malkavian will even be killed, anyway?"

"Either they die or we do."

"Sounds like the second thing is going to happen."

"It won't. We have the Camarilla on our side. The way I see it, we'll just have to wait."

"That doesn't make who we face any easier."

"No. We'll just have to think of something to do, or wait."

"Whatever, I hate waiting…no matter what we do…we can't beat either of them…one's _invincible_ , and the other's Dementation is too strong…"

"We'll find something. Besides, it's good enough you can get around. Whether or not it be in a helicopter…it's safe."

"I guess…"

She smiled at Angelique as she sat there, idly playing with an empty glass, "So how are you two?"

"Fine."

"Just fine?"

"We're good." Angelique said.

"That's good. At least you can look out for each other."

Cadmus gave a small nod, "Yeah…"

"Wonderful." She said, letting a pause fill the air, "Polonius and I have gotten rather close."

"Can't say I'm too surprised."

She giggled, "Was it that obvious?"

"I don't know about to other Kindred, but to me it was."

"Well, I'm doing my best to help him back on his feet."

"Yeah…from his imprisonment in the well…right? Hey, what the hell are Baali anyway?" He asked, turning to face her.

"A clan that…quite literally bows to Satan. Their lives revolve around satanic rituals, torture and chaos."

"Why the hell haven't I ever heard of them? Sounds like they'd be perfect for the Sabbat or something…"

"I'm not sure. I've never heard of them until he told me about them."

"I feel like there are a lot of clans like that I still don't know about." He said, "Like the Nagaraja. Had no idea what the hell they were until I met you."

"I'm sure there are countless clans under our noses we don't know about. I still don't know what clan Rainy is."

"Yeah…that's a little…suspicious…no offense…"

"It doesn't change the fact that she is very helpful."

"No argument there."

"She's still safe, wherever she is, hopefully. I call her occasionally, to check up on her."

"Well, if Lafayette strikes again, she's a good ally to have."

"Yes, she's very dear to me." Phaedra said, "I suppose I really should head home. Polonius must be worried, at home, alone."

He nodded, "Goodnight Phaedra."

* * *

 **A/N:** A little checkup on Cadmus proves that…maybe he won't be coming out to play any time soon…unless there are more helicopter wars! Bwah, hah, hah! Thanks for reading!


	85. Chapter 85

**A/N:** Here's chapter eighty-five! (whoo hoo!) I know, kind of short for a landmark, but there is tons more in store…Enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs.

* * *

Gottfried was overly tempted to ignore the knocking on his door. But, there was the slight chance it could be someone important, so he risked opening it. "Gottfried." Therese adjusted her glasses, bandages around one of her hands, a gash on her forehead that was bruised, and more bandages wrapped around one of her arms that was bleeding through, like a bullet wound.

"Therese?" He raised a brow, backing away, "What the hell happened to you?"

She seemed a bit scattered "It was nothing. I came here to apologize for…anything Jeanette said." She didn't step into the room. "She is no longer allowed in the club. She is…no longer allowed in my city, either."

"Is that right?"

"Yes. If she violates those rules, she will be killed." She adjusted her glasses again, "I understand you quit, as well…again, I did mention a higher pay, and I am willing to deliver."

"I'm not really interested in that sort of work, anymore."

"…right…" She gave a heavy sigh, "That was what I was afraid of." She crossed her arms, rubbing one of her temples, "I knew I should never have allowed her access to the club. Access to anything. She's entirely incompetent…" She looked back up at him after her brief rant, then held a hand out, "It was pleasure doing business with you while it lasted. I do hope we meet again and any…sour taste left in your mouth from my sister isn't cast over me."

"Mmm-hmm." He shook her hand.

"…good evening."

"Good evening." He said, once she left, he heard his phone ringing, he walked over to pick it up, "Hello?" He asked.

"Gottfried? Hello dear! It's Phaedra. Are you busy?"

"Not at the moment."

"Did you want to come visit?"

"Sure, that sounds nice."

"Do take your time. See you soon."

He sighed and hung the phone up. He at least thought it was important to check in on Poe. So he left his room in the red tower to head to Phaedra's. He knocked on the door. It opened within seconds to reveal a smiling Phaedra, who then hugged him, "It's lovely to see you again."

"It's…nice to see you too." He said, relaxing a bit now that he was in friendly company.

She walked in and poured him a glass of blood, setting it down on the table for him, "How have you been?"

"Fine." He said, sitting at the couch with Poe and Phaedra, "Busy."

"Busy?" She asked, "With what?"

"The Malkavian Primogen, she's been obsessed with me." He said, "I'm surprised she hasn't extended this filthy obsession to you." He looked at Poe, "And preferably I'd like to keep it that way."

"Why is that?" Poe asked.

"She's two people through the lens of one. Therese and Jeanette, they wanted me to protect the Asylum from Sabbat attacks…but then they both became obsessed with me in different ways. So I left."

"Power to you." Phaedra smirked, "Sounds like quite the burden."

"It was." He looked at Poe again, "If any of them get near you, you let me know."

Poe gave a quick nod, giving Phaedra a nervous squeeze.

Phaedra held him back, "Did she threaten you?"

"Not…exactly…" Gottfried said, "She just…was rather forward…Jeanette was, at least. What made it _more_ annoying was that I knew that they were both one. I don't know why, it was just all the more irritating. I knew when they would switch and why, to the point where I could predict which one I'd be dealing with that day."

"And you said they were obsessed with you?"

"Again…Jeanette was, at least. She _said_ Therese was too, but…it was probably a lie."

"So you really dislike Jeanette, but Therese is alright? Hmm, interesting, considering she wanted you dead. Must have been a serious change of heart for her."

"To be honest, both of them have worn my patience thin."

"So you've been avoiding them?"

"Avoiding them?" He grunted, "You make it sound like this is on me. I don't owe either of them anything. I tried to repay what I did to the Asylum, but I couldn't take twenty minutes of either of them…"

She held a hand up, "No, no, I was simply asking, I didn't mean to upset you. I would likely do the very same."

"Right…sorry…they've…more than frayed my nerves…"

She thought for a moment, "So what about Therese irritates you?"

"You tell me, since you two worked in such synchronization against the three of us when Santa Monica was lost."

"So, you find her condescending?"

"Amongst other things."

"Hmm…Well, I was going to suggest giving her another chance, but perhaps it's just best to avoid her. She's notorious for being…generally avoided."

He smiled, "Phaedra, would _you_ give her another chance?"

"Did you want me to come with you to talk to her?" She grinned.

"I don't think so."

"I could have a good long talk with her." Phaedra said, "But, it wouldn't be very friendly…"

"Exactly."

She crossed her legs and took a sip from her glass, "Does she know you plan to sever ties with her?"

"I already quit."

"Yes, but does she know you're avoiding her entirely?"

"She'll find out. It's not like there's any other reason to go to Santa Monica."

"Hmm. Alright. That works, I suppose."

He took a deep breath, "So how have you two been?"

"We've been well." Phaedra held Poe's hand, "Holding on."

"That's good." He said, "Nice to see that things are getting better."

"Was there anything you wanted to talk to Gottfried about?" Phaedra asked.

"If those Malkavian sisters bother you again, you should let me know." Poe said.

"I will." Gottfried nodded.

"Yes, I would gladly help as well." Phaedra said, "She is part of the Camarilla. If she's going to act up, she could get herself in real danger."

"Well, it's her problem now." He said, "If she'd lasted this long, I'm sure she'll cope somehow."

"Mmm, and she'd better cope by leaving you alone." Phaedra muttered, sitting back. It seemed she was getting quite irritated with it all.

He slowly rose, "Perhaps I should get back to my room, see if there's anything else the Prince needs me to do."

"Yes, very well. Thank you very much for the visit, it was so nice to see you again."

* * *

Hunting in the 'back roads' was his main activity early in the night. Usually where there were only one or two people, trying to find cell service or hitchhike. It was a good plan, he assumed, because he had never been caught yet.

And it was free.

"Enjoying your meal, Cainite?" He heard a deep voice from behind him, in a swift motion, Jun ran in with a sword of fire and a sword of blood.

"Ah, shit!" Ferrum jumped out of the way, just hardly, "The hell are you doin' out here, after me?"

"Did you forget what you did to my triad?" He asked, "You face punishment for your actions!"

Ferrum turned into a grizzly bear, standing on two legs and roaring before he turned and ran. "I don't think so." Jun said, one of his arms turned into a bloody whip, and he lashed it out at Ferrum, it coiled around his back leg, and Jun pulled with all his might.

Ferrum roared, rearing his paw back to at least give Jun a good powerful swat. Jun ducked out of the way, going in to slash at him with his fiery blade. Ferrum roared as his flesh burned, he then reared his head back to bite Jun in the face.

Jun growled as he was bitten, he started spewing out fire indiscriminately. Ferrum gave a booming roar before he stumbled back, growling at Jun from a distance as he licked his chops and panted a bit.

"You're not going to defeat me, Kindred." Jun said, holding his swords firm, "Especially not in the form of that clumsy beast."

Ferrum turned and ran again. Jun lashed out another blood tentacle, pulling Ferrum back, "I believe we talked about this…" Ferrum reared his hind legs back to kick him. Jun jumped back and released Ferrum from his grasp, running in for a fresh slash with both blades.

Ferrum hopped out of the way just in time, rearing a claw back to hit him from behind. He whirled around and held his swords in a defensive stance, going in for the attack only when ready.

Ferrum growled, standing a good distance away, holding yet another standoff.

His Kuei-Jin opponent smiled, like it would only be a matter of time before his long hunt would end with his foe's death. "Well, what's your next move, Kindred?" Ferrum gave another loud roar, slowly scooting back out of the way. "You're going to escape again? Don't you remember what happened the last two times?" He gave a grumbling roar as he just kept edging back, before he lumbered forward for a head-butt. Jun held both his swords out, so the blades were facing where Ferrum's head was quickly approaching.

Luckily, Ferrum just turned his head out of the way, so the entire attack was a messy, (and bloody,) body slam.

A normal person would have been crushed by the weight, immediately knocked out. But he felt Jun fighting to get free from underneath him. Ferrum growled in pain as he lumbered off, an open and slowly leaking wound in his side. Jun slowly got up as well, taking a deep breath before he spat more fire out at Ferrum.

Ferrum stumbled away from the flames, giving a pained roar before he tried to lumber away. Jun growled and lashed out another bloody tendril. But it was shot away by a pistol, Ferrum recognized said pistol easily.

"Jesus…don't you get bored of this?"

Jun's eyes widened when he turned to see Sirius, "You! How is it wherever I go, you're able to follow me?"

"Not sure. Let's just call it a mystery for now." Sirius smiled, shooting Jun with both pistols. Jun retaliated by spewing fire at Sirius, when it did nothing, he looked terrified.

Ferrum returned to his human form, his injuries seemed far worse now, "How the hell…?" He shook off the confusion, "You saved my ass too many times, and I still have no idea who the hell you are." He said as he started running, "I'll make it up to ya somehow!"

Sirius chuckled, eventually looking back at Jun, "Now, where were we?"

* * *

Another code scrolled by Edgar's weary eyes before he heard his phone start ringing. He picked it up, "Yes? The bogeyman? Need someone killed?"

"It's Iphigenia." She chuckled softly, "Sorry."

"Oh…did you want Gary again?"

"If that's alright."

"Alright, I'm just warning you though…he probably has half a mind to throw my phone across the damn room at this point…if he figures out it's you again…"

"Yes, yes, I've…decided on something."

"Right…do you want me to pass it on to him?"

"That would be lovely."

"Alright." He headed to Gary's room at the end of the long and winding tunnel, "Sir, you have a call."

He was at his desk, on his own phone, also scrolling through something on his computer screen. And, he believed there was a solitaire spread to the left of his keyboard he must have been playing with. "A call…" He grumbled, hanging up his own line before he snatched Edgar's, "What's the deal."

"My sister."

"What?" Gary raised a brow, turning to the cards and staring at them blankly.

"My sister, she…lives for that attention that you're seeking. Take photos of her, she's prettier than I am anyway."

"…you're selling your sister to me? The same sister you'd do anything for?" He sat back and spun around in his wheelie chair.

"Please. She'll love it."

"You're sick and twisted, Iggy." He snickered, "I love it."

"How much."

"Well, depends on how nice she is. If she'll bite my finger when I—"

"You will not touch her. Just photographs. If I find you did anything to them, you'll all be boiled."

"That's a chancy threat, Tremere. Especially one as novice as you. We'll see how things work out."

"I expect good pay."

"Mmm." Gary hung up and handed the phone back to Edgar, "You don't happen to know Iggy's sister, do you?"

"A little." Edgar said, "I _just_ got her a decent job…I guess that isn't enough?"

"How is she to look at? Nicer than Iggy?"

He nodded.

Gary grinned, "Good. Then she's all yours."

"All mine?"

"Iphigenia just sold her to us. To 'take photos'. But apparently she likes that sort of attention. Stands to reason she wouldn't mind sleeping around with anyone near her either."

"She just whored her sister off?" He asked, "What the hell is she trying to make money for, an orphanage?"

"She wants to buy a place for the three of them to live. Somewhere _safe_. Eventually that naive little mind of hers will crack, and I'll be damned if it isn't me who cracks it."

"Please…do it soon…"

He cackled, "Well, when she comes in for work, make sure to bring your camera. We'll be able to take it from there."

He nodded, "Got it, at least the pictures will be entertaining…"

"They should be, at least." He sighed, "Thanks for part two of the Crystallia drama. They ought to put that girl on Broadway."

He nodded again, "They should…she sure makes an impression…"

"Let's just hope she never finds somewhere to live and we get to keep toying with her."

* * *

 **A/N:** Why do I have the aching feeling that…other parties are going to get involved in this mess…well, thanks for reading!


	86. Chapter 86

**A/N:** Here's chapter eighty-six! A taste of the Anarchs again, hope you missed 'em!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs. Also, as stated before, Petaniqua and anyone else White Wolf made is also not mine.

* * *

The second Cissy and Catalina walked in, Damsel's head perked up, "Find anything?"

Catalina shook her head, it was obvious that she was ashamed, "Hunters attacked us…but…that's just about as typical as it gets…" She said.

"Man, this blows…" Damsel moaned, "I just want to be able to talk again…"

"I mean, technically, we could." Catalina said, "I could use Quietus again."

"No, that's not fair." Damsel said, crossing her arms, "We'll crack down on this sick bastard eventually."

She sighed, heading upstairs with Cissy. "You find the Nosferatu yet?" Sirius raised a brow, when she shook his head, he said, "Christ almighty…"

"There's a chance there isn't a spy at all. Could be something else." Nines said.

"What's your theory?"

He shook his head, "Beats me. I think if there was a spy, we woulda' found him."

"I gotta agree with that." Skelter said, "Ain't nothing for Catalina to feel too bad about." He said, before adding, "Or get a swelled head, either."  
Catalina looked away, downcast. She still felt like the black sheep of the Anarchs ever since the incident of her nearly poisoning Cadmus to death.

"Could be a Tremere." Anastasia said.

"Pfft, what Tremere knows Obfuscate?" Sirius asked.

"…Strauss…?"

"I doubt he'd be caught dead down here. He'd stick his nose up high and rather face death than the lowly dirt of we commoners."

Both Skelter and Nines had to laugh at that.

"But can't Auspex see through Obfuscate?" Killian asked.

"It can." Sirius said, flashing a glance at Skelter briefly, "That's why sneaking in or around the tower is dangerous. The Tremere could see me."

"And that's why I've been scanning the streets with my Auspex up for _days_ , if not weeks." Catalina said, "But I still haven't seen anything."

"Then it has to be something else." Killian said.

"Jeez, are you trying to get into her pants or something? Leave her alone." Cissy spat.

Killian looked accused, " _What?_ "

"Quit flirting with her."

"…when did I do that?"

"When you…rubbed yourself all over her. Trying to defend her like she's some damsel in distress. Wait, is that why we call Damsel Damsel?"

"I wasn't trying anything. I just think there's a good chance it isn't a spy."

Sirius watched the debacle unfold, his eye going from Cissy to Killian, then he finally looked at Nines and Skelter, then back at the former two, like he was waiting for the children to finish arguing before he brought up the next wartime matter, "I guess hoping the Sabbat kills the Camarilla ain't gonna work either…"

"No, they're bound to turn to us when they get bored enough. Or discouraged enough." Skelter said.

"So, are we just gonna sit around and wait for that to happen?" Killian asked.

A pause, "I think so." Skelter looked up at Nines.

Nines shook his head, "Well, what plans of action do you have?" He waited a beat, then looked at Killian, "What about you? I'll take any suggestions. Thing is, I haven't been given any."

"Waiting around sucks…but there's no point in doing anything if it's just going to backfire anyway." Sirius said, "We're lucky no one died."

Catalina looked around, "I'll try to keep looking for this spy…I promise…they have to be somewhere…"

The doors were heard opening downstairs. "Probably a ghoul." Skelter muttered, then sniffed the air a bit, "Aw, shit."

"Who is it?" Cissy asked.

"Voerman."

"Fucking hell…" Sirius hissed like an agitated rattlesnake, "I don't have the energy to deal with that cunt…" Anastasia too looked worried, for a completely different reason. While Catalina, who feared the day when Cissy and Jeanette would meet, also looked unnerved.

The sounds of heels coming up the stairs was heard, "Ooh, I can smell the venom from here already." She had no injuries, besides a faint little mark around one of her biceps that was on its way out, "If I wasn't mistaken, I'd say I'm not welcome."

"You're not." Skelter said, "Go back the way you came."

"Now, now, hellhound. I'd give you a bone to calm you down, but I don't think you'd like that."

"No, I wouldn't." He spat.

"Well, let's relax a little. I'm not here to stir aggravated nerves."

"Too late, I think." Killian muttered.

"Who is this…?" Cissy asked Catalina quietly. She didn't respond.

"Look, just say all your bullshit then leave, alright?" Sirius's tongue flickered out.

"My sister and I had another falling out." She pouted, crossing her arms, "I'm not allowed in the club, and I'm not allowed in Santa Monica. That's where all my money, all my belongings are. So, I want to trap her. I want to corner her between a rock and a hard place and then have her mauled by wolves. So…I need your help."

"You want us to kill your sister?" Nines asked.

"You're gonna regret that." Skelter said.

"I'm not. I won't, trust me." She smiled, "I promise." She then twirled around, "I'll tell you every Camarilla secret I know. I don't know many, but I could certainly dig up a few more."

"You idiot." Sirius said, "We're being _spied_ on. Every plan we've come up with for the last three months have gone to shit, and now you come in here conspiring a Primogen death." He said, "So now the Camarilla knows we have at least a _slight_ interest in killing your sister."

"Well, that's too bad." She shrugged her shoulders, "I'm sure Therese has already told them I went here and asked for help before I even did. They don't care about her. Secret number one, the Malkavian Primogen does the least amount of work. This doesn't involve them."

"Whether or not she does anything doesn't change her title." Nines said, "Whoever does it will have a Blood Hunt on their head."

"Then let Killian do it."

"What?" Killian's eyes widened.

"He is the least valued here, right? I could tell from all the mental breakdowns I've seen, all the dirty glares I've seen you all throw his way. Time to get rid of that ugly little duckling, you won't ever have to look at him again."

Killian stood up, "That's ridiculous! You can't come in here and sell my life out like that!"

"Did I mention that Killian used to do work for Therese?"

Skelter narrowed his eyes, "Maybe it ain't a bad idea."

Jeanette's grin was nearly sinister, "And plus, if you get rid of my sister, I'll never bother you again. I'll leave you all alone, go buy a club of my own, elsewhere."

"I think it's time for you to leave." Sirius glared at her.

"Aw, what's the matter? I'll just keep coming back. It's not like any of you have the voice to kick me out." She turned around and faced Nines with a grin, "Right, Killer?"

"Jeanette, it's time for you to leave." Nines said.

Jeanette shamelessly pressed herself up against him, playing with one of his necklaces, but he offered not a single bit of response, "C'mon, Killer…do this one thing for me…I'll never bother you or your Anarchs again."

"They're not mine."

"Please. I'll give secrets."

"Then spit them out already. We don't have all night."

She grinned, kissing his cheek before she pranced away, towards the center of the room, "The two new members of the Camarilla." She said, then she paused.

Nines wiped the lip-mark away, "Yeah, the two new members?"

She bit her lip, looking around at all the stares, "…the two new members…uh…"

There was a silence, filled with the sound of traffic going by. And then, she broke down and just started sobbing.

"Christ." Skelter muttered, "Someone get the shovel and get her out of here. I ain't touching her."

"Alright, that's it." Sirius yanked her up, "Time to go, bitch." He started pulling her away.

She pulled away from him, "Let me go…" She sprawled out on the floor, "I just want help…" She wept, "I just want someone…" She reached a hand out for Anastasia.

Suddenly, she was grabbed from the back of the shirt and lifted back up to her feet. She turned and saw Killian there, looking quite disturbed, "Killian…?" She whimpered.

"What the hell is this actually about, huh?" His gaze was as cold as stone, "You walked into a cave expecting dogs when you were only greeted with angry wolves. You can leave and get help somewhere else…er…I don't even know. Figure it out yourself."

She hugged him, "Come home with me…"

"No." He pulled her away, "Why the hell do you want to kill your sister so bad?"

"Because…" She sniffed, "She wants him…"

"Him…okay…so there's a him…"

"She's pulling your leg, idiot, just dump her outside." Skelter said.

"Please, you have to help…" She sniffed, "She's going to kill me, she doesn't know what's she's doing! She's so jealous, she'll kill anyone in her way!"

"Why don't we just get rid of this guy then?" Killian asked.

"Because…I love him…" She squeaked.

"Do you love him, or did you fuck him once and decide he was good enough to keep around?"

"I didn't sleep with him at all!" She cried, "He looks at me differently. He…he liked both of us…"

"Is he gay? Is he an idiot?"

"No, there's something different, you have to believe me…I just don't know what to do…" She cried into her hands.

Killian dropped her back on the floor, "I don't know what you want us to do about it, Jeanette. Did you try talking to her?"

"She'll kill me…"

"Over the phone, dipshit."

"…the phone?" She sniffed, "No…"

"Then do it. Before she hires snipers to shoot your head off."

"It's too late for that…" She muttered, before she looked over at Anastasia and gave a weak smile, "It's my angel…who flew away when I squeezed too hard…"

"And what did you do?" Anastasia crossed her arms, "You chased this guy away too."

"Uh huh…" She feebly wiped a few tears away, "What…what should I do…Angel…?"

"Find him and make things right."

She sniffed, hugging herself as she kept crying. Killian bent down and lifted Jeanette off the floor, "I'll go…drop this off."

"Good." Skelter said as he went downstairs, "Now this place reeks a lot less."

"I'll say." Sirius returned to his seat, "I didn't care for any of that."

"So…who was she?" Cissy asked.

"Jeanette." Catalina said, "Someone who lives in Santa Monica."

"She was cute…huge rack, jeez."

She rolled her eyes.

"What? C'mon, she was practically handing them out. Those have got to get sore, bouncing around there all day…"

No one responded. It was almost sad how accustomed they all were to this.

"So…we're not going after Voerman." Skelter clarified.

"No." Nines said, "Way too risky. Just a fit of hers."

"The attack against Victor backfired enough…" Catalina said.

Killian came back upstairs, sighing, "I should have taken care of that earlier."

"Yeah, got a headache now from all the damn smells all over her…" Skelter muttered.

"…do you wanna go out with me?" Cissy threw a crumpled piece of paper at Killian's face.

He wiped his face with a fist, wondering what exactly she threw, "No. Where the hell did we get you so we can return you?"

"A dumpster behind Confessions."

"Perfect." He held his forehead, "Fucking perfect."

"Christ, you ask him that like, once a _day_ …it ain't gonna happen." Sirius said.

"He'll crack eventually." She shrugged.

Killian slammed his forehead on the table and muttered, "I deserve all of this…"

"And then you want Catalina too, and that's _never_ gonna happen…" Sirius listed.

"Well…I'd rather have Killian first. How big are you anyway, like six? Seven?" Cissy asked.

"Sixteen and a half." His voice was muffled.

Cissy dropped the empty can she was holding as Killian shook with laughter. Cissy still looked dumbfounded, "Wait…are you kidding? Is…is he kidding?" She looked around at everyone else.

Nines rubbed one of his temples, "I think I'm going to go home."

"Second that." Sirius said.

"Third." Anastasia said.

"Fourth." Catalina got up, leaving without waiting for Cissy.

"Hey, Cat!" Cissy got up and followed Catalina out.

Killian sat back as everyone left, secretly enjoying the dark silence. Enjoying sitting next to the spot where Jack would stand, the smell of his cigars still in the air, clinging to the damp, humid wood of the place. The dank lighting from the streetlights filtering in through the stained windows, the music dying out as Damsel turned it off. The lights going out, the building completely empty. He could do anything in here and be completely alone, no one breathing down his neck or wishing he was dead.

"Anyone up there?"

And then came Damsel's piercing voice. He scowled and got out of his chair, "Yeah. I'm coming." He lumbered down the stairs.

She followed him out and locked the doors, "I remember when you and Lark would sit up there late at night and argue for hours."

"Me too." He put his hands in his pockets. "I miss her every day."

"So do I." She looked up at him, "You hurt Anastasia a lot. And I'll never forgive you for that. But you know what?" She pat his shoulder, "You'll do alright, kid."

He swallowed hard, shaking his head, "I'm gonna be dust on the bottom of your shoe in less than a month."

She gave a little smile, "You keep riding it out, bud. I'll keep an eye on you." She started walking off.

"Yeah…see you later." He called as he turned away and headed for the parking lot. In the distance, he saw Anastasia and Skelter, playfully shoving each other and sharing kisses as they made it to the parking lot.

She was happy. So he should be too, right? What was wrong with him?

* * *

Derek's eyes cringed as his door was peeked open again. He peered out into the light, "Ella. Hello dear, what can I get you?"

"Nothing…I just…didn't know if you were here or not…"

"Yes, I'm here." He rubbed at one of his eyes, "Did you want to go out and practice?"

"No, that's alright…" She said, "I think I'm starting to get the hang of it."

"Good. Very good." He turned back to his computer and started scrolling again.

"How come it's always so dark in here?"

There was a slight pause, "Focus. It helps me focus."

"It can't be good for your eyes, though…"

"It's not like it matters. If it does them any damage, they heal over time."

"Whatever…" She rolled her eyes and left the room.

As she sat in the living room and started scrolling through channels, she saw him leave his cave and approach the fridge. He poured himself a glass, then paused, "Were you thirsty?"

"Not really."

He closed the fridge and drank from his glass before he moved in and sat next to her, "There must be some minor conveniences you've been noticing."

"Like what?"

"Hmm. I'm not sure. You'll never have to cut your hair again."

"Yippee…"

"You'll never have to decide what dinner should be. Or worry about having children."

She gave nothing but a bored sigh as a response.

He crossed his legs and took another sip from his glass, eyeing her over from where he was sitting.

"What the hell are you looking at?"

"Hmm? Nothing." He looked away.

It was her turn to stare at him, only with a much sassier expression and a brow raised.

"What?" He scooted back, insecure now.

"What were you looking at?"

"Nothing."

"Hmm." She looked ahead.

He looked at her again, very briefly, then looked away.

"Swear to god, Derek."

"You just have a nice taste in fashion."

She opened her mouth and a slight, sharp sound came out of a harsh retort, but it was halted. She sat there dumbly with her mouth open for a minute or two, before she closed it and looked ahead, sinking into her seat in embarrassment.

He looked back over at her, "I didn't mean to embarrass you…"

"No…it's okay…" She said quietly, "Thank you…"

He gave a small smile, "You're welcome." He took another sip of her drink, "Did you have any plans for the day? Anything you needed assistance with?"

She shook her head, then asked, "So when is the boss going to send us out on a mission?"

"The Prince will ask for help when it's needed. And when he feels you've had enough time to adapt to the lifestyle."

She nodded, "I just overheard someone saying that he had a lot planned for the two of us…"

"Really?" He seemed a bit worried, "Hmm…I'll have to look into alternative combat strategies…I'm not exactly bullet-proof…"

"And I would need my weapons back."

"Yes, I'm sure they would grant them to you." He folded his arms and took a deep sigh.

"Well, that'll be an interesting night."

"Mmm, interesting indeed." He mused, staring up at the ceiling. "Your voice is very pleasing to listen to, as well."

"Uh…thanks…"

"It's just very soothing compared to what I'm used to."

"And what exactly are you used to?"

"Monotone. Dull, endless, trivial clips. Your speech reminds me of a song."

"So you're trashing your own voice?"

"Yes…I've…adjusted to it, to an extent. To adapt." He took another sip.

"Hmm…well…you could sound worse…"

He smirked, "Yes, thank you, dear."

"You're welcome."

He eyed her over again, smiling this time.

"Derek…"

"Apologies. It's…" He finished his glass and set it down, "Your make-up. Lipstick, rather. It's very nice."

"Alright, listen…this…whatever it is…needs to stop. Now."

His smile faded, "Right. Sorry. I thought…I thought it was mutual."

"Thought what was mutual?"

"…uh…the um…" He cleared his throat and pulled on the knot of his tie, "Never mind."

"When was the last time you flirted, the forties?"

He looked incredibly uncomfortable, "I'm not _that_ old…I was _born_ in the sixties…"

She sighed, "Well…this is awkward…"

"Mmm…" He stood up, "Perhaps I'll…go fetch some more blood."

"Alright, go ahead."

"Yes…" He adjusted his blazer as he walked off, "Very…very well. I'll be back."

"I'll be here."

"Yes…that's right…" He nodded slightly before he left, sighing. Maybe it had been a while.

* * *

"They're silent now. The voices." Dragomir clutched Genevieve's hand tightly, "The voices that told me to come out here."

"What else did they say?" Genevieve asked.

"Not much." He grumbled, "Yours are much clearer than mine. Mine push me places and don't tell me why. They expect I'll figure it out."

He suddenly heard a shrill scream from Genevieve, as a purple mist surrounded her head and she was knocked out. He had little time to react as the same fate fell upon himself. He was hit by a Dementation attack so strong that it caused him to black out.

When he awoke, he had no idea where he was, other than the fact that it was a relatively clear grassland, "It's been quite some time, hasn't it…moor of dragons?" Gideon asked.

Dragomir held his forehead, "Mmm…indeed it has…" He peered around, looking for Genevieve.

"Looking for something?" He cackled.

"What did you do with her? Where the hell are we?" He snarled.

"That's a good boy…see, I had to learn what got you to pay attention the most when last we met…turns out it's that platinum haired ditzy scientist."

"So you must be alone, in that regard. Jealous?" He grinned.

"I am many things, alone is not one of them."

"Perhaps alone isn't the correct term. But isolated, sure. Without solace. Occupy yourself with as many bodies as you want, but your soul will be alone until you find another."

"But what good would a murdered solace do you, hmm?"

Dragomir snickered, "Fair enough."

Gideon snapped his fingers, Dragomir at first wondered who he was signaling, until Antoinette came out of the bushes, holding a hand up to Genevieve's head as if it were a gun. The latter had tears streaming down her face, "Dragomir…"

One of Dragomir's eyes twitched before he turned to Gideon, "You can't point a gun without telling me what to do. What do you want?"

"The Sword has been having an awful lot of trouble dealing with the troublesome invaders of the east." Gideon said, "I believe your father met his demise by one of them."

"Yes. That is true."

"I volunteered to wipe their putrid stench off the face of the country once and for all. But I thought it would be a little boring with just myself and Antoinette pulling all the weight."

Dragomir's eyes flickered over to Antoinette, then back to Gideon, "You're asking for my companionship?"

He started slowly pacing around Dragomir, "See, when you start working for _me_ in the Sword, you'll have to get used to working with myself and my allies." He said, "I think it's high time we get this program on the road."

"Genevieve comes as well."

"But of course, I've seen her marksmanship." He said, "Or rather, the network has told me about it…nevertheless, it would be foolish of me not to include her."

Dragomir got to his feet, "Other members of the Sword will accompany us…?"

"Just myself and my childe."

"Then I gladly accept."

"I should have known you would accept. Perhaps a hostage situation was unnecessary." He mused, "Oh well. Mother always said I would get carried away. Antoinette, release her." He ordered.

Antoinette crossed her arms nervously in front of herself, "Yes, sir."

"Dragomir!" Genevieve ran over and hugged him.

He held her back, petting her hair, "I would do anything to save you." He kissed her cheek, then looked back at Gideon, "What is our first move?"

He thought about it for a moment or two, "A frontal assault would be foolish…" He said, "Let's move to a different area, I think better bathed in the city lights."

Dragomir nodded as he followed Gideon's lead, "This girl, is she your childe?"

Antoinette waited for Gideon to answer, when he didn't, she gave a little nod.

"And what compelled you to father her?"

"Oh…she was rather off to begin with, there's no need to hide from that." Gideon said, "And…Mother was watching, of course. She had been in torpor for nearly two centuries, and she wanted to see how her boy was doing…I made Antoinette a rite of passage…I suppose…"

"Is she young?"

"To someone like me, yes. She was Embraced in the sixties."

Dragomir's eyes widened, "Well…that…that's quite humbling…"

"Ah, but she's got my blood in her." Gideon laughed, "My oh-so-powerful blood! Potent as ever. Isn't that right, girl? Don't you feel the power within you?" He asked, Antoinette merely shuddered and nodded as a response.

"She's been following you around for decades."

"Of course she has. The Sword knows no better wisdom."

"You should set her free before she loses her way."

"Oh, so similar to how much guidance that mad doctor gave you?"

"I'm doing quite well, thank you for asking."

"So is she, I assure you." He said, through clenched teeth.

"Have you asked her?"

Gideon loomed over Antoinette, it didn't help that he was at least a head or two taller than her, "Is what he's saying true?"

Antoinette cowered, "N-N-No sir…not at all…" She hid behind Genevieve, who gave her a hug.

Gideon turned back to Dragomir, "To they teach all Camarilla Malkavians to pull drama out of the ground like fervent weeds?"

Dragomir grinned, "No, that's just who I am."

"Then I suggest we continue on our path." He said, leading the way forward.

They heard a chorus of roars, as a large pack of werewolves quickly surrounded them. Genevieve screamed and squeezed Dragomir, while the other two Malkavians looked hardly bothered, "What do we do?" Genevieve gasped, "They're going to feast on our bones!"

Dragomir tried entering his war-form to roar at them and frighten them off, with no avail.

"Quiet, quiet." Gideon held an arm out to block the three of them, "Let me handle this." He walked forward, pulling his sleeve down, there was a tattoo of a black spiral on his forearm. He held the arm up proudly to all the wolves.

The monster's gazes went shocked, then terrified. Some of them were enraged by the display, others began to back away slowly on all fours, whimpering. Nonetheless, the crowd was slowly dispersing.

Gideon laughed and laughed, "You too! Show them your mark! Show them your heritage, your pride!"

Antoinette timidly pulled her sleeve down, holding her tiny thin arm up, which has the same tattoo. Whatever the mark was, it was obvious that the werewolves hated it, because the crowd was gone in another few seconds.

Dragomir put his war form down, "What in damnation is that?"

"A mark." Gideon said, as he and Antoinette put their sleeves back down, "One that convinces the werewolves that attacking myself and my childe would be a very unwise idea."

"I'll remember it. And research it."

"I'm afraid there wouldn't be a Cainite in the world who would be able to help you."

"You doubt my relations."

"I doubt any of them are an accomplished werewolf historian."

"Only time will tell." He crossed his arms.

"Perhaps I should spill the beans anyway, you are, going to be my most loyal servant, once I take over the Sabbat." Gideon said, as they all began to walk again, "That is the mark of the Black Spiral Dancers."

"Black Spiral Dancers?"

He nodded, "They're a werewolf tribe that is more feared and hated than any of the others." He said, "My mother followed their cult when she was very young as a vampire."

"Your mother sounds like a fun woman."

"She was more than just that." He said, "She was possibly the queen of the Malkavians. No one dared go against her queenly majesty. She was a feared figure no matter what side was pondering her existence. She had ties to the Sabbat, to the werewolves. She fooled the Camarilla for a great many years. She was a genius."

"She's in torpor?"

"Dead."

"Damn."

Gideon crossed his arms, "She was diablerized." He said, "By someone in the Camarilla."

* * *

 **A/N:** Dun, dun DUNN! Heh, heh, that's gonna be an awkward conversation for part two of Dragomir's great adventure…thanks for reading!


	87. Chapter 87

**A/N:** Here's chapter eighty-seven! If Jeanette went to the Anarchs, I wonder where Therese'll go…Enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs. Also, there is some fiery fun in this chapter, if you're not a fan, feel free to skim over it."

* * *

He shut the door behind himself as he entered his room, seeing April smiling at him, "Hey." He said, giving her a quick kiss on the lips. Some would be tired, bored or annoyed at the almost housewife routine he had set up with his ghoul.

Not Slade.

"Hi Slade." She reached out to hold his hand, "How was your evening?"

"It's fine…" He said, then he looked burdened, like something heavy was on his mind, "Let me…let me call someone real quick."

"Hmm? Okay, sure." She chirped, "Want me to get the phone?"

"Nah, I got it, you just relax." He said, walking off to the other room. When he returned to sit on the couch, he looked somehow paler.

"…Slade?" She sat next to him.

"So…uh…had to call your sister…about the uh…failed…mission with killing Madame Vaska. First I heard nothing on the other end…other than a little buzz…then I heard screams. Then I heard every curse word in the dictionary. Then she hung up…"

"…I'm sorry…she can get a little frustrated sometimes…"

"It's kind of our fault…see this lady Madame Vaska can control people against their will…so…I brought this really strong guy, Victor…but…it backfired more than anything else…"

"Oh, I see…well, it's not like you meant to fail."

"Of course we didn't…I just…I don't know…it sucks. I feel like the Camarilla has been in a real rut lately." He said, "Of course, we did get rid of that LaSombra."

"Is…is that good?"

He nodded, "He was causing a lot of trouble for us."

"Oh, that is good, then." She hugged him, resting her head on his shoulder.

He hugged her back, "It doesn't change the fact that I feel useless…"

"Why?"

"I don't know…" He said, "I mean, everyone else is out there, doing all sorts of great things…and…here I am…being a complete newbie." He said, "Sometimes I feel like…so great, and smart, when I'm explaining something to you or May…and then other times, I really get put in my place. I was only Embraced like nine months ago…"

"Then give yourself time. You are still young…in this…this world we're in." She then gave a warm smile, "But you are a genius to people like me and May."  
He smiled, "Thanks."

She kissed his cheek, "Did you want to watch something?"

"I don't know. What's on?"

"Not much. News?"

He nodded, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, "I hope Tess is doing okay." He said, then his eyes shot open, not realizing how embarrassing having that slip out was. It wasn't his fault he thought about her so often recently. He more or less shoved her out of his life. How long ago was it when she was in his arms like this? What if she really isn't holding up well at all?

"Have you seen her in a while?"

"Sort of…on a handful of missions…like that Madame Vaska one…"

"Did she seem okay?"

"Yeah…I…I don't know…she seemed quiet…"

"Did you want to call her?"

"No…that…that's fine…"

"Okay." She kissed the back of his hand.

"So is everything here okay?"

"Uh huh!" She hugged him, "I really just love seeing you here. Then I know you're safe."

"Hey…" He hugged her back, "Nothing's going to happen to me, alright? I wouldn't do that to you."

"Okay…" She smiled, "If you say so." She pecked his cheek.

"Jeez…Vaska's castle was not fun. She had a bunch of these things called Blood Brothers…they were like clones that could flesh-craft each other…"

"Ew…that's very gross…"

"I know…if we tried to go back, it'd be even _more_ fortified than before, I bet…"

"I guess the circumstances will have to be different then…"

"Or we'll have to catch her off guard." He said, "I hate to put Prospero in such an awkward position…"

"I know…I'm sure May is livid…"

"Yup…the phone call proved that…"

She sighed, "All that matters is that you tried."

He wasn't so sure about that, no doubt Madame Vaska having Prospero on her leash would come back to bite them all in the rear someday. But he knew better than to complain about all this to April. Instead he just squeezed her tighter.

She rested her head under his, "Did you want to go to bed?"

"Yeah, it's been a long night…"

She stood up and tugged his hand along with her as they went into the bedroom. She pulled her sweater and pants off, slipping into a nightgown as she approached the bed to lay down.

He loosened his tie, "I'm happy that you're feeling better than you did a month or two ago…"

"I'm feeling a whole world of better, because you're here now."

He smiled, sitting on the edge of the bed, "I really mean that much to you?"

"You do." She sat up and squeezed him.

"Feeling's mutual, April." She nuzzled her head beside his before she leaned in to kiss his lips, then he rubbed the small of her back in gentle little circles.

Her cheeks flushed a touch as she leaned into him a bit more. He held one cheek, and then kissed the other as he kept holding onto her tight. "Slade…" She sighed softly, holding onto his shoulders as he kissed her.

"Yeah?"

"Don't stop…" She closed her eyes and wove her arms around his neck.

"Don't stop?" He mimicked.

"Please…" She looked up at him with her big doe eyes.

He smiled and kept rubbing the same spot on her back, kissing her with a gradual amount of increasing force, until he tilted her back so she was laying on the bed and he was on top of her.

Her cheeks reddened even more as her hands landed on either side of her head, "I love you…"

"I love you too."

She slowly reached her hands up to unbutton his shirt, nervously looking in his eyes a few times. He smiled and helped her out. Honestly, if this was his first time, he would be incredibly more nervous. But luckily Tess more or less broke him into things like these.

Her eyes skimmed over his chest, he could tell this was her first time, and really, wasn't surprised at all. She leaned in to kiss his neck just once, timidly. He ruffled her hair as she did so, rubbing the small of her back and giving her an encouraging squeeze.

She wrapped her arms around him, then slowly moved her legs around his as well. She then moved in to start kissing his lips, combing her fingers through his hair. He kissed her back, reaching down to unbutton his pants and take them off.

She gently traced her fingers down his back. Her entire treatment was a stark contrast to his time with Tess.

"Did you want me to take this off?" He nodded towards her nightgown.

"I'll help…" She said softly, sliding the straps over her shoulders before she slid it off. She then covered her chest with her arms nervously, still a bit skittish.

"You okay?" He asked, "We don't have to do this."

"No, no, it's okay…" She timidly moved her arms away.

"Uh…uh…" His jaw dropped. He kept trying to speak, but nothing would come out. He knew that her sister was a model, but, he didn't think they were _that_ closely related. "Uh…"

"Is..i-is there something wrong…?"

"No, no, nothing at all…"

"Okay…" She said slowly, moving her arms back to rub his shoulders. He kissed her lips, quite a bit more furiously than usual, as he lowered his hands down to gently rub her breasts. She sighed, it was a light an airy sigh, something graceful with still a touch innocence, "That…feels very nice…"

"You like it?"

"I do…"

"Then I'll just squeeze a little bit harder…just a little…" He squeezed them, started to rub his enlarged shaft against her hip suggestively, "Oh yeah…" He sighed, "You…you look so good…"

She blushed and gasped out his name, shuddering under his touch, "S-Slade…" Her nails dug in a bit as she moved in to kiss his neck.

"Hmm? What is it?"

"N-No no…don't stop…"

"Stop…which…which thing?" He asked, "This?" He squeezed her boobs.

"All of it…"

"Alright." He smiled, taking his underwear off so she could feel his erection even more against her hip. She bit her lip, moaning his name as one hand clutched the back of his head and the other rubbed his chest. "Hey…do you mind if I do something?"

"N-No…"

He crept back a bit, kissing one of her breasts, groaning and tensing up. This was only relieved when he started licking it instead.

"Ah…ah—ah…S-Slade…"

"Yeah…?" A dirty grin crept onto his face as he licked one of her nipples.

"M-M-More…"

He nodded, stuffing more of her breast into his mouth. He groaned as he kept sucking. At this point he was thrashing his length against her leg as he sucked. Her body instinctively started to match his rhythm as she held onto him for support, slowly sliding her panties down past her hip.

"Here, let me help." He moved down and helped her take them off. Then he kissed her lips, "Are you ready?"

"I…I think so…please be slow…" She met her gaze, her eyes a little worried.

He nodded, instead of blindly charging in, he kissed her neck softly, rubbing her stomach in an effort to get her to relax a little. She closed her eyes and sighed, melting just a little more under his touch as her legs quivered and spread a bit more.

Now to make sure she was ready, he rubbed at both of her inner thighs, before gently stimulating her womanhood with the tip of his length. She bit her bottom lip, trembling beneath his touch and stammering his name in a hissed sigh.

He slowly went onward, once he started penetrating her, he was absolutely merciless. She grit her teeth in pain as he pushed through, gasping for air and stiffening up like a board. As his movements became faster and faster, she did her best to hide the pain on her face and rely on his experience.

The yells he made were nothing compared to the creaking of the mattress as he pushed her in deeper and deeper. She felt fear cloud up in her mind, what if she was broken? What if she could never get joy out of this? But the sounds Slade made and the looks on his face was enough to make the entire endeavor more than worth it for her.

His humps were more like thrashes as he kept holding her close and pressing himself onto her. One hand was on her face so he could kiss her and one hand was fisting her hair. She tried to be gentle while kissing him, not to accidentally bite him or cry out into his mouth. His hand did feel nice in her hair, and up against her cheek too, if only it wasn't so cold.

When he moved himself away, she panted quite a bit, her body still shaking, too.

"You…uh…you okay?" He asked as he moved away.

"Uh huh…"

He gave her a squeeze, "I got you."

She held onto him, "Did you…enjoy it…?"

He nodded, "Really got me off." He said, "Did you?"

"Uh…uh huh…"

He rolled slightly so she could sleep on top of him, "Good…well…goodnight April…"

"Goodnight Slade…I love you so much…" She clung onto him and kissed his cheek.

"I love you too."

* * *

"Mister Madison?" Leonardo peeked his head in the library, "Your phone is ringing."

"Yes, thank you, Leo." Victor said, heading to his room to pick up the phone, "Victor Madison, Tremere Magister, how may I help you?"

"Hello, Mister Madison. It's Miss Voerman. I understand you're a very busy man, but considering the efforts you've gone through for me before, I thought you might be willing to go through one more task."

Once he heard that it was Therese, his expression almost did a one-eighty, souring considerably, "Yes? What can I help you with?"

"It should be a fairly simple task for you. How quickly can you raise your hand? Never mind. I need you to kill Jeanette."

His eyes widened, "You need me…to _kill_ Jeanette…?"

"Yes." She sighed, a bored sigh, "She's playing 'hide and seek'. I haven't been able to find her since I exiled her from the city. I'm almost positive she's somewhere up there, in downtown, lurking around her Anarchs for safety."

He frowned, "I do believe I recall _reconciling_ the two of you…what…a simple gathering of months beforehand? _What_ , pray tell, could have happened between the Halcyon mishap and now, that could have shifted such a previously stable relationship?"

"Stark realization that's she's simply incompetent. I had hired a bodyguard to protect me and the club and she fired him and threatened to kill him when he refused to…investigate her offers. And, well, she shot me, struck me with a lamp and ran away with twelve-hundred dollars."

He wondered how she even _acted this out_ , considering they were the same person, "And…another reconciliation is impossible…? You two cannot just…let bygones be bygones?"

"She seems beyond speaking. She's gone absolutely mad."

"But we can't kill her, you'll die too…"

"I beg your pardon?"

He took a deep, semi-frustrated sigh, as he pinched the bridge of his nose with a gloved hand. He was going to have to play by her rules after all, "You two cannot live without the other. You take care of her, she helps you retain a level head. Do you not remember that? Or was _I_ the only paying attention that day when the two of you were screaming at each other?"

"I'm not sure what you want of me, Mister Madison. She's like a firecracker, she's entirely unpredictable. I could attempt a peaceful conversation and she'll hire a-hundred men with guns to shoot me down."

"Unlikely. Such actions would warrant the attention of the Camarilla."

"I don't think she cares about that. She's done it once before. Surfside Diner?"

"That was to kill _me_ …"

"She had planned for me to go there. If I had gone, I would have died."

"Oh, do trust me, the four thugs she sent didn't know their rights from their lefts, I'm sure you would have made out fine…"

"Perhaps I should call someone else…"

"Yes, nearly anyone in the city would have more time than me at the moment."

"Very well. I apologize for the inconvenience. I wish you the best luck in your studies, Mister Madison."

"Yes, I appreciate the sentiment."

The line clicked off. He didn't even realize Venus was on the bed until he heard her talk, "Sounded like an interesting conversation."

He hung the phone up, his nerves more than just frayed, "Yes, that was the club owner who I assisted _before_ I met you." He said, turning to meet her gaze, "She was rather two-faced, that one."

"Oh, how unfortunate. She wants more work done?"

"Yes, but I rejected her offer." He stood up, crossing his hands behind his back and pacing, "In less than a week or two, my experiments will all be finished. And then they'll go running, running for the hills. Those that aren't killed, of course."

She grinned, "Sounds exciting. I hope I get to watch."

"I'm sure even if you didn't, you'd revel in my retelling of the story, wouldn't you?"

"I'd like both, really."

"I can't say I'm surprised." He took a few steps forward to kiss her.

She kissed him back, "You ready for everything to change?"

"Of course."

"Good. I am too." She grinned.

* * *

"…well, if it's any consolation, I partook in my devil's dessert _before_ I joined the Camarilla…" Dragomir scratched the back of his head.

"Yes, of course." Gideon turned around, facing the outskirts of a city, (though Dragomir didn't know which one), "They're hypocrites all of them! Blasted hypocrites!"

"There are always diablerists, everywhere you go. The Sabbat, Camarilla, Anarchs. Just depends how good they are at hiding it. Running with it."

"No, no, I'm not sure you understand. This organization prides itself, _laughs_ at us, boasts, that it doesn't partake in the vampiric cannibalism, yet they do it anyway. It was a high-ranking member who did the deed too."

"Yes, the younger members never have the moxie to feed on others. Well, I did."

He gave a dry snicker, "Excuse me for a moment." He started walking off, leaving the other three in a dark alleyway.

Genevieve swallowed hard, "Where did he go? Why would he leave us here?"

"It's a-alright…" Antoinette said, "He'll be b-back shortly…"

"I don't like how dark this alleyway is." Dragomir leaned his back against one of the walls, "Is he trying to get us jumped?" Genevieve shivered, giving him a hug.

"He'll be back in sixty-six seconds." Antoinette said.

Dragomir slung a furry arm around Genevieve, "Good. Thank you dear." He said, looking down at Antoinette with saddened eyes behind those glasses, "I see a distant light in your future."

Antoinette's eyes lit up, "You do?" She asked.

"I do. But your sire's shadow must shrink first."

"He will die?"

"No. Maybe? I'm not sure."

Gideon returned rather quickly, bending over near a dumpster. He quickly hoisted the large metal container up, (with her without the assistance of Blood Buff, it was unknown) and threw it at Dragomir's general area. Genevieve screamed.

Dragomir instinctively used his war-form, catching the dumpster and throwing it off to the side. "What are you doing?!" Genevieve gave a piercing scream.

"Master?" Antoinette shivered.

Gideon snickered for a long while, "You know, during my walk, I recalled that you _rejected_ my generous offer to join the Sabbat." He said, "And I let you live. How strange."

Dragomir put his war-form down, "What is this about? My previous rejection? We're here to kill Kuei-Jin, why must you fall into such a _dramatic_ tangent?"

"I taught you well, boy. Why don't we see how it measures up?"

"I'm not fighting you." Dragomir snapped, "I had thought your humanity was better than mine."

"It remains to be seen." He said, as Genevieve and Antoinette skittered off the edge of the alleyway like a pair of crabs brushed away by the sea, "Now, why don't we find out which of us is better?"

"You are." Dragomir said bluntly, "Your age far surpasses mine. I have more disciplines, but no skill in them."

"So I have your surrender written out before me?"

"Yes."

Gideon sped toward him, a fist out ready to punch him square in the face.

Dragomir flashed out of the way with Celerity, "I wave a white flag and you go in for the kill? What kind of man are you, exactly?"

Gideon looked behind himself, to where Dragomir now was, "One who listens. You surrendered, which means you have given your life, to me, the victor." He grinned, "What? Do they throw around 'surrender' in the Camarilla so much that it means nothing now? Where I'm from you are to fight until there is nothing left of you to fight with."

"Where I'm from, we've escalated beyond the barbaric times of 'to the death'. Do you want my help or not?" He demanded.

"Only if you can fight your way out of paper bag. If you're can't, then I'll take what you have from you." Dragomir snarled, entering his war-form to head-butt Gideon into the wall. He laughed, jumping up and grabbing onto the bar of a street lamp, "Here, kitty, kitty, kitty!" He snickered.

Lucky for Dragomir, leopards are _great_ at jumping. He sprung up to swat Gideon right off the lamp. Gideon coughed up blood and slammed into the ground, skidding back in the filth of the alleyway, "Ah…there we go…it looks like you have some fight in you after all…" He snickered, a big bloody scar on his chest, his eyes began to glow red.

"Gideon…" Antoinette reached a hand out, but Genevieve hugged her close, letting the two Malkavians continue their battle.

Dragomir licked the blood from his claws as he landed, his mitts then lit up with Potence. He lunged in with Celerity to punch Gideon in the ribcage.

Gideon's eyes widened from behind his goggles, he crossed his arms in front of himself. Without Celerity of his own, there was _no way_ he could dodge the attack. He clamped down on his jaws as he skidded back a long ways, but eventually he couldn't hold it back anymore. He yelled out and coughed up more blood, crashing through a glass window. Dragomir thought he killed him for a second, but he heard Gideon's rabid chuckling, as he crawled through the shattered window, standing tall again.

Dragomir stood back, licking his chops. Those demonic red eyes of his flickered all over Gideon, like he was analyzing his next move.

A blue fire started to light in certain places on Gideon's body as he held a taunting hand out, "Well, come now, aren't you going to kill me?" He asked, "You don't exactly have time for loitering around with all the Disciplines you have going off at once. Even _with_ a bigger blood pool."

Dragomir didn't recognize the blue flames at all, and frankly, he didn't like the looks of them. He needed a distraction. He held a hand out to summon a flock of crows to attack Gideon before he flew forward to crack him right in the jaw.

Gideon coughed up more blood, hitting the ground again. He weakly tried to get up, "Very…resourceful…" He said, "I see you have employed Ennoia's tactics quite well…"

Dragomir licked the blood from his paw again, growling before he reared his foot out to kick him into the wall.

Gideon caught the attack this time, "I don't think so, kitty." He flung Dragomir off balance, using the time to stand tall again.

Dragomir used his tail to balance himself, growling as they held a standstill and he felt his blood pool dip low. He didn't have much time left. He lunged forward to tackle Gideon and bite into his shoulder, maybe tear an arm off.

Gideon laughed as he fell back, his blood going everywhere, "Ooh, such a feisty kitty! I've always wanted one!"

Dragomir put his war-form down, snarling, "Turn the tables or I'll drain you dry."

"Ooh, is that a threat? Are you trying to make a threat?" He asked, "Let's see you carry it out, boy."

Dragomir didn't hesitate to bite into his neck.

Gideon chuckled, "I don't think so." He said, "You've been quite skillful, but I've sat and watched long enough. Alley-oop!" He tossed Dragomir off of him, with such a surprising amount of ease, it was as if the man picked up Potence. The blue fire all over his body roared for more violence, roared for more fighting.

Dragomir licked his lips, skidding back in the scummy concrete, "Let's call it a draw and save our energy for the Kuei-Jin."

He crossed his arms, the frightening blue fire all over him fading, "Very well. We'll deal with them first."

* * *

 **A/N:** Ah, the Malkavian…such a beautiful and confusing race of Kindred…thanks for reading, hope you liked it!


	88. Chapter 88

**A/N:** Here's chapter eighty-eight! What happens when two best friends are locked in a closet together? Let's find out.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs.

* * *

Halcyon's green eyes were something shiny and bright in the warrens, it reminded Edgar of a raw emerald, down in these slums. It didn't really fit. Her skin looked so flawless, too, her hair entirely too neat, her skin-tight dress fit too well. "These walls whisper stories to me."

"Those are probably all of the Obfuscated Nosferatu milling about their ways…" Edgar said.

"I do not want to get lost…" Her eyes flickered up at his, "These tunnels seem endless."

"They're easy once you get used to them, follow me." He said.

"Yes, sir." She attentively followed him deep into one of the channels, "This place itself is like the wiring within a computer."

He gave a dry chuckle, "I do suppose it is…"

As they approached a computer, she seated herself, moving her head around it attentively, "A very nice model. I wish I could be in its state."

"Don't we all?" He muttered, "Well, let's see what you're made of."

"A test?" Her green lips curved up in a smirk, "What would you like me to do?" She powered it on.

"There are going to be some files when you boot it up, I want you to sort them. Alphabetically."

"Easy." She gave a single staccato laugh as she clicked through the welcoming screen and started organizing the files.

The sound of dress shoes entering were heard, Edgar turned and saw Gary walk in, "This is Crystallia?" He asked.

"That's right." Edgar said.

"Pleasure to meet you, dollface." Gary said, "You interested in photography?"

She turned and looked up at him, "Photography?"

"You wouldn't be taking the photos. You'd be in them."

"Doing what?"

"Well, that depends." He smirked, "You certainly have a nice figure."

She looked down, "Like, modelling?"

"Like modelling."

"Gladly." She looked from Edgar to Gary, "Should I take photos now, or finish the programming?"

"Finish playing your computer games." Gary swatted a hand, "Let me know when you're ready."

"Very well." She nodded, smiling, "This should be fun."

* * *

"Here. Careful, this one's a little heavy." Killian gently handed another crate to Anastasia.

The two of them were in the storage room, finishing the unloading from Sirius's previous sandstorm. The other Anarchs were away, but Damsel called the both of them to finish it up in about an hour and just head home.

Anastasia took the box, surprisingly strong for her size, or it could just be the Gangrel blood pumping through her. She soon located the proper shelf to place the box on and returned, ready for another box.

Killian grabbed another box, "Alright, last one." He slammed the back door shut. He then hoisted the box up on the shelf, but it seemed the shelf had other plans.

It suddenly came crashing down, knocking the other door shut and spilling all the contents all over the floor.

"Fuck!" Killian, grunted as he shook ammo from his shirt, then looked at the mess all over the floor, "Damn it…" He growled, leaning forward to open the door, but, it didn't budge, "Oh, fuck me…it's locked." He tried the other, but that didn't open either, "Fucking shit."

"Your Potence or my Protean could get it open. Or maybe both of them put together." Anastasia said.

"You kidding? Damsel'd kick our asses if she found out we broke her door." He sighed, "The keys are on the counter, out there. She'll be here in an hour."

"Fine. We can wait an hour." She crossed her arms and leaned against the wall, sliding down until she was sitting.

He started picking up the things that fell, stuffing them back into boxes. His mind was running completely blank on subjects to bring up. She slowly got up to help him put everything away.

Unfortunately, with their combined efforts, it only took about five minutes between both of them to clean everything. Killian then stood back against the wall, similar to the way she was, staring at the floor. He closed his eyes, hoping maybe some of the tension between them might dissipate if he pretended to fall asleep. She more or less did the same, only she kept her eyes open, but she leaned against the opposite wall.

Minutes felt like hours. Finally he broke down, "Look, I'm sorry."

"It's okay." She said quietly.

"…what?" He narrowed his eyes, "No it's not."

"Then maybe it isn't."

"If it was okay, then you wouldn't look at me like I was some kind of terrorist. If it was okay, your boyfriend wouldn't be scheming to kill me. I wouldn't be here by the skin of my teeth, ready to be sacrificed on a whim."

She glided slowly to her sitting position again, "I don't know what you want me to say." She said, her voice a tad deeper, cynical even. "You were in and out for…weeks and months on end…anytime you came back it was because you wanted to throw yourself at me…and then when that didn't work, you joined the Sabbat."

"Alright, look, I didn't join the Sabbat because I hated you. I joined the Sabbat because they captured VV. VV told me I had a good shot at playing like their little Brujah traitor if I just kept my mouth shut. But, I fucked that up too." He sighed, "I get it, I'm an idiot. I do…really stupid shit, without her dragging me around, supplying me consequences to my actions…" He looked away, "But I didn't mean any of it to hurt you. Especially you." He faced her again, digging his heels in the discomfort, "I can try to ignore it all I want, but I like you. I want to be friends with you, at least, I just want you somewhere in my life. You make me happy, I don't care why, but I can't handle you hating me."

"Well you're too late."

"Too late." He scoffed, "Too late for what?"

"Too late for us to be anything else." She frowned, "We're just…fellow Anarchs. That's it. That's what we agreed to. That's what Nines said. It's what Skelter said. It's what we all agreed to."

"We can't be friends?" He asked.

"I'm not interested in it at all."

"Why?" He threw his head to the side a bit, "Are you still afraid of me? You're still pissed at me? I don't know what else you want me to do. I've rung myself out to dry for you. I'll take the next Blood Hunt, I'll take the next sniping mission, I'll do anything to keep you safe. I've been trying to make it up to you for fucking months. All I want is just a, 'Gee, Killian, you know what, I think I'll tolerate you from now on. I'll go tell Skelter to stop aiming his guns at you and maybe I'll even share a laugh with you'. I want to be able to be happy again, don't you?"

She laughed dryly, "So if I recite that, you'll go fuck yourself and leave me alone?"

"Damn it, what is it? What else do you want me to do?"

"Leave. Me. Alone."

"Why?" He challenged. "You don't want Skelter to leave you alone, and I'm sure he pissed you off a few times before. You don't want Nines to leave you alone, or Catalina, who wants to kill your fucking brother. What is it about me that drives you over the edge?"

"Chinatown."

"Chinatown." He sat back, "When I lost my marbles." He clarified.

"Of course." She crossed her arms, "But before that things were getting iffy. You stopped showing up."

"Yeah, I was at home, crying my eyes out. My bad."

"Yeah, you need to stop writing off your obnoxious behavior as mourning for Lark, got it?" She snarled, "You treated her like shit. I treated her like an actual person. And when I cried, I got 'what are you doing Anastasia? Why the fuck do you care? Get over it.' So if I'm not allowed to mourn, then you shouldn't get a year of shitting all over people."

He looked genuinely upset, "Who the hell told you that you couldn't mourn?"

"I don't know…someone…I'm saying all the Anarchs are perfect…jeez…"

He crossed his arms, "Why do you even like him? Cause he wants me dead?"

"Sure. It's all about you, isn't it?"

"Well, I'm just trying to think about some redeeming qualities about him. He's loyal. He's never going to cheat on you, you never have to worry about that. He'll do what you say, he'll do what Nines says." He looked over at her from the corner of his eye, "But he's as hotheaded as anyone else here, if not more so. He finds something he cares about, he's going to do it. He's gonna get himself killed over it, not think twice about you, the Anarchs, Jyhad."

"Is this the part where you tell me that you're the improvement?"

"I'm not interested in dating anyone. I'm done with it, it's a mess. I just want to be friends."

"Go be friends with someone else then."

"No."

"Then I guess it sucks to be alone, doesn't it, Killian?"

"Why are you acting like you were ever alone?"

She rolled her eyes, "I didn't say that."

He held his face in his hands, "There's nothing I can do to undo that shit, you know. Nothing. I would fucking love to go back and erase everything…god, every painting I've made after that is either monochrome or a shade of blue…" He rested his eyes in his palms, "What the hell can I do for you to just…forgive me…?"

Another dry laugh, "Sorry it's so painful for you."

"You can't even laugh anymore…" He grumbled, "Was it that bad…? How the hell did I break you so much…?"

"Yes, it was that bad." She growled, "You just…wouldn't leave me alone…made comments…wouldn't stop touching me…and you wouldn't stop having dick measuring contests with Skelter!" She said, "Sorry I can't just… _forget_ it all magically. Sorry it still haunts me, sorry I still have nightmares about it, sorry I haven't slept straight in a good while."

"You think I haven't…?" He asked, "I have dreams every night that you forgive me…I have dreams every night you smile again, you laugh…and that snake eats me…every time…more painful than the last…" He melted into the wall, "And how the hell do you think I feel, seeing you run to him? Seeing you kiss and hug and pretend I never existed?"

" _You_ broke up with _me_."

"Yeah, I did. I did, because, I didn't want to die and break your heart. I didn't want you to…have to worry about giving yourself away to someone else in my absence…I didn't want you to feel like you were tied to a rope that just…led to the center of the planet…"

"Now I feel like a rope is strangling my neck, so thanks for the alternative…"

"I tried that already. I tried guns. I tried a knife, I tried pills." He stared listlessly at the floor.

"A fireplace or the sunrise might work better."

"Yeah, I know." He said quietly, "I should just do it." His head hit the wall, "What the hell good am I? You're never going to forgive me. If I die, the Anarchs can stop…fucking…freaking out about me. Like I'm some uncaged monster, waiting to strike."

"Joining the Sabbat and attacking your friends does have those effects."

He held his forehead, "I didn't join the Sabbat, Anastasia."

"Sirius said you were on your father's leash."

"Sure, I was. He was the one who essentially kidnapped VV. I played along with him to make him think I was working for him, but I was trying to get VV out." He sighed, "I treated her like shit too…"

"Yeah right. You couldn't trick a fish."

"Yeah, that's why that plan fell flat on its ass. I would never purposely hurt you, okay?"

"But you did."

He mashed a palm into his eye again, "I know…I know I did, but I didn't mean to…I just wanted to have you again…I wanted to go back to when you laid there and…giggled in my arms when I told bullshit stories…when I felt like I mattered to someone…" He hastily wiped tears away, hoping she wouldn't catch them, "Damn it…"

"Yeah, well…you straight up murdered that girl." She said, "The one who's always happy and peaceful and fun, you killed her. What? You think I like being mopey and quiet?" She snapped, "You think I _like_ this? Being a completely different person? Wondering whether it's okay or not to…be joyful, or smile a little…you think this is what I want?" She clenched her hands into fists, "This whole time…this whole time…you've just been acting like you've been _owed_ a forgiveness. Like…I have to overlook everything that happened, just cause you're you. You're Killian. You get whatever you want. The attention, the glory, the women. You kick ass, take names, and get bitches. Now all of a sudden you have none of it for a few months and you don't know how to function."

"She isn't dead! She's sitting right across from me!" He boomed, before he just covered his face in his hands, "You're right…I get it…I'm a cocky asshole, I don't deserve anything…you're right, I'm wrong…"

"Wow. Call the newsroom. Killian just admitted that he was wrong about something."

"I know I'm wrong…I'm wrong about…everything I do…" He looked at her again, moving his hands away from his slightly reddened eyes, "If I was right, you'd still be fine…"

"That'd be nice."

He gave her a blank stare, "But…you are still here…you're still…Anastasia. That happy girl isn't dead…she's just hiding from me…"

"Killian…"

"What?" He asked weakly.

"Maybe it was a better idea to just wait in silence."

"Yeah…" He wiped away any leftover tears, "But now…I know how you feel…" He hung his head, "I know there's just…nothing left I can do…except for…watch the sunrise…anything to get her back…"

She stood up, looking beyond infuriated, "I'll speed up the process."

He looked up at her, not budging an inch, "…Christ…" He swallowed hard, before he looked away and closed his eyes, "You know what…do it. You'll be able to sleep, and…hell, so will I."

Anastasia turned into her bird form, with a green glow of Fortitude. She gave a deafening caw. One that sounded like she needed to get it off her chest. One that sounded fiercer than any other call she had ever given. And one that sounded like a horrific chapter in her life was finally going to end. She sped at Killian, attacking him in a bloodthirsty rage.

One would call it a frenzy, but the look in her eyes was much too cold and calculated for that.

He pulled his arms back out of the way, letting her carve into his chest. The pain made him flinch, it made him draw his arms together for just a hair, before he forced them back. As she clawed at him again and he felt bones crack, skin tear and organs get punctured, he couldn't help but think back to a lesson he learned in one of his college arts classes, about Prometheus.

Of course, Killian was far luckier than Prometheus. He'd get to die after his punishment was over.

The door suddenly swung open. Damsel stood there, dumbstruck, "Anastasia…?" The divine, yet demented bird missed the comment, still digging in at Killian's innards. Damsel grabbed her by the wing and pulled her back, "Get off of him! He's still an Anarch!"

Anastasia lashed out at her next, giving a terrible screech as she broke free of Damsel's grasp. She summoned a trio of Spectral Wolves to cover her escape.

Damsel hissed as two of them attacked her, the other mauled Killian even further. When they finally dissipated, Damsel got up weakly and kneeled at Killian's side, "Fuck…Killian…?" She slapped one of his cheeks a few times, "Killian, wake up."

He gave a pained moan, "End it…end it already…take my fucking head off…"

She grabbed his broken ribs, jamming them back into place, then stuffed whatever organs were hanging out back in, "I don't know how the hell you're alive, but if it's not a sign, I don't know what is." She cracked open a cooler with blood packs and tore them open, stuffing them in his mouth.

He choked on them, "Stop! Just kill me!"

She glared at him, "What did you do to her, exactly?"

"Chinatown…"

"Did you hurt her? In the storage closet?"

"…no…"

"Good. You're a fucking Anarch, pal, you're not dying." She crammed more blood down his throat, "I don't care if the entire goddamn continent wants to stick its foot up your ass, you're with us. Leave her to me. She shouldn't have done that."

"Why won't you let me die…"

"You got a lot to live for, kiddo." She grabbed some bandages and started wrapping him, "I'll be damned if another Anarch is the one who takes that away from you."

* * *

"After so many days working together…we're finally going to assault the Kuei-Jin?" Antoinette asked.

"It seems that way." Genevieve said, "The life-eaters are too big a threat, we need to finally do away with them…"

"Chinatown draws near." She said quietly, looking at Gideon, "What are your orders? Master?"

"Hmm. Did I say a frontal assault would be stupid? Let's do that. I change my mind." Gideon said.

"Any estimate on numbers?" Dragomir asked.

"More than four, which is unfortunate."

As they approached the outer walls of Chinatown, Antoinette utilized her Auspex to see right through them, "I already see twenty…but they're just…lowly humans…but what we _really_ have to worry about are the two in the back…"

"Jun and Tsubasa. The leaders." Gideon chuckled, "I'm sure they'll be good fun to deal with."

"The humans…we can drain them?" Dragomir asked.

"Yes, that's the plan, considering that you and I need our blood replenished." He said.

Dragomir nodded, "Well, are we charging in?"

"But it's dangerous…" Genevieve said, getting her guns out, "They are two iron pillars that will not fall!"

Gideon snickered for a bit, "They also don't know that Cainites can have _nine_ powers…"

"They also don't know that with those humans around, I can have nine powers for quite a while…" Dragomir grinned.

"Now…sneak up on your meal, as I do. I'll make sure to grant us a bountiful harvest." Gideon said, utilizing Obfuscate to sneak into the city. Genevieve and Antoinette did the same, turning invisible and sneaking in. Dragomir followed their tracks as the four invisible creatures slowly snuck in.

Gideon tore his Obfuscate down and gave a big grin to the guards, "Surprise." He held a hand out, and mystic purple dust came from it as every guard went insane in their own way. Some just died instantly, while others were babbling incoherently, and yet some were laughing. In short they were all left vulnerable for quite a while.

The other group of guards came rushing in, but they were met with a similar fate, as Antoinette's Obfuscate faded, she coolly held a gloved hand out, and unleashed a Bedlam of her own. The Malkavian Antitribu set up the perfect feast. Dragomir didn't hesitate to start feeding, or swatting at those who aimlessly attacked him.

"Hark!" Gideon snickered, "Here they come!"

Jun and Tsubasa came from the temple at the end of the city, the latter drawing her katana, and the former creating two of his own. Tsubasa sped at the three Malkavians, but was surprised to be hit by sniper fire from out of nowhere, "What…where the hell are these invisible bullets coming from?" She growled.

Gideon smiled, seeing Genevieve laying on the ground in the corner, sniping away, but her Obfuscate would only break for a moment after she took the shot, it would then reapply. "Smart girl…"

Dragomir licked his lips as he used his war-form, lit up Potence and Celerity. Considering Jun was clearly the most visually terrifying target, he ran towards him to gash him open.

Jun coughed up blood and fell back, "What…what in damnation?" He looked around, trying to keep up with the lightning quick leopard. Gideon snickered, starting a mad laugh, he was basically watching at this point.

Tsubasa meanwhile was cutting up Antoinette, but it could have been part of the Malkavian's strategy. She was more or less keeping Tsubasa distracted so Genevieve could keep shooting her full of holes.

Dragomir reared his head back to clock it into Jun's, then a fist to uppercut him in the jaw. Jun stumbled back, bringing his flaming sword down on Dragomir. He dashed out of the way, catching his breath before he reared his foot back to kick him in the gut. Jun grunted, pausing to hold his injuries, then he lit himself aflame in a bright multicolored array of fire, holding his swords out defensively. Dragomir stepped back, summoning crows to distract him, hopefully.

"A switch of targets is in order." Gideon said, jumping back to fight Tsubasa, leaving Dragomir completely alone to fight Jun.

Dragomir snarled, grabbing the body of a nearby dead human and throwing it at Jun with a considerable about of force. Jun hopped out of the way, running at Dragomir with all his might.

He was stopped by a sniper bullet. No, make that two. Jun growled and skidded to a stop, bloody holes in his body. The 'invisible' person wouldn't let up, they kept firing at Jun.

Dragomir panted, holding the standoff. There wasn't much he could do when his opponent was quite literally covered in fire. He prioritized keeping Jun away from Genevieve with either a fake out or a corpse.

Tsubasa sped over to Jun, looking about inches away from belonging in a morgue, "What…what do we do?" She asked, "The invisible people, where are they? How many more of them are there…hidden in the shadows?"

"I…I don't know…" Jun said.

"America isn't worth this, we need to leave! Now! Come back later!"

He thought about it for a moment or two, then he nodded, "Very well." He said, "Let us retreat." He said, he grabbed Tsubasa's hand and they sped off. Gideon of course was laughing like crazy at the display.

Dragomir put his war-form down, "Damn…" He looked at his singed hands, "Who knew they were so good with fire…" Genevieve broke her Obfuscate and ran over to him, giving him a hug.

"Well, excellent!" Gideon said, "The Kuei-Jin have been driven off our land, and the city belongs to us!"

Dragomir hugged Genevieve back, "Yes… _us_ …"

"Us."

"Very well." Dragomir narrowed his eyes, "The two of us will be off, then."

"Not so fast." He grinned, "Cleary…we cannot _both_ go back to our superiors and say that we took it. It needs to belong to a certain side, doesn't it?"

"I think we should let them decide."

"I think something much simpler could decide on who this city belongs to." He chuckled.

"Not another fight."

"I do believe our last fight came about without a conclusion."

"I have a better idea." Dragomir crossed his arms, "A game of your choosing."

"What exactly did you have in mind? A game of how many dead bodies are on the ground?"

"You have a casino."

"In Nevada. Hours away."

"That's fine."

"I wonder what sort of _delusion_ you're under, thinking that you're being the bigger person, by escaping violence." He grinned, "We are, on opposites sides, you know. Would you not try to cleave anyone else in the Sabbat in two?"

"No, I wouldn't. Not alone."

"Now you're trying to convince me that you're some sort of benevolent pacifist?" He snickered, "I've seen what you've done to those poor girls. One would hardly call is pacifistic…"

"That wasn't a fight. That was hunger. I don't fight without my allies."

"You don't fight without your allies, hmm?" He asked, aiming a hand at Genevieve. Genevieve shuddered, as she and Antoinette hugged each other.

"She isn't an ally. She's my solace. Don't get the two confused."

"Your bumbling terminology fails to impress me." He said, "Do we have an agreement now?"

"Can we do this another time?" He seemed quite irritated.

"In ten seconds?"

Dragomir growled, ushered into his three strongest disciplines, then ran forward to punch him right in the face.

* * *

 **A/N:** Looks like round two of Dragomir and Gideon is up next! Wonder what the outcome will really be…thanks for reading!


	89. Chapter 89

**A/N:** Here's chapter eighty-nine! Long awaited notions of love…hope you like it!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs. Also, there is some steamy content, if you're not a fan, feel free to skim over it.

* * *

There was an email on Gottfried's computer with no address, asking him to go down near the Confessions courtyard for a meeting. Gottfried's head thudded on the desk. He already knew _exactly_ who it was, who else would email him? He sighed and stood up, heading to the disclosed location, figuring he had nothing else to lose at this point.

She was there, sitting at a base of a tree, smoking a cigarette, "Hi."

"You seem in a better mood." He crossed his arms.

"I'm not allowed in Santa Monica." She said softly, blowing smoke in the air.

"Is that right?"

"I'm sorry…" She whimpered.

"This is all because of you." He said, "I didn't think you'd have such a meltdown just because I spurned your advances."

She took another puff from the cigarette, "It's because she's…she's going to get you. It's not fair…she gets everything and I get left with nothing…"

"Then just be her. Then you'll have everything."

She giggled softly, "Sometimes I just need to get away from it all."

"Then you can't complain. You make all this trouble for yourself." He said, then he shook his head, "Well, I guess if it wasn't you, it'd be some _other_ sister, right?"

"Oh, I'm sure…it ran in the bloodline…so I was told."

"Bloodlines don't mean everything." He said, "Or else I would be a murdering rapist right about now."

"…your father was a murderer and a rapist…?"

He rolled his eyes, "I meant the clan in general. Osebo have the worst handle on their beasts. It's a wonder I didn't change for the worse when Poe and I had our little stint in the Sabbat…"

"You seem to have such a grip on life, too…" She looked up at him, "You're a real hero."

"Not the other night I wasn't."

"What do you mean? To me? Yes you were…" She looked away, "I was just the villain."

"Look…I didn't know what I said and did…would have such a…profound effect on the two of you." He said, "I didn't mean to split you apart." He said, his shoulders sinking slightly, "But…I'm not just…some game that can be won or lost, between you and your sister. You can't win me. I…I want to try being your friend first."

She gave a little nod, "I would like that. I think Therese will too. A lot."

"Maybe I should tell her I'm rethinking the job. But only if she calls this ridiculous hunt off her sister."

"Please." She sat up a bit, "I really don't want to die."

He nodded, "Of course. I won't let you die." She stood up and skipped forward to hug him, dropping the cigarette to the ground. He hugged her back, giving her a small squeeze, "Hopefully it gets easier from here…"

She rested her head in his chest, "I hope so too…" She closed her eyes, feeling safer in his embrace than she had in ages, "I'm sorry I treated you like a toy…"

"It's alright." He said, "I'm sorry I took it so personally."

"I'm sorry I took it personally." She smiled, "Where do you think I should go for the night? I have nowhere to stay."

"I don't know, can we contact Therese?" He asked, then he felt like an idiot because Therese was technically standing right in front of him, "Uh…so…forget that…damn…can't let you in the red tower…"

"Maybe I could go to her apartment."

"Oh, that's right, I nearly forgot that she had an apartment…"

"Thanks for the talk. And for saving me." She pat his shoulders, "I'll see you soon, then?"

He nodded, "I'll be back. As long as you two get along."

She nodded quickly, "Mmm hmm! See you, sweetie-pie!" She practically skipped to a taxi.

* * *

"Hey! Juliet!" Sirius called when he entered the house, "You feel up for going out tonight?"

"Going out?" She called, "Where?"

"I don't know…somewhere…" He said, "I feel like I keep you cooped up in here too much, you know? Should probably remind you what…air…and people are…"

She snickered, "I go out sometimes, you know." She walked in, wearing her pajamas, "Lemme go change and get ready."

"Alright, sounds good."

Sure enough, it took a little over an hour, but she did look much more presentable. Miracles could happen. "Alright." She smiled, he almost forgot how nice her lips were in that red lipstick she wore, "Let's head out."

"Cool." He said, leading the way to a sizzling red mustang, of course it was one of the many cars he had in his seemingly endless garages. He walked over to the passenger's door and opened it for her.

She smiled and sat down, putting her seatbelt on, "What, no motorcycle tonight?"

He got in the driver's seat, "I thought those made you pukey…" He said, revving up the engine.

"And I thought you liked that."

"Uh…well, I mean…but…I don't know…we're going out, I don't want you to be sick."

"Alright." She rubbed her hand against the leather seat, "I like this car. It's red."

"That's why I picked it."

She gave him big smile, "Alright, well, go on, let's see how she drives."

"Amazing, that's how." He started speeding through the off-road. "So…how's uh…how're things with you?"

"Things are nice." She grabbed the seat tightly, "Careful, please…"

"Yeah, yeah, we're almost on the road." He said, "Gone anywhere nice recently?"

"A few restaurants." She said, "Sometimes I'll go to a high school and help the cooking classes out. Or childhood ed."

"Is that right?" He chuckled, "I'm surprised how angelic you are, given you get turned on by snakes in the grass."

"Yeah, me too."

"Tch." He said, "Work sucks…big time…"

"Oh yeah? What's going on now?"

"I don't know what's worse, people a third of your age telling you how to do your job. Or people half your age trying to tell you how to _spy_."

"Ugh…god, I hate that…"

"Jeez, I'm so done with them, every single one…and then the bitch I _really_ hated showed up the other day…"

"Which bitch?"

"Uh…she owns a club or something…actually…she's older than me…" He said bitterly, "I could still out wrestle her and drain her…I bet…"

She snickered, "Sorry work sucks so much."

"It's fine…the Jyhad always sucks, in a way…" He said, driving a bit slower now that they were on the roads with traffic, "So…uh…you into fairs?"

"Fairs?" She asked, "What, like carnivals? Yeah. Sure, they're fun."

"Good." He grinned, "I heard there were a few in town, thought we could go to one."

"Yeah, that sounds fun." She smiled, "Kinda sucks that you can't eat."

"I know, right?" He asked, "Well…the atmosphere will be different, at least…"

"Yeah, should be nice. Hope they have a Ferris wheel."

"Yeah, anything else sounds way too complicated to ride on."

"I get motion sick on a lot of the new stuff…"

"Can't really blame ya." He said, trying, with little success, to find a good place to park, "It's like they're trying to kill ya with those things…"

She watched around at all the kids with their parents, "Jeez, kinda late for these kids to be out. Guess it is a weekend."

"Sorry…but we'll have to park back here…shit…didn't think we'd have to walk so much…" He said, parking the car.

"Nah, it's fine. I don't mind it." She popped her seatbelt and hopped out with him, holding her hand out to take his.

He took her hand as they started walking, "Hmm…so what do you want to do first? Do you even like carnival food?"

"Yeah, I just…have to be careful with it. God, I love cotton candy."

"So which should we do first?" He asked, "Ferris Wheel? Or food?"

"Let's…do Ferris wheel."

"Alright." He said, heading over to it.

Once they came to the head of the line, the operator said, "Tickets?"

"We already gave them to you." Sirius held a hand out, as a green glow came from it.

He blinked a few times in confusion as a mist of green snakes went around his head, "Enjoy the ride."

He sat in the seat provided for them, leaving a bit of room for Juliet. She squished in, "Damn, my ass is gonna break this thing…" She muttered, fitting herself in before she reached over with her side of the seatbelt.

"You'll be fine…I'm sure they check these things…" He said, as the wheel began to spin.

"I didn't even think about tickets." She muttered, "It's bad that I'm getting so spoiled."

"You deserve it."

She smiled at him, then leaned in to kiss him. He kissed her back, once they made it to the top, he started making out with her.

She sighed and kissed him back, slightly reaching under his jacket just to cope a feel of his abs through his shirt.

"Hey…you're getting as bad as me." He chuckled, grabbing the hand that was touching him and rubbing it up and down his chest.

She gave a guilty smirk, "I can't help myself…"

"Trust me, if it was up to me, we'd totally bang up here…"

"I would love that…" She muttered, turning and seeing some kids on the cart behind them snickering, "Yeah, so would they…"

"I guess they would." He shot them a glare, before looking back at Juliet, "Don't worry. That'll be coming up soon."

She smirked and pecked his cheek, "I still want cotton candy at some point."

"Of course, that'll come when we get off."

"Good. I'm starving."

Once they got off, Sirius scanned the food stands, "Did you want something other than cotton candy?"

"Hmm…I dunno. I feel like a lot of this stuff might be cooked in animal fat…" She mused, "Maybe fries."

"You're right…shit…I completely forgot…" He said, "Alright, I'll go get you some." He said, "Be right back."

"Uh huh." She smirked, crossing her arms as she sat on a nearby bench.

He returned rather quickly, courtesy of Serpentis, she presumed, "There you go." He gave her the tray of fries while he held onto the stick of cotton candy.

"Thanks a bunch, babe." She smiled and started eating the fries, "This must be fun. Just watching me eat."

"I mean…if I was a normal guy…it wouldn't…because in a sense, I miss food…but…"

"Here." She kissed him, "That's what they taste like."

He kissed her back, "Hey, thanks."

"Mmm hmm." She smirked, eating some fries as she watched people go by.

"I feel like people are wondering why I'm not eating this…"

"You're not hungry."

"Eh…I guess…"

She took another good few bites of her fries, "This is better than making dinner for one, at least. Kinda makes me feel bad about you."

"Eh, it's fine." He shrugged, "As long as you're happy."

"Mmm hmm. Elated." She reached forward to ruffle his hair as she kept eating.

"Well, that's good." He said, "I feel bad, I should take you out like this more often."

"It'd be nice. It's fun, I like having someone to talk to, especially you." She stood up and reached for the cotton candy.

"Here you go." He smiled, "Didn't know I was so fun to have around."

"You really are." She twirled some around her finger and ate it, then stuck her finger in his mouth.

His eye widened. For once in his life, he actually looked _embarrassed_ , as a few onlookers stared. "Jesus…" He said, once she let go.

"What?" She smirked, "Am I pushing the limits?"

"No…" He said, "Didn't say that…"

"Are you mad at me…?"

He shook his head, "Course not."

"Do you want me to do it again?" She pulled some more cotton candy and ate it.

He shrugged, "Maybe." She smirked and ate some more, putting her finger in his mouth again. He sucked on her finger a bit longer this time, when she pulled it out, he said, "You better be careful, or else some dirty action's gonna start…"

"Oh yeah…?" She giggled, "Maybe we should save it for tonight."

"Yeah, I got just the place in mind."

"A place, huh?" She asked, "Sounds fun. Was there anything else you wanted to do first?" She finished up her cotton candy.

He shrugged, "I don't know. You?"

"I got nothing. Maybe wander around? I'd rather…you know. Play around."

He snickered, "Alright, let's hold it in for a little bit longer. I got something I wanted to show ya." He said, heading for the car.

"Alright." She smiled, following him to the car as she discarded the stick for her cotton candy and the tray of her fries.

He sighed as he started driving back into the woods, for a second it looked like they were going straight home, "I think you'll like it here."

"Here…?" She asked, "Where? The woods?"

"No, we'll be there soon."

"Please tell me you didn't buy _another_ place."

He snickered, "Nope." He said, then he laughed, "But that sounds like something I would do!"

"It really does." She muttered, "House one and house two…"

"Why stop at two?"

"Ugh. You're ridiculous sometimes."

"More like all the time. But it makes it fun."

"Yeah…that's true. Very true…" She smiled, leaning in to kiss his cheek.

They stopped at a coast. Sirius parked the car and got out, opening the door for Juliet, "We'll have to walk the rest of the way, but it's worth it."

"Hmm? It's nice out here. I haven't been on the beach in ages." She hopped out and left her shoes in the car.

"Yup, it's not that far away from the house, either." He said, looking out at the dark blue sea ahead of them, she noticed that there was already a huge beach chair and a tent out. "Those are mine." He said, "Set them up here before I met you."

"Hmm. Nice. Did you want to stay the night? Has to be a little scary with your…you know."

"Eh, we'll only be out here for a few hours, I think…" He said, looking up and squinting at the sky, "Damn…moon's nearly full…didn't know that…"

"It's pretty…you picked a good night for this."

"Hey, Juliet." He said, when she looked down from the sky, she saw Sirius on one knee. Only he wasn't holding anything. A snake slithered out from behind him, a ring box on its head, with a golden ring peeking out. The little snake flickered its tongue occasionally and bowed its head further, to offer the ring to her.

Her eyes sparkled warmly before she reached forward and took the box, "I love you, Sirius. Sometimes…I just…wish I could really tell if you loved me back."

"What? What the hell does that mean?" He frowned as his snake jumped in fright and coiled itself around Sirius's leg, "Where's this bombshell coming from?"

"It's not a bombshell…we talked about this. It's nothing. Sometimes I just think…I feel like you could do better. You could have done better. I feel like I'm more of an amusement to you than a devotion."

"Trust me, it may seem that way, but it's not true. After being screwed over by Natalia, I settled down, remember?"

She nodded, "I know. I'm overreacting."

"Damn…I didn't know you felt like that after all this time…"

"Sorry." She paused uncomfortably, then slid the ring on, "I still love you. I want to be with you for the rest of my life, even if it was true."

"What can I do to make things better?"

"Just tell me you love me." She said simply with a smile.

She had never seen a more worried look in his eye, "I love you." She smiled, then hugged him, kissing his lips. He squeezed her close, "Damn…scared the shit outta me…"

"I didn't mean to, I'm sorry." She rested her head on his shoulder.

"It's alright." He said, "So…did you still want to get plowed in the tent?"

"I'd like that." He started kissing her harder, reaching his hands down and feeling up her rear. She sighed as she held onto him and let him squeeze to his liking, "There's not sand in there, is there?"

"Nah, there's a bottom flap."

"Good, good…I don't want sand in there…"

"Come on, I'm not _that_ stupid." He ruffled her hair.

She giggled and took his hand as she pulled him towards the tent.

They both crouched a bit as they went inside the tent, Sirius immediately grabbed her close and started kissing her again. She started unbuttoning her shirt, crumpling it up and stuffing it in the corner. He reached out and unbuttoned her shorts, massaging her lower abdomen as he tore them off.

She let out a low moan, "Are we engaged or married…?" She asked breathlessly.

"I'd say married…unless you want a ceremony…"

"Nah…that's alright…I'll get knocked up real soon then…"

"Take your time." He gave her a brief hug, then gave her a light push so she was laying back on the ground, "Don't let me rush you."

She pushed him back, "You need to take some of that off, first."

He snickered, taking his coat off, then his shirt, "Happy now?"

"Yeah…" She reached forward to stroke his chest.

He leaned forward a bit, "I know how much you like it."

"I'm not gonna turn down washboard abs, no…'

"Oh really? Care to put your money where your mouth is?"

"What do you want me to do?" She smirked.

"I don't know. I didn't know if you wanted to do anything before I start getting you off."

"Oh, no, go ahead." She grinned.

He snickered, getting his pants off, then he went back and slipped her panties down a little, massaging her lower abdomen again first. She groaned as she melted into the tarp, digging her nails in his shoulders.

His grin grew, as he loved the noises she made when he was pleasing her. He soon starting exploring her sex, by now he knew exactly where to go and what to do. Once he started he knew that he had to anchor an arm on her back in an attempt to relax her muscles.

She cried out, her climax building in seconds before she hit it and fizzled down only for a few seconds. He hit a sensitive bundle her nerves right as she tried to catch her breath, sending her on another whirlwind of ecstasy. "Jeez…" He chuckled, "You must have been simmering since the Ferris Wheel, huh?" He asked, "Didn't even start using my mouth yet…"

"Oh god…" She panted, "You're…too damn good…ah-ah-oh…a-at this…"

"Let me know when you want an upgrade." He said, "Also, if you have a tongue preference…"

"Tongue preference…?" She asked breathlessly.

"Yeah…like…a human one…snake one…"

"Surprise me…"

He leaned in further and started exploring her sex with his mouth, holding her hips tightly and giving them a squeeze as he tried to keep up with her rhythm. Her screams only grew louder as she grinded against his mouth, fisting her hands in his hair and squeezing him with her legs.

He loved it all. He loved how rough she was with his hair, as much of a chokehold her legs were giving him, and how much of a swamp he was drowning in the further he went. He gave her butt a few pats and went on even longer.

She moaned his name pathetically as she reached another climax, and he could feel it around his tongue. He could feel it around his neck as her legs trembled accordingly, he could see her abdomen contract and writhe as she came. It all certainly made his annoying time at work pay off.

"Juliet…" He sighed, somehow just as tired as she was.

She panted a lot, her entire chest heaving up and down, "Fuck…" She let her head hit the tarp.

"My sentiments exactly…"

"You should bite me and just come all over the place…"

"Nah…you're tired enough as it is…" He said, "We could go back…"

"But…you didn't…"

He thought for a minute, conflicted, "I know…I didn't…huh…" He took his underwear off and started humping her leg, "Here…"

She reached her hands out and held his rear to help him, "Where?" She asked.

"Uh…I'm thinking the same place I was just at…"

"Okay…" She spread her legs a bit more to make room.

He gave a small sigh, kissing her lips, "You're so hot…"

"So are you…god…" She held his face and made out with him.

"I…I hope things are still really wet down there…"

"They are…"

"Say something hot to get me off…talk dirty…" She felt his shaft near the entrance.

"F-Fuck…" She hissed, trying to pull him in with no avail, "I want you to fuck me so hard…I want you to knock me up with…fucking…ten of them…"

He laughed, tickling her ear with his snake tongue briefly as he finally plunged into her. The penetration was both deep and ruthless, as he took advantage of the fact of how lubricated she was to be extra forceful. She held onto him closely, feeling something there with him that she'd never felt before. It must have been in her head, but she felt like there was love behind it now, love there as he held onto her. She kissed his neck warmly, trying to keep him as close as possible.

He gave a few extra loud grunts as he kept pushing, kept humping, until he was out of energy. The both of them were left there, exhausted, Juliet coated in sweat as she held onto one of his arms, "I love you so much, babe…"

"Love you too…" He said, "Shit…we gotta get home…"

"Yeah…" She weakly sat up, then flopped, "Shit…" She laughed.

He started getting dressed, "Stay there, I'll carry ya."

"You sure…?"

"Yeah." He redressed her as best as he could, then he hoisted her up and took her to the car, driving back to the house.

By the time they got inside, she was already out, with that dazzling ring on her finger. When he put her in bed and laid beside him, she instinctively cuddled up at his side, giving him all the warmth he needed for the night.

* * *

Gideon took the hit, badly, yet he still more or less rebounded from it, as he got up. "We'll use the same regulations as last time." He smiled, now covered in blood, "You may use whichever powers you like, while I will not use Obfuscate or Dementation, for that would be too easy a victory." He held his hands out flamboyantly, "So then come and get me, kitty! If you win, the Camarilla gets Chinatown, and if I win, then I get to hand the land over to the Sword!"

"Why…why must it always be so barbaric…why can they not just get along?" Genevieve quivered, she and Antoinette sharing a fearful hug.

Antoinette did her best to peek out from over Genevieve's arms, "It's never clear with my master…" She said quietly, "He always has a plan, always has a strategy…he's always tearing apart ten cities just to maintain one…"

Dragomir dashed forward to tackle him to the ground and tear into his chest. Gideon fell to the ground putting up no fight whatsoever. He giggled madly as he was shredded up. He grabbed onto Dragomir's burly leopard arms with his own. His eyes glowing a sinister red, as he just activated Auspex, "Come now, little kitty…you're in that big bad form…and I'm just a silly little human…why haven't you finished me off yet, hmm?"

Dragomir snarled, lunging forward to bite his face off. "Ah, ah." Gideon caught his jaws, "I say, you must be halfway to a frenzy now, aren't you?"

Dragomir's head squirmed and twisted, trying to free himself from Gideon's grasp. He brought his rear legs in to tear open Gideon's lower abdomen.

Gideon flinched, his grin fading for a split second, but then it returned, more twisted than ever. A blue fire began to erupt from tiny pores of his body, he chuckled as it did so. Dragomir aimed for his neck, rearing in to bite it open, maybe decapitate him.

"Nice try." Gideon punched him in the face, again, with a surprising amount of force which knocked Dragomir off of him.

Dragomir rolled over in the streets, licking the blood from his jowls and claws. He rushed forward to uppercut him and break his jaw. Gideon crossed his arms in front of himself, badly blocking the blow, he coughed up blood and flew back.

Dragomir roared as Gideon hit the ground, then ran forward to grab him by the arm and throw him at the nearest building. Gideon screamed as the building collapsed and lost most of its foundation as he crashed into it. He gave a strained growl, pushing the rubble off of him, and standing tall. The fire all around him was not only multiplying, but roaring with hunger.

Dragomir dashed forward to kick Gideon in the face. Gideon grunted as he hit the ground, he got up, cracking his jaw into place. There was blood dripping everywhere, but it seemed the more he bled, the higher the fire rose.

The flames really were making Dragomir nervous. They didn't burn him, which was fine, but the meant something. He was willing to bet it was some sort of explosion, something that would end both him and Genevieve. But if he took Genevieve and ran, she would be in huge danger. Gideon would likely use Visions of Death on her the next time he saw her.

He had two choices. Surrender now, or kill Gideon with the next attack.

He ran forward with both fists to smash them into his skull. Gideon's eyes grew with hunger and certain sort of ecstasy as he badly caught Dragomir's fists. He felt his arms burning with pain, and his whole body writhing in agony. He coughed up blood, and a few tiny bones as he fell back. He lay on the ground, chuckling madly like an old fool.

Dragomir reared back his foot to stomp on his face and effectively end him. But Gideon rolled out of the way. Dragomir tried again, this time, catching Gideon's foot with his tail. Gideon caught his foot with both his withered hands, "Now what, kitty boy?" He asked, "Looks like we're at a standstill…"

Dragomir put down his war-form, "You can take the city."

"Imbecile! Have I taught you _nothing?_ Where's your drive? Where's your conviction? You can't just _give up_ when you're this far!"

"I don't sense your death."

Gideon stood tall. It was surprising how different, yet similar they looked. Gideon was covered in bruises and scars, maybe even a few broken bones, while Dragomir was unscathed, "I'm surprised your insight still functions, given that you are more one with Ennoia than Malkav now…"

Dragomir stepped back, "I see black and white shadows, but I can't see gray."

He chuckled, "You didn't use a single power of your own kind during our fight…a shame…"

"Your powers usurp mine, they wouldn't work."

He picked up a sword from one of the fallen Kuei-Jin. The blue fire on Gideon's body travelled to the sword, making it rattle and hiss as it began to attain all this sudden power, "Antoinette." He barked, "This city belongs to the Sword now!"

Antoinette broke Genevieve's hug, shivered and nervously bowing at Gideon, "Yes, sir."

Dragomir rushed to Genevieve's side, slowly pulling her away with him.

"John Trent." Gideon said, holding his flaming sword.

Dragomir paused, "John Trent."

"That is the name of the man who devoured my mother." He said, "He is an Alastor, do you know what that is?"

"I do not."

He grinned, "They are the secret police of the Camarilla, they hunt down those on the Red List. The Camarilla's most wanted. See, given my mother's ties to the Sabbat, and the werewolves, she was placed on it rather quickly."

"If I find John Trent, I will kill him."

"Such a pleasantry belongs to me." He said, "I will never stand for an organization that abhors diablerie, yet uses it anyway! I will find John Trent, _wherever_ he is, and I will kill him!" He said, "After all, he'll have my mother inside of her, so I doubt he'll be very sane…"

"Very well." Dragomir said, "Then…I wish you the best luck."

Gideon walked up to the nearest building, slashing it with his flaming sword, at first, nothing happened. "And I'll see you in the Sabbat one day. I look forward to working with you." He said, as the building exploded into tiny pieces. Dragomir held his arm up over himself and Genevieve as particles rained down. He hoped that day, the day he tore himself away from his true friends, never came.

* * *

 **A/N:** Good thing Dragomir didn't get hit, huh? Thanks for reading!


	90. Chapter 90

**A/N:** Here's chapter ninety! (whistles, streamers, etc.) The aftermath of the storage closet! (Kinda.) Enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs.

* * *

She could hear him cursing off a storm as she entered, so something else broke again. When she arrived in the kitchen, he saw that it was the sink, given how wet Skelter was. He already looked mad, which didn't help how jittery she already was at all, "Uh…" She squeaked, "So…uh…the next time…we have a meeting…there…uh…might be a lot to talk about…"

He put his hand over the faucet as it sprayed water in the air. What did he even need water for? The hissing was loud enough, so maybe he misheard her? "What?" He demanded.

She teared up, "I'm sorry…"

He turned back to the sink, getting underneath the counter and grabbing a sopping towel. "Here." He put it in her hand, "Plug up the sink, I gotta go turn the water off." He headed for the basement.

Her arms shuddered as he left the room. She watched the faucet have its little episode, almost empathizing with it. Why did she feel like that sink in so many different ways right now? Her entire life was just falling apart at the seams. She didn't even know who she was anymore, compared to who she was during LaCroix's early days, and perhaps even before that. Where was she headed? What was her standing with the Anarchs? She felt nothing but bitter and sad. One could say she had felt this for a long time since LaCroix's death, but now there was nothing to hide behind. There were no Lafayette distractions or Victor's assassination to filter it out. It was just them now. They had to deal with each other, even though the Anarch movement had split in two at this point. What was she to do?

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, stuffing the towel into the faucet to block any more water from coming out.

There was a minute or two where she pondered if Skelter had been eaten by basement spiders, before the water suddenly stopped, and he came clambering up the stairs, "I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you over that damn water." He took the towel from her and draped it over the counter, "What's up?"

"…I tried to kill Killian…"

"You did?" He asked, his eyes hardening, "He lived?"

She nodded, "Damsel stopped me."

"Goddamn. What the hell for?" He snapped, "Damn bitch…" He sat at the creaky wooden table.

"I know why…" She said, "She was just looking out for him…" She sat next to him.

He sighed, "I'll get him. It's not like he can live now, he's gonna try an' run away or something."

"It's okay…we were just…trapped in a closet…for like…an hour…and he wouldn't leave me alone…"

"Did he…" He trailed off.

"No. No, he just…yelled at me for not forgiving him…"

"The hell…? Now, where does he get off? That son of a bitch." He got up and started pacing, "I gotta kill him."

"If you try, you'll end up like me." She said.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know…" She said, "Someone stopped me." She said, "That's why I think it's gonna be awkward the next time we all see each other again."

"It probably is. I doubt he'll be there."

She nodded, tears went down her cheeks, then she started sobbing softly in her hands.

He stood up and gently took her hand, pulling her out of her chair to hug her, "Hey, it's alright. No reason to be upset. We'll deal with him. He isn't gonna be a problem anymore."

"He…he spend the whole time…questioning me…I…I didn't know what to say…he…he said he wasn't interested in me that way anymore…..but he kept bringing you up. He's clearly jealous…"

"Either jealous or terrified. I keep getting inches away from killing the bastard but he gets away last minute."

She squeezed him, "I…I just feel so…so awful all the time…when he's around…I hate it…I want to be me again…"

"I'll get rid of him. He won't be on your mind anymore." He gently pet her hair.

"I don't…I don't owe him anything…" She shuddered, "I don't owe him anything…"

"No, you don't. You don't owe him anything." He said, a bit concerned for her, "Why don't we go sit down somewhere?"

"Okay…" She sniffed.

He led her into the living room, sitting on the couch, "Actually…I might get changed. You kinda got wet too, want me to get you something to change into?"

"If you have something…"

"Yeah, I'll be right back." He said, running up the rickety stairs. He came back in less than five minutes, changed, and holding a pile of clothes for her, "Here. If you don't like it, you can go dig around in my stuff upstairs, I don't care."

"Maybe I'll just stay in this…" She buried her face back into her hands, taking her moccasins off.

He sat next to her and laid the clothes on the table, hugging her, "Hey, it's alright. Don't let him get to you like this, you're stronger than that."

"He doesn't make me feel strong…"

"I know. But you are. Hell, you could down an entire skyscraper if you put your mind to it. He's just…some dick who's pissed off that he could get his hands on you."

"He just…bullied me into forgiving him…for…minutes on end…"

"You don't have to forgive him. Ever. You shouldn't. The kinda shit he did doesn't deserve forgiveness."

"You really think so?"

"Of course."

"Damn it…he really got into my head…" She cried, "He just…made me question us a few times…I don't know. I know that you're better than him…but he just doesn't get it…" She sniffed, "Fuck, I'm so gullible…believing everything he said…I used to make fun of Cadmus all the time for not trusting people enough…I guess I have the opposite problem…"

"Hey, it's alright." He pet her hair again, "No one's perfect. Some of us can't trust anyone. I'm…kinda like that, in case you hadn't noticed. But…then there are people like you, who'd extend an arm out to anyone. That can be great for making alliances and keeping friends but…not so great with things like this. It's nothing you can change about yourself, it's just who you are. But it isn't something bad. You're way better at getting to people than I am."

There was a pause, "Will…will you always be there for me?"

"Of course." He said without hesitation, "Where else will I go?"

"I don't know…" She sniffed, "It just…feels so lonely…without the other Anarchs…"

"What do you mean?"

"I already know Nines is going to defend Killian until the sun comes up…"

"He probably will. But that doesn't mean we can't kill him." He took her shoulders, "Look, 'Stasia, I'm gonna kill him. Whether or not Nines gets pissy about it, whatever, I'm doing it. He wants to fight about it, I'll handle it. You don't have to worry about anything."

"But what if someone kills you over it?" She asked, "I don't want to lose you…"

"They won't."

"Okay…just…just please be safe…alright?"

"I will." He kissed her, "Anything for you."

* * *

"Do you hear that?" Catalina asked, pausing at the middle of the sidewalk.

Cissy crossed her arms, "Hmm?"

Catalina crouched down and took a few steps forward, "I think…this is the entrance to Chinatown…but…those are shovelheads…" She said, using Auspex to see through the walls.

"Uh…okay…" Cissy was not catching on at all.

"What are shovelheads doing in Chinatown?" She wondered.

"Uh…are they not supposed to be there?"

"No…they belong to the…oh crap…" She backed away, it was like Catalina was watching a movie that Cissy couldn't even see, "That big guy came back…the Kuei-Jin who lights himself on fire…he's killing all the shovelheads!"

"Look, let's just get out of here." She hissed.

"The Sabbat and the Kuei-Jin are fighting…for Chinatown…" She said, "Maybe we should just leave…"

"Good idea." Cissy said dryly, tugging Catalina along.

"Going somewhere?" A familiar voice asked, as a howling black wind came. Tsubasa slashed their joined arms apart, and the two Anarch Kindred fell away from each other.

"You." Catalina glared, drawing a sword of her own and running her hand along the flat side, coating it in poison.

"You're going to miss the show. Jun's about to take our city back from those dirty Sabbat!" Tsubasa laughed, clashing with Catalina.

Cissy sent a horde of birds after Tsubasa so Catalina could get a few hits in.

Tsubasa growled, "What the hell?" She swatted at the birds.

Catalina smiled, stabbing her in the chest with her poisoned sword. Tsubasa made a choking sound, writhing in agony, "No…Assamite…poison…you damn tiger…there's only room for one of us in this city…" She flashed towards Catalina, but with so much poison in her veins, her aim was terrible, and her stance was off.

Cissy stepped back, taking Catalina's hand, "Do you wanna just go?"

Catalina squeezed Cissy's hand, but it was for vengeance. Cissy knew how much the woman humiliated Catalina during the Phantom's Mask. Humiliated both of them at the Phantom's Mask really.

She took a deep breath, a Kindred with weaker humanity would have given into their beast, and sliced the Kuei-Jin's head off. But Catalina nodded, "Yes, let's go."

They ran off, back towards downtown, taking a cab, "Should we tell someone?" Cissy asked.

Catalina made herself comfortable in the back seat, "Tell someone what?"

"That the Kuei-Jin and Sabbat are…you know. Fighting."

"I could let Nines know." She said, "It's an interesting development, that's for sure…"

"Yeah, maybe we could take it."

"Take what? Chinatown?"

"Yeah."

"Hmm…maybe, that's not a bad idea. I never thought about that. As like a backup base or something…"

"Yeah. I dunno, we'd have to make sure it was safe, first."

"You're right." She said, "I can't believe you didn't finish a Kuei-Jin off…the Ravnos typically hate them more than any of the other clans…"

"I dunno…I never…had a big issue with them. She was a bitch to me, kept calling me a clown, but…I mean, you're more skilled than I am. I didn't want to fuck it up."

"But you were great." She smiled, "We could make a really great team. If you want help training, I could help you…it just might be hard, because none of our Disciplines are the same."

She giggled, "That's why I like sticking around you so much. I dunno, I feel safe. I feel like this whole…you know, everything, it's too dangerous to be in alone."

"That's true…that's why I came here with Akeem."

"Where did he go again?"

"I…don't remember where…somewhere in the Middle East…I'm sure…"

"Jeez…that's pretty far, huh…?" She said, "You worried about him?"

She shrugged, "A little…" She said, "Not really…he's like…four-hundred…"

"Isn't he your sire?"

"My sire? No…no, no…" She laughed nervously, "I would be insanely powerful…if that were the case…"

They got out of the taxi and Catalina paid before they started walking back to their apartment, "Then who is your sire?"

"Uh…just…a person…" She said, shutting the door behind herself once they both were inside the apartment.

"A person, huh?" Cissy smirked.

"Uh-huh." She said. Cissy had never seen her looked so frazzled before, it was most likely because of all the personal questions.

She sat on the couch, "A boy person?"

She gave a small nod from the doorway.

"Aw…a friendly boy person?"

"I mean…technically…"

She giggled, "Boyfriend?"

She sighed, "Ex-husband."

"Oh, shit…" Cissy's eyes widened, "You were married? How old were you?"

"Twenty-two?"

"Jeez…" She said, "I'm…I'm sorry, Cat…is he dead?"

"No…but…I plan on changing that…"

"You didn't have kids, did you?"

She shook her head.

"Okay, good…jeez, that'd be horrible for them…"

She sighed, taking a seat on the couch next to Cissy, "He was nice to me. Hell, he was perfect…jeez…it wasn't…that sort of a…bad…or abusive marriage…but…I was about to graduate out of college…I was finally ready to build my own future and get myself a good career path. Then he turned me into this."

"Like…how?" She asked, "Was it like…accidental? Or did he just, turn you cause he could?"

"He wanted to be with me forever…he didn't want me to die." She said, slowly growing bitter, "He didn't care about _my_ life, what _I_ wanted. _My_ family, what I had to leave behind in becoming a vampire." She said, "He just…turned me, and thought I'd be okay with it…" She said, "He explained to me what I was, and I told him I wanted a divorce. We went our separate ways after that." She said, "Which was a mistake, I should've killed him right then and there…"

"I'll help you."

"Help me…kill him?"

"Yeah. First we gotta find him, but I could probably do that if I got a computer and you gave me some information."

"Uh…r-right…" She said, surprised at her enthusiasm, "I would love that. Akeem always blew it off until later, said that he would meet his death from the elders later. Because he's supposedly an embarrassment to the Assamites…"

She snickered, "Good. Yeah, I'll help you find him, gladly."

"And if you distract and I go in for the poison kill, then we're good as gold."

"Yup." She smiled, "I'd like that. It'd be fun."

She smiled back, "Thank you."

"I really just…don't know what I'd do without you. And it sounds super cheesy, but…it's true."

"I like your company too, Cissy."

Cissy smiled, crossing her legs, "So you're straight as an arrow."

She gave a small nod, "That's also why my…stance on love…is as…depressing…as you as say…as it is." She said, "Because after that, I'm not sure if it's real."

"I could show you."

"Cissy…" She said, "You're…just…such a departure…from my ex-husband…" She said, "Also, I don't have an eight-inch package…in case you didn't notice…"

Cissy laughed, "Okay, Cat, hear me out. Love doesn't pick and choose genders. It has nothing to do with it. The only thing that gender has a say in is sex, and…I wouldn't want to do that early on anyway. I honestly think there's something between us already, I don't want to just give it up."

She insecurely looked at the ground, "I thought you liked Killian…"

"I want to fuck Killian. I don't like him. He's an ass. But that sort of stuff I can take care of myself. I wouldn't pounce on you or anything. I'm not an animal."

She crossed her arms, "You said that before though…the Killian part, at least…"

"Well, cause it's true. Look, I know I grabbed you…I dunno, I was just kinda screwing around. I'm sorry if I offended you, sometimes I just…get really bored, cooped up in here."

"I still don't know…we're very different. You like to go a-hundred miles per hour with these types of things…I go like…two…"

"I can take it slow. I can take it slow for people I care about."

She smiled, "Okay…" She said, "I have one more request…"

"Uh huh?" Cissy sat up, looking like a dog who was just asked if they want to go on a walk.

"I don't want the other Anarchs to know that there's anything between us. Yet."

"Easy peasy. I'll keep 'flirting' with Killian."

"You probably don't need to do that."

She giggled, "Alright, I'll keep quiet. We'll take things at your pace, m'kay? If you wanna hold hands, great. You instigate it. You wanna hug? You hug me. You wanna kiss? Fine, you kiss me. I want you to be the instigator. I don't want to push your buttons."

"I feel like that isn't fair to you…"

"It's totally fair. I'll remember stuff you did to me and use it on you only when you're ready."

"Okay…" She played with the fabric of her skirt, "So can we hug?"

"Yeah." Cissy smiled and held her arms out, "If you want, I'll give back all the stuff I stole from you…"

She froze, a wicked expression on her face, and a crazed smile, "You stole from me…?"

"…yeah…?"

"What…"

"Clothes…jewelry…"

She wilted, sighing, "Cissy…"

"I'll give it back. I just stashed it to wear when you weren't looking."

"Right…I should probably hug you before I change my mind…"

Cissy giggled and squeezed Catalina, "We'll make him pay."

She hugged her back, "Uh-huh…I sure hope so…"

* * *

"Hey." Damsel smiled as soon as Anastasia walked into her apartment, "Want something to drink?"

"Look." Anastasia crossed her arms, "I know what this is about."

"I know." She shrunk onto her couch, looking pretty scared of Anastasia, really, "I just…I just want you to be careful."

"Careful?"

"I don't think it's a good idea to kill him. And it's not cause…like…anything…whatever happened. It's because he's an Anarch. We'll look like we're open to chaos if the Cam or Sabbat hear we're killing each other."

"I guess…" She muttered bitterly, heading sitting on the couch, "I'm just so glad we're letting molesters into the Anarch movement…"

"I know…" Damsel sighed, "Maybe we can have him exported."

"That sounds like a peaceful alternative."

"That's what I think we should do. I mean, I completely get why you're upset. God, if I were you, I'd do the same, if not worse, but I'd get in huge trouble. I'd probably get kicked out, cause Nines can be a little picky about that." She looked back up at Anastasia, "I'm just looking out for you. I'll talk Nines into moving him to another movement. Maybe he can work for Cash or something, I think he's still nearby."

She nodded, "Trust me…you'd want to kill him too…after being in there with him for an hour…"

"I'm so sorry, I would have come much earlier if I knew."

"It's alright…I think I overreacted…"

"You definitely did not. Trust me." Damsel put a hand on her arm, "I'm here if you ever need to vent."

She sighed, "I'm sorry I was so grumpy…"

"No, it's fine, sweetheart. Trust me. I get it."

"I just know that I'm gonna get grilled at the next meeting…"

"You won't get grilled. Nines has no room to grill you at all."

"I know…but…the next meeting is gonna be heavy…I'm so not ready for it…"

"I'll be there. And so will Skelter. Did you talk to him yet?"

She nodded, "He brought me back to Earth, at least."

"Look, most of the meeting is going to be focused on Jyhad. No one really cares about Killian's wellbeing enough to make a big deal about it."

She nodded, giving a relieved sigh, "You're right…"

"So, _now_ do you want that drink?"

"Sure." She smiled.

Damsel got up and poured her a mug of blood, handing it to her, "How are you two? Skelter?"

"We're good." She said, "Very good." She said, "Maybe even better than ever."

"Really?" Damsel smiled, "Aw…you two gonna get married?" She teased.

"Pfft, not anything like that…" She said, "I don't know…I'm just happy with him…"

"That's so cute…I don't know how you gave him a heart, but it's adorable. I've never seen him care about anything like that before."

She chuckled, "It was a lot of hard work, but it's worth it in the end."

"Hmm…maybe I have a shot then. With Nines, I mean. God, no, not with Skelter. I couldn't handle him."

She crossed her arms, her sassy smile still on her face, "I thought you were done with Nines…"

"We are done. I guess. I don't even know. It's so fucked up. We're like, on and off, like some kinda broken lamp. He'll call and show up at my place and…you know…we'll fool around…then he'll leave. Next night we'll get in a big argument about nothing…night after that we'll be making out in the storage closet. I don't know anymore."

She started laughing, "I'm sorry…this shouldn't be something to laugh at…"

"It shouldn't…" She grumbled, crossing her arms and sinking into the couch. "Any time he's away, I just feel like there's something there. And then face to face, I'm just…" She shuddered, "I don't know. I don't want to be near him."

"You prefer admiring him from afar?"

"In my head, yeah."

"Hmm…it doesn't surprise me…he seems to be the type to have a nonchalant relationship…"

"I don't think he gets that it offends me. Guess I'm not good enough for something serious."

"I mean…I thought you broke it up…"

"I did…" She rested her head on a fist that was leaning against the arm of the couch, "I thought we would end it. Then he called and started showing up to talk. Talking turned to touching and…yeah, you get it."

"Hmm…so dirty…" She smiled, "Never really pictured you that way, Damsel."

She crossed her arms insecurely, "He instigates it. I just…follow along…"

"Uh-huh…"

"Don't give me that look!" She spat out, "I don't like it. The kissing isn't bad. He's good at that. That's all I like."

"Well, that's good."

"Other than that he kinda handles me like a piece of meat…and the hair…"

"Yes, the hair. You told me how lovely it was."

"I don't need to tell you for you to know about it. Ugh…" She shuddered.

"You have a point there."

"He never takes his shirt off at least…but…" She sighed, "I don't know." She waited a beat, "The muscles are nice at least."

She snickered, "It sounds like you're a restaurant critique…"

"Feels like it." She muttered, "Guess that's the nice thing with Anarch guys." She crossed her legs, "All brawl and no brains kinda pays off when the lights are off."

"I mean…there's…" She paused, trying to think of a brainy Anarch, "Maybe this is just the wrong state for that…"

She laughed, "Maybe you're right!" She kept laughing.

"I mean…Sirius…in a …creepy…sneaky bastard sort of way…"

"Mmm…yeah, good point." She shuddered, "Ugh, he reminds me of why I can't handle snakes…"

"Yeah, he's the perfect embodiment of it…" She said, "Did you ever end up spying on him?"

"Not really. I've been doing a lot of shit with stock."

She nodded, "Was it something you wanted to do?"

She sighed, "I'm not sure it's really worth it anymore."

"Maybe not, I feel like he would have done something by now…"

"Me too." She said, letting a small silence fill the air, "Guess I'll let you go back to Skelter."

"Alright." She said, "Let me know if you want to hang out again. Sorry for losing it."

"Hey, it's no problem. I'll see you again, soon, okay?"

"Alright, later Damsel."

* * *

 **A/N:** Now that Anastasia's soaked in everything from the little talk, I wonder what Killian must be thinking…thanks for reading!


	91. Chapter 91

**A/N:** Here's chapter ninety-one! Some very important discussions, overdue conversations, and frightening encounters…enjoy! (also it's prolly one of chopperlover14's favs)

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs.

* * *

The red lighting in Confessions made Killian's pale cheeks look even more unearthly than usual. "Thanks for coming out here." He muttered to maybe one of the only people he could trust.

"You picked a risky venue." Sirius said, "Way too far away from the Last Round, one of us could get nuked by a Tremere." He smiled, "So what'd ya need me for?"

"I got locked in the storage closet with Anastasia the other night."

His eye widened, "Damn…son…"

"Needless to say…" He sat back and took a sip from his drink, "I was an inch from being dust before Damsel found the key and got us out."

"No way…" He chuckled, "She tried to kill you?"

"Ripped me open and pulled have my innards out. God, I wanted to die. I wanted to die so bad, but Damsel pulled me back together."

"What the hell even happened?"

"I was an idiot. I thought if I brought it up I could…put it behind us. She was _not_ ready."

"Brought up what?"

"Oh…guess I didn't tell you about Chinatown…" He leaned back in his seat.

"Chinatown?"

He sighed, "We were on a mission to get rid of Ming-Xiao, she was like the Kuei-Jin LaCroix. There was a bunch of us there, which…kinda made it worse." He hunched over, resting his elbows on the table, "I lost my shit. I can't even remember why. The whole thing is hazy to me, like I was drunk er something. I know I picked her up, started calling her mine, I might have kissed her. And this was way after we went our separate ways."

"Ouch."

"Yeah. I practically molested her. So that's why she _really_ hates me as much as she does."

"So what happened in the storage closet? You two were locked in?"

"Yeah, I tipped the door shut and locked us in. It was just talking at first…I mentioned suicide a lot and…yeah, she offered to help me out."

"Jeez…that's some dark shit…"

"I don't know what the hell to do." The look in his eye was wild and panicked, "I need to get out of the state."

"Wait, wait, wait, there's no reason for you to leave, what the hell are you bugging out about?"

"She's gonna kill me. And if she doesn't, he will." He finished his glass.

"Who? Skelter?"

"Yeah, he's been after me for months. Trapped me in his basement once and beat the shit out of me. Tied me to a chair and hit me with lead pipes and two-by-fours…"

"Come on, Nines will vouch for ya, won't he? Hell, I will." He said, "It's just that…they kinda hate _me_ just as much as they hate you…"

"Maybe we should move together. Where the hell do you even live, anyway?"

"Classified."

He snickered, "In California?"

He nodded, "I like it. It's a nice house. I don't exactly feel like moving anywhere."

"Is it near the coast or near another state?"

"Listen kid, the solution isn't to leave or run away. We can fix this. Kindred can forgive and forget…I think…"

"How?"

"I don't know, it takes time. You can't just expect Anastasia or whoever to be all happy again just like that, like she's some kinda soufflé in the oven and all the anger's gonna be _baked_ out in thirty minutes. When did this Chinatown thing happen, anyway?"

"Same time LaCroix died, give or take a few days."

"Few months ago then…damn…then it could still be fresh for her, you know?" He said, "That shit could take _years_ to phase out."

"And you say there's a way I can wait this out without leaving?"

"Uh…maybe…I don't know…shit…if you leave, I don't know what the hell I'm gonna do. Everything else thinks I'm some kinda scumbag traitor…"

"Especially cause you generally get along with me."

"I don't know, I think Nines will have your back. Ain't that all the matters when it comes to this?"

"I think they're getting pretty sick and tired of Nines's shit."

"But he's in charge."

Killian sighed, "It's messy. He's kinda in charge…but if he's vastly outnumbered, he's gonna give in."

"What if I side with Nines, huh?" He smiled, "Then it's the two oldest Anarchs in the building."

"Maybe there's a good chance then. If there's not, I'm outta there. I'll see if I can…sell some of my art shit and buy a plane ticket to Canada."

"Eh…I'd be careful up in Canada…big Sabbat cesspool there." He said, "Caitiff, Methuselahs running around, ancient sorcery…it ain't Jyhad free, that's for sure." He laughed.

"It's Anastasia-free."

He chuckled, "I'm sure she's cooled off by now, hopefully. She seems like a pretty chill and laid-back person."

"Yeah, until I'm around. She literally told me she can't be herself when she sees me."

"I mean, given what you did, I could buy it."

"I know…" He held his forehead, "I don't even know why the hell I did it! I'm not a…a rapist…that's just disgusting…I am to her, though…shit, this fucking blows…"

"Time's the only thing you got, man. But running away doesn't count. Look, kid, you can leave if you want. I can't stop you, it'd be wrong of me to. But…if you _ever_ want to be friends with her again, you can't turn your back on her."

He stared at the table and shook his head, "There's gotta be something in there somewhere. I think I still fucking like her. I can't believe it."

"Love can be fucked up that way. Took me damn near a-hundred broads until I got it right."

Killian briefly eyed the ring before he cracked a smile, "Nice."

He smiled back for a moment or two, then he looked more serious, "Look, some of us want you here. Some of us don't. I'm not gonna lie and say that it's _easy_ , winning everyone's trust back…but, it sounds like it's what you want."

"That'd be great. I'd love to get shit done around here without people getting distracted because of me."

"That's be nice, it's starting to affect our work."

"It really is." He sighed, mashing his head into his hand, "And it's all my fault…"

"Eh, don't beat yourself up over it, kid. Shit happens."

He nodded wearily, "A few years…alright…it should be easy…"

"So I'm your dad's new master."

"Huh?" Killian looked up.

"He's my ghoul now." He said, "And I have to keep ghouling his little whores too. It's pissing me off, to be honest."

"Seriously?" Killian leaned in, "Then…you can kill him, easy. Lace his next blood bag with poison."

"I thought you wanted to kill him."

He sighed, "I do. But, I mean…it'd be a lot easier if you did it."

"It would. It'd be fun too. I'd just need an explanation to Lafayette as to why his best ghoul suddenly died."

"Mmm…yeah…" He sighed, "Damn, he's making you ghoul his whores?"

"There's one I nearly know by name at this point…but…jeez…lucky my generation is so low…" He said, "But seriously, you want me to kill this bastard for what he did to VV, you say the word."

He sighed, very torn, "Part of me wants to kill him myself. But that's going to take forever, and I'm gonna wimp out."

"It's your call, man. I ain't taking your kill."

"I'll…I'll do it." He decided quietly, still having a staring contest with the tabletop.

He smiled, "Nice, that's what I like to hear…"

"Guess I'll head out then. I'm gonna tip that girl at the bar for the drink. Turns out the Bloody Marys are actually…blood."

"Is that right?" He asked, "Huh, nice."

He pulled some money from his wallet, "Thanks for the talk, man. I needed that."

"Hey, no problem. You run into some shit again, I'll be here to talk."

* * *

"It's nice to be able to see you all again," Tess said, "I thought it had been too long." Her and her two companions were in a small coffee shop, not many people there this late at night.

"This was a foolish rendezvous." Dragomir mused. "Location, at least."

"Well…" She shrugged, "I think we'll be fine."

"What's wrong with it?" Slade asked, "I like it."

"We don't eat." He crossed his arms, "We're loitering."

"It's not like we're causing a disruption." Tess said, "It's fine."

"Besides…couldn't you just use Dementation on anyone who _really_ bothered us?" Slade smiled.

"I could. But I don't like playing with the pawns, they're nothing but a burden." He adjusted his glasses.

Tess tapped her fingers on the table, "Well, how have you both been?"

"I've been fine." Slade said, "Trying to fill April in on all this Kindred stuff…"

"How is she taking it?" Tess asked.

"Fine…at least when her sister and the Brujah Primogen aren't breaking into my room…"

She raised a brow, "Hmm?"

"The reason we went to Madame Vaska's castle in the first place is cause she can Dominate people easier than anyone I've ever seen." He said, "He can use Prospero like a remote control, like that." He snapped his fingers.

"Are Prospero and April's sister together?"

He nodded, "So needless to say, she's not taking it very well…"

"I can imagine…"

"Such a small world…April's sister was right here with us this whole time?" Dragomir asked.

"I don't know how long she was with the Brujah Primogen…but…yeah…I guess it is a small world…" Slade said.

"What have you been up to?" Tess asked Dragomir.

"Various adventures." He mused, "None of which I'm able to recount. Highly classified."

She gave a little nod, having no clue really what that meant.

"And what about you?" Dragomir asked, "You're still alone."

"…yes. Well, I…have someone in mind I'm going to call but…we'll see."

"Ash?" Slade guessed.

"No…god, no." She chuckled softly, "He's all the way up in Canada."

"Right." He said, "He probably didn't take the news of VV's death well."

"I'm not sure." She said, "I haven't seen him since we freed him in the Society of Leopold's base."

"Killian wasn't too happy either." He said, "Then again, it was basically his fault." He clenched his fists, "I'm gonna kill him one day, I swear to god…I almost did at the Phantom's Mask…he's gonna pay…"

"That yellow monkey's being hunted by the other apes as well." Dragomir said, "He shouldn't be much of a pest as long as he's this distracted."

"Well, that's good news. Enough though I only understand about half of it." He said, "Maybe all these stupid Anarchs will gone soon, same with the Sabbat."

Tess sat back, "I can see the defeat of the Anarchs sooner than the Sabbat."

"Maybe, but I feel like we all thought that during LaCroix's age too."

"That's a good point. They are quite resilient…" She mused, "Maybe if they keep hiding out, the Sabbat will fall first."

"And then we'll find out that Lafayette had a childe."

Dragomir laughed, "Oh boy, that's rich."

"It's weird…they have completely different fighting styles. Lafayette has no issues with running up to you and turning you into fleshy goo."

"Yes, Lafayette seems to embrace his beast more than his father."

He nodded, then he looked outside, "Shit…I should probably get back to April."

"Very well. Let's be off then." Dragomir stood up and left a tip for the café anyway.

They were greeted with piles of dead bodies once they left the café, Lafayette turned away from his fresh murder, "Ah, I was just on a supply run…"

"Shit…" Slade said.

"Let's just run." Tess said lowly.

Lafayette laughed, "Marvelous! You pointless sacks of flesh are petrified of me! Yes, run back to your pointless Camarilla, this city will soon be ours!"

Slade drew his swords, speeding at Lafayette and shredding through him.

With his hide so thick, Lafayette only sustained minor injuries. He tossed his leather jacket off, "Is this the part where you three oafs don your super hero capes and attempt to lecture me on my _evil_ behavior?"

Tess drew her own blade, while Dragomir peered around. With so many people out in the streets, it was too risky for him to pull a stunt with any of his disciplines.

Lafayette sent out a flock of bats to deal with Slade, then he ran at Tess, his hands glowing red with Vicissitude, "It appears we reunite at last, my dear Toreador."

She backed away, then yelped as she was pushed aside by a burly figure. Dragomir stood in her place, lighting his fist up with Potence to crack Lafayette in the face.

Lafayette caught him with his claw, his arm, though quite large and well-defined, was no match for Dragomir's Potence, so it was clear that Lafayette was in pain. "You're new…" He smiled.

"Aye." He tried to pull away from Lafayette's grasp with a kick to the chest.

Lafayette fell back, then he was slashed by Slade from behind. He growled and sent more bats at Slade, "That one will be out of blood soon…"

Dragomir growled, "Slade, take Tess and go. I'll hold this one off."

Slade gave a quick nod, covered in bite marks and scars, he dashed off with Tess. The left Lafayette to grin at Dragomir, "How interesting…your vitae does smell much stronger than theirs…" His grin grew, "And yet the three of you are all so young…"

Dragomir edged forward with Celerity to match his Potence to punch him in the side of the head. Lafayette flew back, holding his head briefly in pain. All in all, he only moved back a few feet, he seemed harder to budge than even _Gideon_.

Dragomir growled, edging back out of the way. Maybe a retreat for him was in order as well.

Lafayette clenched his fists, changing his form as the sound of his bones snapping and readjusting could be heard. That last time Dragomir saw this form was in Hallowbrook Hotel. Once Lafayette achieved Zulo form, he roared and charged for Dragomir. He dashed out of the way, then used his Celerity to try and make a speedy escape.

Dragomir heard Lafayette stop and scream in pain, he began to throw up blood against his will. Victor held a hand out once more, blasting the Tzimisce with a large amount of bright orange fire. Lafayette roared in pain, skidding off into the distance.

"Damn…" Victor said, "He always escapes on me…"

Dragomir caught his breath, "Flames…you know flames…"

"Yes, were you not aware of that?" He smiled, "I suppose it has been some time since we've last seen each other."

"It has…" Dragomir walked closer, "Thank you for the save."

"It was no problem. It will only be a matter of time until he is dealt with." He said, "I almost had him at the Phantom's Mask."

"I can imagine. Those flames are quite lethal, but a secret worth keeping."

"Oh, I'm no novice when it comes to those sorts of things. We are the clan of secrets, after all."

"That's right. I suppose we should leave before the red and blue sirens come."

"Yes, they'll be here quite shortly, won't they? Good evening, childe of Malkav."

* * *

It was rare to see Therese on the first floor of the Asylum, Gottfried decided. She didn't look like she belonged. Her arms were crossed and her nerves seemed generally frayed, "I don't know how anyone is supposed to think with all this noise…"

"Neither do I, to be honest." Gottfried smiled.

"I should really turn it down. Jeanette might not like the idea, but…" She shook her head, "I can feel the walls shaking."

He chuckled, "Then you can turn it down, or go upstairs."

There was a long pause before she decided to speak again, "Perhaps I'll go upstairs. If you wouldn't mind."

"Of course not."

She nodded, heading upstairs. The next few tedious hours rolled by before Gottfried head upstairs to get his pay from Therese.

She had just hung up the phone when he arrived, smiling as he walked in, "Thank you."

"You're welcome." He said, "Pleasure doing business with you."

"Have you seen Jeanette since you started working again?" She asked.

"I have."

"How has she been?"

"She's better. Now that you two get along again."

"Again, I apologize for that…it was hasty of me…"

"Water under the bridge now." He said, then he smiled, "To think, someone as insignificant as me could break up two of the most powerful figures in Santa Monica."

She chuckled softly, "You're certainly not…insignificant, by any means."

"I noticed that rather quickly, given the lengths you two went through when you thought I was leaving."

"Well, things have been a lot safer since you've started working for me."

"I think it's just coincidence." He said, "But if I can make you feel more comfortable, then I'm all for it."

"Yes, you…really do make a difference, I think."

He took a step or two closer, "I'd like to make _more_ of a difference, if you know what I mean."

She brushed some of her hair out of her face, "I….uh…" She cleared her throat, "I'm afraid I don't understand what you're asking." She took half a step back.

He was only half-surprised by her reaction. Honestly, what was he expecting, trying to be so bold in front of Therese? It was too late now, he needed to act on his suspicions, "Look, Therese…Jeanette told me that you and her have…favorable opinions of me…let's call it. I didn't believe it at first, she likes to lie and trick people, but, then I walked out on the Asylum, the bodyguard duties. And then I saw how much of a toll it took on you both. So I concluded that she wasn't lying."

"…of course I have a favorable opinion of you." She said, "I understand it might seem confusing at first, due to my previous decisions but…I was acting on fear, not logic. Having you here, no less the fact that you can manage to put up with Jeanette, it leads me to believe you're one of the only Kindred I can trust."

No, she didn't get the message. "Therese."

"…yes?"

"Courtship."

"…courtship?" She asked slowly, still seeming, or at least feigning confusion, "You…can't…you can't mean…"

"I do. You can deny it just like I did when Jeanette told me, but the proof will come sniffing around sooner or later."

She crossed her arms and looked away, "It's foolish for Kindred."

"It may very well be. That doesn't change how you feel."

She looked back towards him again, "You're right." She met his gaze, "I do hope she hasn't put you up to this."

"No." He said, "I brought this up on my own."

She took a few steps back, "You're proposing courtship…?"

"Yes."

She swallowed hard, "It needs to be professional. I have no doubt in my mind it will be an issue for you. In case it is brought up to…a member of the Camarilla, I just…think we need to execute all precaution."

He shrugged, "Very well."

She took a heavy sigh, "Very well indeed. And…please…" She looked back up at him, "Do not tell Jeanette."

"Right…" He nodded, "Of course."

There was a slight pause where she looked down at the floor, before she looked up at him, "You'll have to forgive me…" She gave a nervous smile, "It's been a while."

"Funny how life works." He said, "You looked the most pleased to off me on the trial."

"I know…" She said softly, "I didn't expect this…development."

"Neither did I."

She paused again, before she went to the vanity and opened it, "Here. I wasn't thinking. Your pay." She handed him a check.

"I appreciate it." He smiled.

"Of course." She looked away, "I suppose you could head home now. Thank you again for…everything."

"You're welcome, Therese."

* * *

 **A/N:** Therese probably couldn't think straight because Jeanette was 'squee'ing in her head…Thanks for reading!


	92. Chapter 92

**A/N:** Here's chapter ninety-two! I wonder how well Prospero's working now that he knows he's Vaska's puppet…Enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs.

* * *

"This salad is good, May." April smiled warmly as she sat across from her sister at the table. April had invited her sister and her lover to dinner, despite the fact only the Virgo sisters would be doing any eating.

"You say that about any kind of fruit salad." May said, poking some of her food with a fork.

"…but this is very good." April said.

"Alright. Thank you." May giggled.

"It was always your favorite, wasn't it?" Slade smiled at April.

"I like fruit…" She said quietly, "It's nature's candy."

He snickered, then he laughed, "I remember you saying that too!"

"I have to say, it's nice seeing you smile again." May said fondly.

"It's nice seeing you smile too." April said, "You're usually always crabby."

"…yes, thank you…" May said bitterly.

"I wish I could have some fruit salad…" Slade muttered.

"I'm sorry Slade…" April said softly, "Is there anything we can do? Can you just have one little bite?"

"It's okay…don't worry about it. I'd…probably just make a big mess…"

"I'm sorry…"

May reached under the table to hold Prospero's hand, seeing how mopey he was acting. "Sorry, April, they can't eat at all. They literally don't have the stomachs for it."

"Then…where does the blood go?" She asked.

"I for the life of me have no idea…" Slade said, after a few moments of thought, "Sounds like a question right up Victor's ally. I know we can store the blood…to use our powers and stuff…and to heal faster…and strengthen our muscles…and I know some Kindred hold more blood than others…but…that's about it."

"Hmm…" April dabbed her mouth with a napkin, "That's a little strange…well…I suppose you two should head home, it is kind of late."

"Yeah…" Prospero said quietly, "Got a mission tomorrow night, as soon as the sun sets…I need to get some sleep…"

"Yes, alright." May stood up, "We'll give the love birds some space. See you soon." She tugged Prospero along with her.

"Oh my god…" Slade said, "He looks horrible…"

"He really does…" April said softly, "I wouldn't have invited him if I saw how sad he was…"

"It's cause of the stupid Madame Vaska thing…" He growled, "I should've killed her…one of us could've…if she didn't have Dominate…"

"Maybe you can try again at some point soon."

"Yeah…but we'll just get destroyed." He said, "She'll just control our strongest fighter, then swarm the rest with those weird Blood Brother things…"

"Then get a bunch of equal fighters."

He snickered, "What? You mean, get a bunch of people who are all painfully average?"

"Or, just of equal fighting skill. Maybe they're all really good."

"Hmm…maybe…" He said, "Yeah, maybe we were just blind sighted…"

"I'll try my best to help you…but…I'm not sure how good I'll be…"

He shrugged, "Maybe a fresh set of eyes is what we need."

She sat on the couch next to him and cuddled up beside him, "At least May is okay…"

"For now. Sounded like a demon when I made that call…"

"Yes…she can be like that…hot tempered at first, but…she's also good at calming herself down."

"At least one of them is alright…" He sighed.

"He'll be happy soon. Because you'll help out."

"I…" He sighed, "I don't know how easy it'll be though…she's _really_ old…"

"Well…get some strong people to help out."

"Alright, so I'm out."

"Well, you're fast. So you can run."

"Yeah, I guess." He gave a chuckle, "Speed is the only thing I got going for me…used to be cool back then. Now it…it's kinda sucky…"

"Well, you can still escape, at least."

"Yeah, there's that…" He said, giving her a squeeze, "I'm glad me not being strong doesn't bother you…"

"Why would it bother me?"

"I don't know…I just…I just feel worthless sometimes…sometimes there are people I need to protect…and I completely screw them over…"

"You protect me very well."

"I know…I don't want to lose you too…"

"You won't." She held onto him, her mind running a bit as she thought, "Don't worry."

"Okay." He kissed her forehead, "Thanks."

She rested her head on his shoulder, "Did you want to go to bed?"

He nodded, "That sounds nice." He said, as the two of them got to the bedroom.

She changed into her nightgown again, sitting on the edge of the bed and nibbling on her bottom lip.

"You okay?" He sat next to her.

"Yeah." She said, "There was just…there was something I wanted to talk about."

"Hmm?"

"Um…the other night…when we…um…you know…"

"Yeah?"

"I…uh…." She twiddled her thumbs.

He took one of her hands, giving it a soft squeeze, "What is it?"

"It…hurt…"

His eyes widened, he looked away, at the ground, swallowing hard, "Right…" He slipped his hand out of hers, "April…I'm sorry…"

"No, I'm sorry." She took his hand again, squeezing it, "It wasn't you, it was me…I…I just…I'm sorry…."

"It's not your fault April…" He said, "Not everything is your fault. We talked about this for…years. You can't be so hard on yourself with these kinds of things. You always beat yourself and put others ahead of yourself. Sometimes you need time to care for yourself too."

"I'm sorry…I ruined our first time…" She teared up.

"No, no, you didn't ruin anything, okay?" He squeezed her one hand with both of his, "Don't be sad. People screw up their first times all the time, alright? I rushed it, I had a lot of things on my mind. We're both…still…fairly new…with each other. I mean, I know we went to high school together, but we went our separate ways. We're in a period of relearning April, there's nothing to feel bad about for that, at least not on your end."

She held onto him, "I still love you with all my heart."

"I love you too, April." He hugged her back, "Something like this isn't going to tear us apart."

"Of course not."

He rubbed her back softly, "Feeling a little better?"

"I am. A whole lot." She kissed his cheek.

He smiled, "So…we can go to bed now…if you want. We can try sex again later, if you want, I don't want to rush you."

"Okay…" She cuddled up against him, "That sounds wonderful…"

"Alright, goodnight April, sorry about the other night."

"Goodnight, Slade. I love you." She nuzzled her head under his.

* * *

"We'd better hurry." Prospero said, "The Kuei-Jin might have won the damn city back by now…"

"Sorry, I don't have Celerity." Phaedra said, "I'm slowing both of you down considerably…"

"It's okay, take your time." Poe rubbed the small of her back, squeezing her hand next, he looked at Prospero, "So…what exactly did the Prince say?" He asked timidly.

"There's a rumor that the Sabbat and Kuei-Jin are fighting over Chinatown. He wants us to take it." Prospero said, "I want it to be taken fast and easy, because I'm really not in the damn mood for anything else."

"Right. Well, I'm sure the three of us are more than capable of it." Phaedra smiled, kissing Poe's cheek.

The city looked absolutely wrecked. Shovelheads were trying to defeat Jun and Tsubasa, who brought a considerable number of their own foot soldiers.

"Damn it, more Kindred." Tsubasa said, a howling black wind could be heard as she dashed towards them with her katana.

Poe's gaze hardened as he drew his own golden sword, speeding off and clashing his sword with Tsubasa's. Every attack Tsubasa made, Poe was able to have an answer for it. It was hard to keep up with both the blurs.

"What the hell?" Tsubasa asked, "There's a Kindred that can go as fast as me?"

Prospero gave a small nod, seeing that Tsubasa was occupied, he flared up Potence and Celerity, speeding at Jun and upper cutting him in the jaw.

Jun coughed up blood, taking a step or two back. He immediately lit himself on fire, not even bothering with swords because the self-ignite trick cost much less fuel, and warded away Kindred doubly as easily.

Phaedra took the time to summon a horde of zombies, and then a specter to fly around and interrupt battles. Jun held a hand out, freezing the specter in place. It shattered into pieces once it hit the ground. He then charged at Prospero, who had to play it evasive now that he opponent was on fire.

"Damn…" Phaedra mused, taking out her axe, "Prospero, perhaps this will help?"

Prospero darted over to her, grabbing it, "Thanks." He said, dashing over to Jun. He was slashed in a flurry of strikes. Jun growled and fell back, creating swords of his own to duel with Prospero. Phaedra's zombies meanwhile were at least doing what they could with the infantry.

Phaedra felt rather useless, Jun was too strong for her and her limited powers, while Tsubasa was far too fast for her. She remained focused on the shovelheads, sending zombies after them of all sorts.

"Tsubasa…I need assistance!" Jun said, he was much stronger than Prospero, but Prospero's speedy hits were beginning to add up.

"Yeah? Well I'm busy with this fucker!" Tsubasa yelled, trying to move past Poe, but it proved impossible.

Jun's eyes were beginning to get foggier, lost, confused. Surely, if they were losing their city _this_ many times, it meant something, right? Was their American Empire not meant to be? What would Ming-Xiao think? He coughed up more blood as Prospero hit him, overall the city looked ripe for the taking for the Camarilla.

A gunshot was heard, hitting Jun in the face. The ground trembled as Jun fell to one knee, "You…" He spat.

Sirius laughed, "Hey, here's a good idea, why don't you fucks leave and save your energy!" He said, "Cause this city belongs to the Anarchs now!"

Jun growled with rage like a mad bull, he tried to stand up. As a Kindred, Sirius just did not compute to him, he had no idea what clan he was, he had no idea how any of his powers worked, he just seemed to be invincible. For no reason at all. "I'm not going to let you defeat me!" He growled, running at Sirius with both blades.

Sirius took both hits without even flinching, shooting Jun in the face.

"What the…?" Prospero asked, "Who is this guy?"

"This is a Setite." Phaedra said, "One that has been hunting me for quite a while…"

"So he's not a friend."

Jun trembled in a combination of agony, rage, and hopelessness, "Tsubasa…we're going back to Japan…"

"What?" Tsubasa asked.

"We're leaving America. Our reign is over…" He said.

"But…but what about the orders from the Court?" She asked, "We're supposed to take this country from the east onward!"

"And what has that given us?" He snapped, "You were almost killed by that Tzimisce, and then again you were almost killed by the Assamite!" He yelled, "We need to leave, for our safety."

Tsubasa glared at the four Kindred. It was obvious that she didn't like surrendering or bowing to the western vampires. Then she scoffed, "Fine." She said, and the two Kuei-Jin left.

"Alright, they were smart." Sirius said, aiming a gun at the other three, "Now get out."

"What the hell do you mean, 'get out?' We did all the work!" Prospero growled.

"Don't care."

"What an interesting reason for you assault. You're here on Anarch terms?" Phaedra asked, "I don't think the Sabbat will be happy to hear it."

Sirius narrowed his eye, "Bloodworth? Is that you?" Poe swallowed hard and hid behind Phaedra. He grinned, "Huh…small world, isn't it?"

"Well, the way I see this, it's a pathetic excuse for you and your _Anarchs_ to try and claim a city for their own. Even if you were to succeed, it certainly wouldn't last." Phaedra said.

"Don't you worry about any of that." Sirius said.

"Screw this." Prospero said, dashing towards Sirius and slashing him with the golden axe, laced with Potence.

Nothing happened. Blue lightning crackled around Sirius for a while, but he didn't feel any pain.

"Uh…anyone wanna tell me why he's _invincible_ …?" Prospero looked at Poe and Phaedra.

Sirius smacked him in the temple with the butt of his pistol. If Prospero were human, he would have fainted, but as it were, he merely stumbled back, "Look, I'm trying to be peaceful about this." Sirius said.

"I'm honestly unsure what we should do with him. Unless we burry him alive. Perhaps throw him into the sea. Wait out the sunset?" Phaedra said.

"Shut it, Nagaraja bitch." Sirius hissed, "I would take up my offer and leave now. Just do it. I'll worry about killing you later. Once in a lifetime opportunity."

She looked back and forth between Poe and Prospero.

Prospero coughed, "I mean…he's invincible…damn it…why does this have to happen now?!"

"Jeez…someone's pissed off." Sirius muttered, then he looked at Poe, "What about you, Bloodworth? How's Gottfried doing?" He then smirked at Phaedra, "I think you can do better there, Poe. Much, much better. She Dominating you?"

Phaedra crossed her arms, "Let's go, then."

"That's right, do what I say." Sirius's grin grew, "I grow stronger and stronger every day. And you stay the same, because of whatever bathwater generation you're in." He laughed, "Your days are numbered, you Nagaraja slime, got that? I'm going to fucking kill you! Soon I'll have mastery over Serpentis and you won't even know what _hit_ ya!"

"…invincibility…isn't mastery of Serpentis?" Prospero asked quietly.

"I suppose not." She turned around, as they trio began to walk off, "Regardless, I'm sure the team we send to slay all the Anarchs will be more than enough to ward them away from Chinatown. Let them have their victory for now. Right as they're weak, settling in, we'll attack."

* * *

"You can't say you've never gone clubbing." Cissy said, "Never?"

"Again…my life and my husband…were a…big departure from that…" Catalina said as the pair wandered down the sidewalk.

"It's a blast. I don't know what you'll think, but I know the bartender at Confessions sells blood, so, you wanna try going there?"

"Okay." She gave a small nod.

They kept wandering down the streets, Cissy making idle comments about how nice the weather was, or commenting on outfits she wish she had from people walking by. Finally they made it to Confessions. Something about the lighting made Catalina feel like there was an impending headache on the horizon.

"Okay…wow…" Catalina winced, closing her eyes a few times, and then opening them to adjust, "This is…intense…"

"You think this is intense? Isn't it cool?" She asked with a smile, "Alright, alright, which would you rather do first, dance or drink?"

"Uh…whatever you want…"

"Let's get a drink." She took Catalina to the counter, "Hey. Two Bloody Marys."

The bartender looked at the pair of them, especially Cissy. "You seem familiar."

"Yeah…I get that a lot." Cissy swished some of her hair over her shoulder.

"Mmm hmm…" Venus hummed, mixing their drinks before she poured them out for the pair of Kindred, "Here. Paying this time?"

"Yeah…" She smirked and forked over the cash.

Venus checked over the bills a few times, held them over the light, then put them in the register, "Enjoy your drinks."

Catalina took her drink to one of the farther tables, with Cissy following her, "That bartender knows you almost as well as I do." The former said.

"Yeah…I…took a few drinks without paying." She muttered.

She sighed, taking a sip of her drink, "Holy crap…it is blood…"

"Yup. Bartender is a ghoul."

"I knew it." She said, "I could smell it." She clenched her fists, " _Whose_ ghoul…I wonder…"

"Whoever it was used Dominate on me."

"Wait…" She dropped her glass, it shattered as it hit the ground, "She's _Victor's_ ghoul…"

Cissy cringed, "Now we have to pay for that too…you're paying. Not me."

"I'm not paying this Tremere bitch crap."

"Why?"

"Because she's part of the Tremere…part of the Camarilla…" She snuck a knife out, "I'm going to kill her…"

"Whoa, whoa, chill…" She put a hand on her shoulder, "What will that accomplish? She's not going to kill anyone. Hell, we can get blood from her. She's not helping that Tremere in any way."

"But she's not just any Tremere's…" She seethed, "She's _Victor's_ …"

"Okay, I get it. What's the point of a ghoul? Just for work or money. She's probably just giving him some of the profits for the club, maybe. Just lay off for now, okay? She's not doing any harm."

"You don't understand…he…he ruined so many things about my clan…the stupid Tremere. And he has one of my people's treasures…he just _has_ it. He almost killed me with that grenade Nines had." She said, as a wicked grin appeared on her face, "So I'm going to kill one of his servants…"

She melted into a booth, "But she's so convenient…she serves blood…"

"We can get blood from people…"

"Alright." She threw a hand in the air, "Go ahead, Cat. Nothing I can say will stop you so…might as well."

She got up, able to apply Quietus, but then her eyes widened, "Damn it…where'd she go?"

Cissy peered around, "Huh. She must have traded shifts. Look." She pointed at a young man who came in to get behind the bar and start making drinks.

"Ugh, damn it…" She sat down and crossed her arms.

"Hey, I'm sorry." She said, pushing her drink towards her, "You want it?"

"No…it's okay…I'm sorry for losing it…"

"You didn't lose it. Whatever. It's you."

"It's me?"

"I mean, that's like, what you do. You're always thinking about work and all that stuff. It's cute."

"Uh…" Her jaw more or less fell open, "Thank you…I think?"

"Oh jeez…" Cissy laughed, and, was that a snort? "You crack me up…oh my god…"

"Shut up." She crossed her arms tighter, "I'm just…an assassin…it's not surprising…"

"I know, it's just adorable…"

She sighed, "That reminds me…I tried to put the word out that Chinatown is up for grabs…and Sirius said he'd get it before dawn." She said, "I don't know why he seemed so _obsessed_ with it, but I said 'go ahead.'"

"Any word on how it went?"

"No, he probably just left now."

She sighed, kicking her feet up on the table, "That'd be awesome if we had our own city."

She scooted aside a bit, "I mean, that's the goal. It would be safer than trying to have Isaac run things in Hollywood. It's like the Sabbat's second home, thanks to Killian's father."

Cissy gave another sigh, before she got up, "Let's go dance. I like this song."

"Alright." She got up as well, "Lead the way."

They went out towards the dance floor where Cissy started dancing to the music, getting pretty into it. Catalina had never really been one to dance to this type of music before, but she could at least tell Cissy was pretty darn good at it. Catalina smiled and did what she could to follow her lead, trying to do things Cissy's way and just relax.

"Hey, you're not bad." Cissy said.

"Well…I do have some Spanish blood inside me." She said, "So I know what I'm doing when it comes to dancing."

Cissy had a good laugh, "Yeah, guess that makes sense!" Cissy tried not to gawk over her too obviously.

She chuckled, half-embarrassed, yet half-pleased she was able to even relax in the first place.

"Did you wanna dance together?"

"Sure."

"I'll try my best not to make it too provocative." Cissy winked, getting closer to Catalina and mirroring her movements, maybe with a little more hip motion.

She looked nervous, "A lot of people are staring."

Cissy smiled, "Must mean we look good." She turned back to Catalina, "We can stop if you want."

"Whatever you want."

Cissy just leaned in and hugged her.

She swallowed hard, like before, she hated being watched, nevertheless, she hugged her back.

"Let's head back."

"Alright." She gave her a slight squeeze.

They broke off and headed out to the streets again, back towards their apartment, "How was that? Not too bad, right?"

"No, I liked it."

"We should go out again at some point, then."

"Uh-huh." She smiled.

* * *

 **A/N:** Cissy's honestly surprising herself at this point with her patience…thanks for reading!


	93. Chapter 93

**A/N:** Here's chapter ninety-three! I wonder what the Anarch's response will be to them getting Chinatown…Enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs. There is also a bit of a bang, if you're not a fan, feel free to skim over it.

* * *

She heard a guitar being played throughout the apartment, followed by an incredibly wrong note, then a 'goddamn it!' as Cadmus restarted again. She eventually found Cadmus in his bedroom, playing a slick black electric guitar.

"Sounds good." Angelique chirped as she sat on the edge of the bed.

"Sounds like I haven't played guitar in about twenty years…" He growled, putting it back on its stand, "Which…I guess would be accurate…"

"It's nice you have the time to practice now."

"Pfft…no it isn't…I could be out helping people with the Jyhad…" He said, "Stupid Gideon…what the hell did I ever do to him?"

"I'm sorry I'm not much help…"

"No…you've been a big help." He said, sitting on the bed beside her, "You've been getting me blood and stuff…"

"But he isn't dead."

"I don't expect him to die anytime soon…if ever…" He said, "I guess it isn't Gideon's idea…then…it was probably _Remus's_ …he was salty about losing Santa Monica to Phaedra and I. I'm so glad he's dead…"

"We'll get to the bottom of it. Maybe we won't kill him, but maybe we can run him out of the state."

"Like what they're trying to do with me?" He asked with a smile, "I didn't know I was so famous."

"Of course you are." She smiled back, "Phaedra had a point when she said people look up to you."

"Yeah…I know the real reason she visited…"

"She wasn't doing it out of spite. I don't know why you think she would do that. You always tell me to give her a chance, and then when she does something friendly, you mark it off as harassment."

"Not harassment…just…" He sighed, "I don't know. I feel guilty. When she was being hunted, I was a complete dick to her. I told her it was all in her head…that she was exaggerating…being a baby. To get over it." He closed his eyes, "Now…we switched places."

"At least you have the helicopters. Those things are fun."

He snickered, "I guess they are…" He said, "Jeez…now I know how she feels…" He said, "I'm just a complete asshole to everyone when I first meet them…"

"That's alright…some people are like that. I'm sure you're not alone."

"I guess…" He said, "Reminds me of when we first met…"

"Yeah…" She chuckled, "That was fun."

"Not at the time."

"Definitely not."

"You thought I was going to make you into a slave or something." He said, "I guess you were sort of right."

"I'm not your _slave_. Jeez."

"It was just a joke."

"I know. I just don't want you to ever feel like that."

He nodded, "Sorry if I've been a pain in the ass in here…"

"You haven't. You're acting somewhat rational. The helicopters are extreme but…I like it."

"What do you mean, extreme?" He asked, "Malkavians can't fly."

"I know, but…I mean, they're expensive…"

"It's nothing I can't handle." He crossed his arms, "I…need to be safe…"

"Uh huh. You should play more guitar."

"The last time I played it professionally was when I was alive." He said, "I don't really see much of a point for it now…"

"I like the sound."

He smiled, "Alright, I'll try to do it once every now and then…it just…reminds of when things were simpler…when my sister and I…were actually together…and not…on different sides of a war…"

"Maybe you two should like…get together in secret and do a performance."

"You know, that sounds exactly like something Anastasia would wanna do…" His smile grew, "I mean…it could work…it's not any of the Anarchs _hate_ me. I sort of caused world war three when that Assamite poisoned me…"

"Really? I guess they kind of care about you…hmm…"

He sighed, "Probably means something heavy's gonna happen. I…I just feel it. There's just…like this pressure…you know?"

"I know what you're talking about. I can't feel it as strong as you, but I know what you mean."

"I haven't felt like this since the sarcophagus crap happened. Like…when it was _about_ to be opened…"

"Yeah, you think something really bad is going to happen?"

"I don't know…I don't know who it's going to affect or how bad…but it's gonna be _big_." He said, "Maybe Gideon will die. I wish, that'd be too easy…"

"You never know. Sometimes crazy stuff goes down."

"It does…" He said, taking another deep breath, "So…"

"…yeah?"

"Did you…want to…uh…?"

"Sure."

He smiled and got up, taking his outer trench coat off, "I haven't been driving you crazy with this too, have I?"

"What? No. Of course not."

"Good…because…it's progressively been getting better and better. It's really amazing with you…" He took his clothes off a bit faster, supposedly working himself up just speaking about it.

"You make it sound like…practicing guitar or something. Like it's a skill." She took off her boots and jacket.

"I don't know…I mean…we would bang each other better than if one of us scooped a stranger off the street and had sex with them. It's something that can be improved."

"I guess so." She said, shuddering at his metaphor.

"I know, I'm picturing it too now…my bad…"

She took off her top, then her pants, kissing him to get it off of her mind. He kissed her back, in nothing but his underwear, "So hot…" He rubbed her lower back, kissing her a bit harder. She leaned in towards him and kissed him back, rubbing her hands over his shoulders and arms.

He gave her a light push, getting on top of her on the bed. He kissed her lips, then her jawline, followed by her neck, and he would go back and forth between the three of them. She sighed for a while, rubbing her hands along his lower back to bring him in closer, letting herself gently grind on his abs.

"Need help?" He grabbed her butt, not being at all shy about how hard he gripped it, then he moved her up and down gradually to improve her experience. She moaned and nodded a few times, then slid her panties off, still wearing her bra.

"Feel good?" He squeezed her butt every so often, continuing her grind. She nodded feebly, kissing and biting wherever she could. He continued grinding her out for at least a few minutes, until she started to sound tired, then he realized her from his grip. While she was panting, he stripped her bra off and started gently kissing her breasts.

She closed her eyes and sighed, practically turning to goo beneath him, letting her muscles all go limp. He started rubbing her stomach, eventually it was her lower abdomen, as he continued kissing her breasts, with an increasing amount of force.

She let her loud sighs fill the air, even shaping some of them in the sound of his name as she curled her fingers into his hair. He reached back and pulled his underwear off, starting to hump her inner thighs. He sighed her name right back, but it wasn't long until they were groans.

"M-Master…please…"

He gave a smile and a nod, moving away from her inner thigh to her sex. He made sure to use her real name throughout it all, sometimes they were sighs, but mostly they were groans. Her voice nearly went hoarse after a cry she gave as she reached her climax, but her groans were all but silent as he kept pounding into her.

He squeezed onto her for dear life as he continued his relentless rhythm against her, letting out a lot of stress and anger from being cooped up in one room all day. Her blunt nails dug into his back as she egged him on, letting her chest create a beautiful friction up against his.

He bit his lip and penetrated a little deeper, even after the initial release, before he finally gave it a rest. She panted as she clung onto him, letting her weary eyes close. "Damn…" He said, sounding just as exhausted as her.

"Uh huh…"

"Did you want me to move?"

"No, this is nice…"

He kissed her on the lips for a while, "I love you so much…"

"I love you too, Cadmus."

* * *

"I don't see anything…" Ella said, "I think this mission is a dud…"

"Mmm…" Derek mused, "Likely a trial." He squinted his eyes to gaze around the field, "Did you try Auspex?"

"Yes…like…ten freaking tries…" She muttered, "Why the hell would the Prince send us out in the middle of nowhere like this?"

"Perhaps they were sighted here before, but they fled."

"I guess…" She said, "Still sucks…"

"Mmm…certainly disappointing." He folded his arms, taking the opportunity while she was facing away to look over her.

"Hey!" She said once she turned around, "You're doing that…thing again…"

"What thing?" He raised a brow.

"Ogling."

"Ugh. I can assure you, I was not doing… _that._ "

"You so were."

"I was not. I do not do that, I am not an _ape_."

"Maybe not before you met me."

He rolled his eyes, "You're entirely overreacting."

"Pfft, I wish."

"There was an insect."

"There so was not."

"It's just over there, see?" He pointed to a moth in the distance.

"I'm not even going to entertain your delusion by looking."

He sighed and crossed his arms, "Then what would your response be if I used words? It would be no better."

"What do you mean?"

"If I were to tell you I think you're…simply ravishing. You would likely call me a creep before throwing a shoe in my general vicinity."

"If I had a shoe that would leave a mark…"

"Mmm." He turned to look at her sandals, "I'm sure those would hurt…"

"Tch, whatever…" She said, then her eyes widened, "Crap…I…I know that sound…"

"What sound?" He asked, reaching for his gun in his suit.

A helicopter began to land in front of them. At first, Derek was pleased, being so accustomed at seeing all the Camarilla helicopters do their job efficiently.

This pleasure vanished when hunters got out of the helicopter instead.

"How on earth did they…?" He seemed quite infuriated. Regardless, he put his gun away.

Ella, on the other hand, looked unbelievably happy. "Guys! You guys!" It's me, she ran straight towards the crowd, waving her hands about, "Guys, it's me! Gavin, is that you? It's me, Ella!"

Gavin aimed both his flamethrowers at her, and two streams of fire came her way. She was slightly burned as she dodged the attack, she screamed, falling to the ground.

"What…what are you doing…?" She asked.

"Stay back, Ella." Derek said, "You'll get hurt, they aren't your allies anymore." He held a hand out to use Mass Suicide on them.

Ella gulped, watching as every hunter collapsed on the ground, dead. Aside from Gavin, who had too much Faith to be affected.

"No…you can't…you can't abandon me with these vampires…" Ella tried to crawl towards Gavin, "Please…please save me…save me!" She begged.

Gavin reloaded his flamethrowers, trying to kill Derek with one and Ella with another. Derek tackled Ella to the ground, keeping himself over her in case any of the flames got too close. He took out his revolver and started firing at Gavin, but it was clear he was no ace shot.

It was hard to tell if any of the bullets even made a dent in Gavin with all of his heavy coats on. He chased after them, continuing to burn through tank after tank of fuel.

Derek pulled Ella along with him, doing his best to dodge the flames as he fired up Presence, "Ella, dear, you have to shoot at him. You don't have to hit him, but you have to ward him away!"

Tears were streaming down her cheeks, but it was incredibly difficult to tell whether they were tears of sadness, or rage. She took her grenade launcher out, and fired one at Gavin. It not only almost blew him up, but it nearly destroyed the helicopter.

Needless to say, Gavin hurriedly got in the helicopter, escaping.

Derek adjusted his blazer, then looked over at her, quite worried, "Ella, dear, it's alright, he's still alive…"

She either didn't hear him or didn't care to, as she started sobbing into her hands.

Derek slowly edged forward, trying to gently embrace her, "It's alright. It was me, alright? I'm the monster, I killed them…you didn't hurt a fly." What was it about this girl that made him feel so obligated to stoop to such a human level?

"It's not about that…it's…it's how quickly they cast me away…they…there was no difference…between you and me…" She sniffed, "They…they just threw everything we had away…I mean _nothing_ to them…"

"The Society has a history of that, so I've heard. Once you become a 'demon', they see no hope in you. Their viewpoint of life is so black and white, because their God dubs anything non-human as a sin, lesser than them. But in reality, we are above them, in the food chain."

She sniffed, crying louder as she tried to shrink into his embrace.

"There, there. We should head back. I'll fix you a warm drink and contact the Prince."

"Okay…" She said softly, "Thank you, Derek…"

* * *

"Hey, guys!" Sirius beamed, as he walked up the steps to the Last Round, "I got Chinatown!"

"Wait, you got it?" Catalina looked shocked.

"Yeah, once they figure out you're invincible and they can't do nothing they sort of go like 'fuck it, this city ain't worth it.' Least that's what happened with the Kuei-Jin."

Nines pulled himself away from the wall, "Who's there now? Anyone?"

"I sent word to Isaac to get some guys to occupy it." He grinned, "Now we have a city."

"Should we head over?" Skelter asked, "Now?"

"Not now." Nines said, "We need to pack some things up, find a HQ to set up down there."

"Damn, it's gonna reek of Kuei-Jin…"

"It's better than nothing." Sirius muttered, taking a seat.

Damsel came upstairs, "What's up?"

"We got Chinatown." Nines said.

"Really?" She looked ecstatic, "We have our own city!?"

"That's right." Skelter said with a smile.

As Damsel and Skelter more or less cheered over the new city, the door was heard opening and closing downstairs, then Killian came up, a stack of money in his hand, "Here, Damsel."

She blinked a few times, then took the cash, "Oh. Yeah, thanks."

The room went dead silent as Killian walked in and sat in the far corner where he usually did, crossing his arms.

"Hey, where the hell you gonna be when we get out of here?" Skelter asked.

Killian gave him a venomous glare. There was a silence between them, then Killian said, "Go fuck yourself alley."

Skelter snickered, "Oh, really, the same place you were born?"

"Yeah. Same place I'm pounding your head into the wall."

"I'd really like to see you try, kid." He stepped forward, "You not only crossed the line, but you broke it. It's over now. Any sort of restraint I had holding me back from crucifying you is done and gone now."

"Crucifying me?" Killian asked, "Oh, what, you mean like your girlfriend did? I've been crucified the second Lark died, you know. Because I threw a little tantrum and went nuts. But you know what?" He stood up, using the extra few inches he had over Skelter, "I'm willing to bet everything I did…every, last little gritty detail, was better than what you did over the course of twenty years from when you got Embraced."

Skelter narrowed his eyes and stepped back, only because Killian was getting so close. "The hell do you take me for?"

"How many times did you make her cry?"

"What? This is about Anastasia…?" Skelter seemed amazingly unimpressed and disappointed.

"Did you ever even apologize? Did you ever even give a genuine apology, or did you just give something half-assed and take advantage of her forgive-and-forget policy of the angels?"

"Forgive-and-forget policy of the angels? You broke the goddamn policy of the angels, jackass, hasn't it hit you yet?"

"Anastasia." Killian's slate gray eyes snapped up to hers in a heartbeat, "You said you couldn't smile. Why?"

"Now you leave her out of this." Skelter gave him a good push, and he stumbled back, "You lost, alright? You don't get her. She ain't yours. Get the hell over it."

"The hell kind of terminology is that?" He spat, "Is she just some game to you? Do you even care about you, you dick? Or is she just another possession for you? Is she just something useful to have around to get me to shut up?"

Skelter grit his teeth and punched Killian in the face. He stumbled back, but looked right back at Skelter, not giving up his argument at all, it seemed. "Do you know why I broke up with her?"

Skelter spit to the side, "Go ahead, I'll hear what you gotta say. Maybe it'll even make me laugh."

"I broke up with her because I knew I was going to lose it. I knew I wouldn't have the sanity to take care of her the best I could."

"What a goddamn heartthrob you are." Skelter hit him in the gut.

Killian grunted, edging back towards the windows, "Would you do the same thing?"

Skelter waited a beat, "I wouldn't. I'm not a damn idiot, I'm not goin' crazy like you did."

"You didn't lose it after you killed your brother?"

"No, I didn't, matter of fact. I kept fighting. I kept a level head. You gotta go and blow up the world around you when something goes wrong because god forbid someone doesn't hear about it when you shed a tear!"

"Maybe you just didn't care about him either. Maybe you're just not capable of it at all."

Skelter growled and punched him in the face again, and again, and again.

"I think this is an adequate reward for taking a city." Sirius said. Catalina meanwhile, squeezed Cissy's hand, from under the table, so no one else could see.

"Skelter, please stop." Anastasia pleaded.

Killian snapped his nose back into place, looking down at Skelter again, "You heard her."

"That's what she says, but it ain't what she wants." Skelter took out his pistol, pressing it to Killian's forehead.

"Skelter. Enough." Nines barked.

"I ain't listening to you either. I'm done with this motherfucker getting away with everything because we're _that_ fuckin' desperate. It ends here. Before he does something else."

"You put the gun away or you'll be exiled with him." Nines said.

Skelter's eyes darted over to Nines. He slowly lowered the gun, "He leaves tonight."

"He leaves as soon as he's ready." Nines crossed his arms.

"Come on guys, can't we all just _pretend_ to get along, like office workers do?" Sirius asked, "I mean, once you get old enough…petty things like this aren't really a big deal…"

"Petty?" Skelter scoffed, "How the hell would you feel if your girl got molested by her ex?"

"I had no idea you wanted the Camarilla to win so badly…"

"That oaf is not our claim to victory. He can't do shit anyway. He's the size of a whale, he takes up more space than anything else."

"Just cut the kid another break, will ya?"

"He's a lot younger than any of us." Nines added, "Impressive skills for his age."

Skelter shook his head, "He dies or he leaves. For good. You pick one."

"He leaves, I leave." Sirius said.

Nines shook his head, "Then he's staying here. I'm sorry Skelter."

Skelter grit his teeth, taking out his gun and firing at point-blank range, right in Killian's face. He nearly fell out the windows, crashing into the wall with a good amount of force. Damsel ran in and flared up Potence, grabbing Skelter by the arms and pulling him away.

"Skelter, please don't!" Anastasia ran over and gently tried to hold him, "This is all my fault…" She sniffed, "It's all me…okay? I overreacted…"

Skelter pushed Damsel away and put an arm around Anastasia, beyond confused, "You…you did what?"

"Don't…don't get kicked out…because of me…please…" She started crying, "I didn't mean for any of this to happen…"

Killian held his bloodied face before Damsel ran upstairs and gave him blood to drink. He still looked like a monster with the amount of blood there, despite the fact that he was mostly healed, "I'm sorry…" He muttered, just about inaudibly.

Skelter held onto Anastasia, "The only way this is gonna get any better is with him dead."

"It is not." Nines raised his voice, which sent chills down the newcomer's spines, "I get that you're stubborn, and I get that he hurt you and Anastasia, but he lives. And he stays. Sometimes you have to coexist with people you don't like."

"Don't give me that talk like I'm some kinda fourth grader." Skelter spat, "I'm done giving him chances!"

"Jeez…it keeps going back and forth like a damn ping-pong game…" Sirius grumbled.

"Just…just drop it…" Anastasia sniffed, "Please…we'll…we'll just coexist…we'll do what he says…"

"So it's just me, then?" Skelter broke away from her and looked around at everyone.

"Yeah." Damsel finally chirped in, "It is."

He glared at her, then stormed out.

Nines rubbed a hand over his face as Damsel held her arms out to hug Anastasia, "Are we done now? Can we talk about Chinatown?"

"Without Skelter here?" Killian asked after a slight pause, slumping back in his seat, "He's your right hand."

"He'll catch on. We're just moving things to Chinatown. Skelter's truck will work fine, we don't want to bring everything there in case it's rigged. First we'll scope around for a headquarters."

Anastasia quickly left next, in tears, muttering that she had to 'find him.' Catalina meanwhile let go of Cissy's hand, in case anyone would look over.

Sirius whistled for a while, "Yeah…so moving to Chinatown…sounds fun…"

"Sounds like a blast." Cissy chimed in, sticking her feet up on the table. "We should take that temple."

"Eh…I'm not sure. Desecrating their temple might not be a good idea…"

"Why not?" Cissy asked.

"I don't know…just sounds weird…who knows what the hell is in there…"

"We'll have to see about a smaller base for now." Damsel said, before she looked at Nines, "I think we should go."

"Yeah." He nodded, "We'll meet back early tomorrow to pack."

* * *

 **A/N:** I'm really not sure how Killian got out of there alive, but I guess he inherited a good deal of traits from his father…thanks for reading!


	94. Chapter 94

**A/N:** Here's chapter ninety-four! I wonder what Daisy Buchanan is doing here…Enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs.

* * *

The first thing that came to mind was, ' _What would Nines do?'_ It was a bad instinct, something he had picked up from when he was a lot younger, a lot more stupid.

He loved her, right? Did he love her? Was it bad if he couldn't answer that question?

She made him undeniably happy. He wanted to see her be happy too. He liked seeing her at his house, in his clothes, or just seeing her at the Last Round, reaching over to squeeze his hand or kiss him or call him James when no one was looking. Was that love?

The only real experience he could remember with any of it was when Tristan brought a girl home once, and was grounded for a week. Years later, he ended up proposing to her, and she turned him down. He was devastated, but being as sanguine and optimistic as he was, he hardly showed it.

Skelter even remembered him saying, _"I'll just…try again next year!"_

Why did Tristan get every happy gene that existed in his bloodline, and he got none of it? Maybe he could actually take care of Anastasia if he inherited some. Maybe he'd understand her more, maybe he'd be able to figure out if whatever he felt for her was really love.

Overall, he was pissed that _this_ is how he was wasting his time.

"Skelter!" Anastasia called, "Skelter, wait!" She said, one she got closer she would throw in "James" every now and then.

He turned over his shoulder and waited for her to catch up, "You alright?" He asked.

She nodded, tears all over her face, "What about you?"

"I'm…I'm fine." He held onto her, "Dammit…you don't deserve any of this…"

"Stop." She squeezed him back, "Please…whatever you do…just don't get kicked out…the Last Round is our home…"

"I'm not gonna get kicked out…I'd have nothing to do and nowhere to go without Nines."

"We need to stick together…we're making a comeback…" She said, "Let's just…save the Killian stuff for later…"

"Anastasia…" He closed his eyes, then opened them, "I think he had a point."

"Who?"

"That damn oaf…" He sighed, breaking the hug, "You could do better."

"What…what are you talking about?" She sniffed.

"I don't…" He crossed his arms, "I don't take good enough care of you. Or else you wouldn't be in this rut. I think you deserve someone better."

"Oh…god…I don't want to go back to _him_ …"

"What? No, I didn't…I didn't say you have to…I just…I don't know." He looked away, "I don't do enough to keep you happy."

"But it isn't you…it's everything else. It's all the crap that's happening around us. It's not you."

"…are you sure? I don't want you to…do this outta pity."

"I'm not, I love you. You can't take responsibility for what the other Anarchs do to me all the time…"

Skelter hugged her again, "I want to kill him so bad…"

"We can't do it now though…later…when there are more distractions…"

"Or I'll get your brother to do it."

"…I could call him later…"

"If you got the time, it'd sure be convenient."

She nodded, "Okay, I'll give him a call."

He sighed and gave her a brief squeeze, "This'll be over soon…"

"Uh-huh." She hugged him back, "I can't wait…"

* * *

"Delilah…" Victor knocked on the archway of her room, "May I have a moment of your time, dear?"

"Of course." She slowly closed her book and scooted away from her desk.

He entered the room, folding his arms behind his back, "You have…" He paused out of rue, or shame, like it was _that_ obvious this order was forced down from the higher ups, "You have been selected for a… _very_ unorthodox missions…we're planning…"

"I-I have…?"

"Yes." He nodded, "To infiltrate the Sabbat's ranks."

She froze, then blinked a few times, her mouth a bit dry, "Me?"

He gave a nod, "Of course, I brought up Nosferatu or Malkavian representatives…who have Obfuscate…but Lafayette does have Auspex, along with a good many of his cabinet. So we concluded with the persona approach."

"…persona approach?"

He nodded, "You will have to come up with a new persona for yourself. A false person. Fake, yet real, real enough to fool the Sabbat. You are then suspected to gain as much information from the sect as you possibly can."

"But…I already look like Ebony…"

"Yes…that may be a difficult situation to avoid. I doubt they'll accept you as a Tremere either. You'll have to pose as another clan."

"…which clan do you think would be wisest?"

"I'm not sure…the only clan that has both Dominate and Auspex aside from us is the Old Clan Tzimisce…but…there wouldn't be one as young as you running around…unless you were to lie about your age…"

"Maybe…I'll pretend to be Toreador…or Ventrue…"

"Yes, those may be easier clans to emulate."

"I think so…" She said softly, "I'll go with Toreador, and be very careful about my disciplines."

He nodded, "If anything goes wrong, if you think you're close to being found out, fake your own death. Your persona is going to be made up anyway."

"How do I fake my own death? Bring ash with me?"

He smiled, "Hopefully that won't be necessary, Miss Blum." He said, "Gather information as you can, and…if you feel really brave, you may start to assassinate Lafayette's inner cabinet, or the man himself. We may never have an opportunity like this again, and we really want to take advantage of it."

"This sounds so dangerous…"

"It's up to you, my dear. We'll take anything we can get. If you feel threatened, just fake your demise and return to the Chantry."

"Okay…" She said nervously, "I'll…find a new outfit."

"Take your time, I informed them that you would need to plan on the affair."

"Very well, sir." She said, nodding as he left. She looked herself firmly in the mirror, then went to her closet.

* * *

One contact after another soon led Delilah to Las Vegas, home of Lafayette's Sabbat. She was surprised, and partially happy, at least, because she already had information to bring back to Victor and the others.

The large black castle was atop a rugged cliff, and given how dark it was at night, it really looked like something from the ninth circle of hell, with bats flying everywhere around it. A familiar face was watching the door.

Antoinette began tapping her knuckle to the castle door, in a jittery fashion, as she saw the newcomer, "Who goes there?" She asked in her tiny voice.

"Daisy. Daisy Buchanan, I…I wish to join your movement."

Antoinette sniffed the air for a bit, taking a few steps closer towards her, "Very well…come with me…"

Delilah nodded, following Antoinette into the castle. She peered around, scolding herself for almost reaching up and adjusting a hat that wasn't there.

She was almost horrified to see how many of her most frightening enemies could fit at one table. She could recognize easily half of them, as she was in many battles lately, namely the Phantom's Mask. "You've brought a guest…Antoinette…" Lafayette's deep, horrifying voice said.

"She is Daisy Buchanan." Antoinette bowed, "She wishes to join the Sword, sir…"

"Daisy…Buchanan…" Lafayette repeated slowly.

"Yes, sir. A Toreador." Delilah bowed, hoping her black lacy dress, black fishnet tights and high heels would seem a bit different from her former appearance. That, and her hair was pinned up in a bun.

"Ah, it's nice to see another Toreador Antitribu breaking off from the ranks of the Camarilla." Lafayette said, "We may have finally found a suitable replacement for Garret."

"Shouldn't we…test her worthiness?" Vernon asked.

"There's no time, we are enveloped in the midst of war." Lafayette said, "We'll do what we can to update this one." He said, once Delilah and Antoinette took their seats, he went on, "I must say, Gideon, it was rather impressive of you to take Chinatown from the Kuei-Jin. Not only that but you also ran the odious invaders out of town."

"Yes, thank you, sir." Gideon chuckled.

"But doesn't the city belong to the Anarchs now?" Vernon asked.

"That's what they think…" Sirius snickered, "But it's a trap."

A large smirk grew on Lafayette's face, "I should have known that there was more to your plan, my one-eyed viper…"

"How goes your infiltration into the Camarilla?" Cedric asked.

"It's going slow, but good. They won't suspect a thing, I'm sure." Sirius said.

"Any information yet?" Archie asked.

"Not on anything big yet…I gotta earn more of their bullshit trust."

He snickered, "Very well."

Lafayette thought for a moment, "Raphael…why don't you show Miss Buchanan one of the empty lairs she can situate herself in? If she has any questions, she may take them to you. You will oversee her training and her labor for us."

Raphael put his golden goblet of blood down in surprise, "Yes sir." He said quietly. He stood up and beckoned Delilah to come with him, down one of the long and narrow hallways.

Delilah nervously trailed after him, still a little weary on her heels as she listened to them click along. Why did it have to be him?

Raphael crossed his arms, she hadn't heard him ever speak until tonight. His voice was low-pitched, and surprisingly intellectual, for a Gangrel, at least. The way this man carried himself almost reminded Delilah of the Kindred archaeologist Beckett had he joined the Sabbat. Raphael's voice sounded at least a bit younger, although it was a similar pitch. "Your room is going to be next to mine, I'm quite sure. It'll have a bed and any other pleasantries you need for the night."

Well, if Delilah was acting like a different person, she might as well have fun with it. "Next to yours, hmm? Perhaps you could visit me then, when I get lonely."

His light green eyes burned into her when she made that remark, he then looked ahead again, muttering, "You're a Toreador alright…"

Delilah chuckled softly, "Well, you said my room will offer a bed and other pleasantries I need for the night. I think that includes you."

His jaw dropped, he faced ahead. There was a good chance she was completely flustering him, "Where did you say you were from?"

"Arizona. I was born in Mexico." It wasn't all a lie. Who said it had to be? "I moved here after my Embrace for a change of pace. And to get away."

"To get away? From what?"

"My sire. Or, his remains, I should say."

"So you killed your sire…was he Camarilla?"

"Anarch."

He gave a rather entertained, deep chuckle for a while, "How nice." He said, leading her to her room. She was quite surprised at how glorious her room looked. It was as richly decorated and elaborate as anything in the Camarilla. Though while the Camarilla typically used reds and golds, the Sabbat had everything colored black. If she squinted a few items were purple.

"This room is…beyond lavish…" She stepped around, absorbing the décor, "You must stay the night with me."

He ignored her flirt, shutting the door behind himself, "I think you and I need to have a talk…Miss _Buchanan_ …"

"…oh?" She was nervous, but couldn't let it show.

He crossed his arms, "What time is Gatsby showing up? Or Nick? Jordan? What about your husband, Tom?"

She chuckled softly, "Forgive me for trying to craft a fun name for myself. It's Myrtle, but I found Daisy was a much more…attractive sounding name."

"You're hiding something…"

"What? My parents thought it was a nice name. I disagree."

"Look…if I figured out your little trick…that means most of the others have too…" He said, "I mean…I can't picture Vernon and Archie…reading…much." He said, then he blinked, "I can't really picture Lafayette with a book either, unless he was beating someone to death with it…"

"It's just a nickname. Does my name really matter so much?"

"I suppose not, but your attempt to deceive us went over so poorly, I'm surprised that Gideon and Antoinette haven't been going off like sirens since your arrival…"

"Deceive you?" She asked.

He narrowed his eyes, "I'll be watching you, Miss Buchanan…"

She smiled, "I hope you do more than that…" She stepped forward and rested a palm on his chest.

He grabbed her wrist, "Do you do this at every organization you're at?"

"What do you mean?" She asked through clenched teeth, a little irritated, "Why do you think I'm a traitor when I haven't even done anything yet?"

"I haven't gone that far." He said, actually brandishing a smile, "But you sure do have a guilty conscious."

"And what makes you say that?" She asked, walking a few fingers of the other hand up his chest.

He caught her other hand, "I was just being curious." He said, "Lafayette's orders were for me to learn about you, so I can report to him. I just wanted to know your history."

"And you think I have a guilty conscious?"

"Perhaps."

Her eyes narrowed, then she moved in, taking advantage of her heels to kiss the space above his collar.

He backed away, shivering, "I…can't say I remember Garret being this flirtatious…" He said, "Of course, he was not interested in men…"

"What's the matter, sweetheart, are you scared?" Delilah stepped forward with a smile.

"…so you were never an Anarch…your sire was…"

"Mmm hmm…" She reached forward to feel his hoodie, then rub one of his arms.

He backed away again, "And where were you before you came here? How old are you? I assume you're a neonate, like myself."

"Yes, I'm very young. I was in Arizona."

"I'm looking for a number…and what were you doing in Arizona?"

"One year Kindred." She said, walking closer to kiss his neck again, "I was Independent, where I lived, there wasn't much Jyhad influence at all. I learned about it recently and decided to take the Sabbat path."

"Oh yes, you decided to go Sabbat?" He said, having a harder and harder time fighting her off.

"Mmm hmm…" She started pulling him back towards the bed.

He resisted, "That isn't just…a decision that happens overnight…why did you chose the Sword?"

"Clearly I despise the Anarchs. They're filthy, ungrateful degenerates. The Camarilla is far too full of themselves…they're all liars and pompous air-heads…the Sabbat seemed to be the only faction that stands for what it believes in…"

"Sometimes I wonder about that…"

"Oh, really?"

He crossed his arms, "Unlike you, I've been in the Sabbat my entire life, I've never really had the chance to brush with any of the other sides, save for the many battles I've been through…"

"You must be very respected then, in the Sabbat community…"

"I suppose, despite the fact that I'm the youngest general here…"

"That's a lot of power…" She said lowly, dipping into her sultry voice again as she kissed his jawline.

He growled and backed away, "I should retreat to my room, Miss Buchanan…"

She gave a disappointed sigh, "Very well, Raphael…until we meet again."

* * *

"Gottfried." Phaedra smiled, "Nice to see you again, tonight."

"Nice to see you too." Gottfried smiled back, "How has everything been?"

"Fine." Poe squeezed Phaedra's hand.

"Yes, I think it's been wonderful. How has your dilemma been?" Phaedra asked.

"Dilemma?" Gottfried asked, "Oh…Therese…"

"Yes…you make it sound like you've had a run-in."

"I did…I…decided to go along with what she and Jeanette wanted…"

"…oh? What is that?"

"I'm…uh…involved with the Malkavian Primogen…"

"You are?" Poe's eyes widened.

He gave a short, almost bitter nod.

"You don't seem very happy about it." Phaedra said, "Don't force yourself into a relationship, you'll make both yourself and her miserable."

"So far, it's the only thing that can be done without having the two of them killing each other." He said, "Maybe she'll grow on me."

Phaedra sighed, "At least she isn't unattractive." She muttered, "I still think you're going to lose your mind."

"I think I'll be fine. This is all way better than the Sabbat." Gottfried said.

"Really?" She mused, "Well…at least there's something. Maybe you could invite her over for a double date and I'll give her a few choice words…"

"Yeah, I don't think that would be a good idea…"

"Please don't…" Poe said quietly.

Phaedra chuckled softly, "Well, hopefully the relationship won't last. Your freedom was very short lived…"

"I don't think it's dramatic as you're suggesting." Gottfried said, "I have to be her bodyguard anyway, so what's the difference? Though…still…me being her bodyguard barely makes sense. She's stronger than me. I'm no more helpful to someone like Gideon than she herself is…"

Phaedra raised a brow, "Have you ever been in a relationship before?"

"Not a willing one."

She sighed and looked away, "There is a difference between being a bodyguard and being a partner. Intimacy for one. And I don't mean sex, general contact and pillow talk. You have to learn about them, figure out what they like, dislike, learn about their past. Comfort them, take care of them, monitor their emotions and share with them. Be willing to open up and in return listen. You can stand there and stare at each other all night, but you'll never feel a real pull towards her if you don't engage with them."

"Then that's what I'm going to set out to do."

She offered a small smile, "You're a very remarkable man, Gottfried."

"What about that makes me remarkable?"

"Not many people ever want to put the time and effort into a relationship to begin with. You're willing to do all that, even with a woman that already frustrates you."

"Well, we're going to see what happens." He said, "I think I should give them both another chance."

She chuckled softly, "I think it will do her very well to have someone like you at her side. Maybe it will straighten her out."

"I'm not sure about that…but…I'll certainly see what I can do to help her…Malkavian fits…"

"Yes, I'm sure that will be something that…continuously springs up…"

"Hopefully both sisters will manage to get along now, at least." He said, "That's all I want."

"We will help you in any way that we can, if another conflict arises."

"Thanks." He smiled, "I appreciate that."

"Well, I suppose we should let you get back to her." She smirked.

He nodded, "She'll get worried if I'm not there for too long." He said, getting up.

"Thank you for the visit. You're more than welcome to stop by whenever."

He nodded, giving one last wave before he took his leave.

* * *

 **A/N:** Delilah is taking the Toreador stereotypes and running with them…thanks for reading!


	95. Chapter 95

**A/N:** Here's chapter ninety-five! Can Tess's broken heart be mended? Enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs. There is a bit of friskiness, so if you're not a fan, feel free to skim over it.

* * *

"I hope you're ready, Buchanan…" Raphael said, they had been walking out in the hills for a while now, "Because we're doing a raid tonight…"

"Alright, I'm prepared." She said, holding a gun in her hands.

It wasn't the first time she had ever held a gun or anything.

"Good, because we're clearing out the Society of Leopold."

"Clearing it out?" She asked, "Entirely?"

"We're at least going to try." He said, "We found where their putrid base is located."

"Right…well…this should be easy." She said firmly.

The second they arrived at the base, Gavin stepped out, armed with at least dozens of soldiers. Luckily Raphael and Delilah had Sabbat vampires of their own behind them. Raphael immediately turned into his Black Panther form, going in for the attack.

Gavin aimed both his flamethrowers out and fired, if it weren't for the last second use of Fortitude, Raphael would have been smoked.

Delilah pulled the trigger, but nothing came out. She swore she loaded it, she even asked people how to do it! But nothing would come out! She tried pressing harder, before she realized the safety switch was on. She flicked that, then began to open fire, already hurting from the amount of recoil.

Raphael continued his bitter struggle with Gavin, slashing at him with his claws, while Gavin kept spraying fire at him. Raphael would occasionally leap back and send a colony of bats out to refuel some of his blood.

But on the whole, the battle didn't look very good for them, their shovelheads were dropping like flies, while the hunters were only getting killed by Raphael's Animalism or Delilah's gunshots.

"Maybe we should retreat!" She called as she noticed she was getting low on ammo.

Raphael looked back, swearing under his breath as he saw how few followers they had left, "Alright, you go, I'll catch up!"

She nodded, running back and watching over her shoulder to make sure he was alright.

There were a few minutes where she felt utter fear as he didn't return. Once he did she was relieved, "That…that was unwise…" He grimaced, covered in bloody wounds.

"Are you alright?" She put an arm around his shoulders to try and help him back.

"It's alright…I just need to feed…when we get back to…Nevada…"

"Right." She nodded feebly, helping him along as they made it to a taxi.

He more or less crumpled himself into his seat, hiding his injuries from the driver, "Vegas." He said, then he looked at Delilah, "Thank you."

"It isn't a problem." She smiled, nervously looking around before she met his gaze and tapped the side of her neck with one of her fingers.

His eyes widened, "That…that's not necessary…"

"I wouldn't mind." She said softly.

"No…there's…blood in the castle…"

"Very well. My offer still stands for the future."

"Very well." He looked ahead, "We should have had more than just those weaklings with us…I don't understand why Lafayette sends us out on these suicide missions…they never work…"

"There weren't any stronger members available?"

"I suppose not…" He said, "I should've been able to take the base myself…" He clenched one of his hands into a fist.

"I'm sorry, I…I dragged us down quite a bit…"

"You were standing in one place the entire time? Why didn't you use Celerity?"

Her mouth opened briefly, "It…it isn't very good. I put all my stock in Auspex, for aiming."

"Celerity is amazing…" He sighed, "I would love to have it…"

"I'm sorry…" She twiddled her thumbs.

"It's alright…you're…you're still fairly young, a fledgling really, I could help train you."

"I would like that." She said with a warm smile.

He gave a small smile back, after about an hour, the taxi returned to Lafayette's castle. Raphael kept muttering that he needed to find some blood, Delilah was assuming he was going to grab a blood pack from somewhere.

However there were about five or six eyeless humans huddled in the corner of the hall, and Raphael began to drink from one, his injuries healed up quite nicely, he then shoved the body away from him, "That's done."

She swallowed hard, but did her best to make it hidden, "Are we free for the evening?"

"Unless one of the Elders want us to do something…"

"Should we go ask?"

"I'll go check, to see if anyone's around." He walked off, leaving her alone in the halls. She heard the six humans behind her, murmuring something, or just groaning in pain.

Then she heard a much sharper voice, "Ah! It's the red witch! Nice to see you here!"

She whirled around, a bit startled, "I'm…afraid I don't know you…"

Gideon snickered, a big smile on his face, "What are you doing in here, red witch?"

"Nothing that pertains to you."

"Is that right?" He loomed over her and crossed his arms, "You know, one little outburst to my Tzimisce master and you meet your Final Death. I don't have as much trouble communicating with others as other childer of Malkav do…"

She cowered back, "I'm just visiting."

"Visiting?" He grabbed her shoulder, "Why don't I have you visit hell?"

"Gideon!" Raphael snapped from across the hall, "Save your doomsday speech to her for later, she and I are on business."

Gideon grinned at Raphael, "Very well…mister lonely panther…the lashings from your withering family are still dry and raw, aren't they?"

Raphael glared at him as he left, "Pay him no mind…"

She shuddered, hugging herself. _Fake my own death. I'm never getting out of here alive._ "Was there anything else we had to do?"

"No…I can't find anyone…aside from Gideon…" He said, then he raised a brow, "What did he say to you?"

"N-Nothing. He's…he's not a fan of newcomers…"

"It depends on what sort of a person you are." He said, "Gideon's one of the most accurate Malkavians I've ever met. I suppose at his age it would make sense…"

She took a deep sigh, shaking out any leftover chills, "Did you want to come to my room tonight?"

"I have a feeling it wouldn't end well for me."

"Why?"

"Because you're…frisky…"

"You wouldn't enjoy that?" She smirked.

He swallowed hard, eying first her heels, then her dress, then her face. It was clear he was admiring her curves a bit too, "You're…very tiny…"

One of her eyes twitched slightly, "C."

"Hmm?"

"I'm not tiny. I can prove it to you."

"Isn't it shallow for us to…" He looked like he was either going to be sick or die from embarrassment, "Do that…when…" He paused, "We hardly know each other…although…I suppose it is the Toreador thing to do…isn't it?"

She giggled briefly, "I don't think it's shallow. I think we'll both have fun."

"Perhaps it isn't wise of us to speak of this out in the open halls…"

"Right. So we'll speak in my room?"

He sighed, "Very well…"

She walked to her room again, hoping she didn't get lost, before she sat on the bed, "You still seem so nervous."

"I wouldn't call it that. There has to be a more accurate word. Reluctant."

"Well, I don't want to force you."

He didn't respond, nevertheless she noticed that he was stealing quick glances at her body every once and a while.

Her smile grew, "We don't have to go all the way, either."

"All…the…way…?"

"We can just…make out or…I could…you know…use my hands, mouth, chest. Whatever happens in the heat of the moment."

"Why do you want to do all this with me?"

"Because I find you attractive."

"This is why I think it's a little shallow…to be doing this…" He sat on the bed next to her.

"Why? Have you never given in to temptation before?" She leaned in to kiss his neck again.

He shuddered as he felt her lips, "No…"

He could feel her smile against his skin, "It's not nearly as bad as you think." She traced one hand down his arm.

"I know it isn't…" He said, a lonely smile curving onto his face, "Something…something like this…could be good…for me…"

"I think so too…" She started bringing a hand up his sweatshirt.

He swallowed hard. Her hand felt cool on his chest. He wanted to say something, anything, but he couldn't speak. A divine looking Toreador was practically throwing herself at him, and who was he to reject it? He finally reached out a pair of shaking arms to hug her close.

She held him back, then moved her lips in to kiss his.

He kissed her back, then his eyes widened as he felt the surge of flavor coming from her lips. It had been the first thing other than blood that he's tasted in a long while. He let a sigh escape from his mouth, as he squeezed her tighter.

She sighed before she slowly pushed him back onto the bed, laying herself over top of him. He gave a weak smile, "Hello…"

"Hi." She smiled back, holding his face as she kissed him deeply. He closed his eyes and kissed her back, this time he took the initiative to suck on her bottom lip. He didn't know whether they were sexual desires or basic, primal animalistic instincts, but he wanted more of her taste in his mouth immediately.

She moaned into his mouth, sliding her tongue over his teeth as she reached back to untie her dress. He sighed back, sucking a bit more, he began to quiver in a combination of nervousness and passion as she slowly took her dress off.

She pulled herself away briefly to get out of the dress, tossing it aside, "Is this alright?"

He nodded, "You look very nice…I just…wish I was as good at this as you were…"

She gave a bashful smile, "All I can tell you is to follow your instincts." She reached back to take her bra off, "Can this come off?"

"It can."

She took it off and let it hit the ground before she crawled up onto the bed, laying back, "Would you want to go on top?"

"Of course." He moved on top of her, "Am…am I too heavy?"

"No, I like being on the bottom much better…" She smiled, rubbing his arms, "Do you think you could…take this off?"

"Yes…of course…" He took his sweatshirt off, nothing underneath it. Then his froze, his eyes wide in shock, like he was caught by a giant spotlight.

"What's the matter?" She asked quietly.

He reached back and felt his back, "Nothing…"

"Would you like me to…avoid your back?"

He didn't respond, his hands just started shaking.

"It's alright, relax…" She smoothed her hands over his arms, a bit worried, "You can keep it on if you'd like, it's not a problem."

He shook his head, collapsing into her arms. It was then she got full view of his back. It looked terrible, there were hundreds of decaying scars all over his back. They must have been from a time when he was human, or else they would have healed altogether. His back looked more flesh and muscle then it did skin. Thousands of large thin lines were ripped into his skin, to the point where Delilah had no idea where some lashes began and others ended, because they bled right into each other.

"It's okay…" She said softly, taking his sweatshirt and covering the scars, "Did…you want to talk about it?" She asked eventually.

"It's…from my early days…in the Sabbat…when I was a ghoul…"

"Who's ghoul?"

"He's dead now…most of my original Sabbat pack was…" He said, "This will happen to you, eventually. When the war calms down. That's what Vernon was talking about. It's how a Sabbat goes from being a useless shovelhead to being respected."

She swallowed hard. Little did he know, she would not be around long enough for that, "Do they hurt?"

"Not…much…anymore…"

She pressed a kiss to his cheek, "It's nothing to be ashamed of."

"I was a bit more…rebellious…than most…"

"I can understand that…"

He smiled, "Sorry for killing the mood…"

"You didn't. It's okay. Did you want to keep the sweatshirt on?"

"No. It's alright."

"Okay." She tossed it aside, then smiled as she rubbed her hands up and down his chest, starting to kiss him again.

He kissed her back, getting back into the mood was harder than he expected, all that was on his mind was every last single whip he got every time he defied an elder. He shuddered in her arms, trying to bury his thoughts in her body as he kept sucking on her lip.

She kissed him warmly, then held his face, slowly separating them, "How about we just…rest for tonight?"

"Is it that obvious that I'm poor at this?"

"No, you seem upset. I think you'll enjoy yourself more if your mind is cleared." She combed her fingers through his hair.

Or, at least she tried. They got stuck. She awkwardly pulled them away, "Um…sorry…"

"It's alright…" He sat up on the bed and faced away, his scars could be seen even better now, "Sorry for…ruining this…"

"You didn't ruin anything. I didn't expect we were going to go all the way, anyway." She sat next to him, bending over to grab her bra and put it back on, "You're more than welcome to stay here for tonight…"

"It's alright…I'll go to my room…" He said, "Goodnight, Daisy."

"Goodnight, Raphael." She gave a gentle smile as he left.

* * *

She didn't know why she was so nervous to call him.

Finally, after three rings, he picked up, "Hello?"

"Leo? It's Tess."

"Tess?" She heard his smooth voice over the line, "You'll have to forgive me, I don't know of any Tess's. I know of conceited whores. I know of lying tramps."

"Leo…" She was at a loss for words, "I just—"

"Leonardo. Please, refrain from calling me. Ever." The line cut off.

She was rather shocked as she hung up. She didn't expect he would be that hostile. She took a deep breath and left the phone booth, heading towards a library. If she couldn't find someone real to settle with, perhaps for now, she could find someone fictional.

As she stepped inside and started browsing the shelves, she spotted someone slightly familiar. She smiled faintly, "Do I know you?"

Goddard gave her a slight smile, "Perhaps you know not of I, but I do recall you. You're one of the famous Toreador fledglings. Responsible for LaCroix's demise?"

"I wouldn't say that much…" She gave a small smile back, "Tess Perry." She extended a hand.

"Goddard Chamberlain." He shook her hand, "Otherwise known as the Toreador Primogen."

"Ah, that's why I recognized you." She said with a smile, "It's very nice to finally meet you. My sire was actually the former Toreador Primogen. Though, I know he wasn't entirely…competent."

"Yes, apparently I'm the third Toreador Primogen this city has seen in a collection of years." He said, "I don't know what the antagonism is with our clan here…perhaps it's because we mostly do not align with one particular sect."

"That could be it. I think it was partially due to the previous Prince…"

"Yes, I suppose it was." He said, "He was certainly interesting to work under."

"Very much…" She mused, "Well…" She smiled at him, "You wouldn't be interested in…going out somewhere with me, would you? I'm awfully bored."

"I'm also unoccupied at the moment."

"Wonderful. Was there anywhere you had in mind?"

"Ah…well, I'm sort of a recluse…as Mister Kingston put it…therefore I'm not sure of where to suggest…" He looked around, "This place and my home are about my extent of travel…"

She smiled curiously, "A recluse? Hmm…unusual from the others of our clan that I've met. We could head to your place."

"Very well." He started to lead the way, "Yes…I'm…very unlike the other Toreador…"

"I see nothing wrong with it. It's just interesting."

He chuckled, "Unordinary too, I suppose." He said, getting in a cab with her and heading to his house. His house was very small and neat, the latter because he didn't have many possessions in the first place, "Hmm…the last time I had someone over here aside from Prospero was Miss Voerman…"

"Miss Voerman?" She asked, stepping inside and observing the place.

"Yes." He said, "When she lost her city to the Sabbat…she stayed here with me."

"Ah, how kind of you. I've never really had the chance to speak with her much." She sat at the table, "I didn't even know she was Malkavian. She seems incredibly docile."

"She's at least civil compared to Jeanette…" He said, sitting across from her.

"Yes…I've…seen her briefly." Tess mused, "Well, I'm assuming you and Prospero are close."

"We've known each other for a few years." He said, "He is one who more or less coerced me into the position I'm in. I'm sure he didn't want to be under LaCroix's employment alone…"

"No, I can imagine that would be miserable."

He chuckled, "Yes…to think. It was him…me…Mister Golden…Mister Strauss…well…there was Grout…but…by the time Prospero and I joined, he was long dead." He said, "Oh, and then there was Mister Constantine…that one _never_ kept his mouth shut…"

"I never had the honor of meeting him."

"He…was a very vocal supporter of whatever LaCroix had planned that night…" He said, "And supposedly Mister Vanderbilt's sire…too…"

"Mmm…how lovely…I'm sure the new Ventrue Primogen is much better…"

"Yes, Miss Frost is quite impressive, despite her rather young age."

"She and I always got along fairly well…" She mused, "Despite my occasional…moments."

"Now, now, dear…you're young. You still have time to grow and learn."

She nodded, "I've been doing a considerable amount of that recently…"

"See? That's good." He said, "You'll have all of eternity to do that…or…Jyhad permitting, of course…"

She smiled, "Yes, I suppose that's true. Very optimistic."

"Sometimes you need a bit of that." He said, "Ah, where are my manners, did you need blood?"

"If you have any."

He nodded, getting up and setting a pair of teacups for them, filling them each with blood from his refrigerator, "Here you are."

"Thank you." She smiled warmly as she took a sip, "Very good quality."

"Yes…I suppose we Primogen are spoiled that way…" He chuckled.

She took another sip, "I do thank you for having me here. It isn't every day I get to share a meal with an elder, let alone such a respectable one."

"Elder?" He chuckled, "No, no, no…I'm not an Elder…not quite yet. Barely an Ancilla."

"Well, you're my elder."

"Yes, I suppose so." He said, "Well, I must say, it's nice to have one of my own clan here before me…I should get better acquainted with the Toreador that I represent."

"I have a friend Slade I could acquaint you with, at a later time."

"Ah, yes, him I'm a bit familiar with…we worked together briefly to prevent the death of the Tremere Primogen at the hands of the Anarchs."

"Ah, I see. I think you two would get along, though you do seem fairly amiable anyway."

"It might be coincidence…I'm usually much quieter…" He said, "Prospero jokes and labels me a hermit. I don't know why…but with you, I've been a bit sunnier, perhaps we simply just mesh well."

She gave another warm smile, "Maybe so. I think we should meet again."

"Yes, definitely, I think so too."

She stood up and finished her glass, "It was a lovely night. Thank you again for having me."

"Yes, of course, no problem. Until next time, Miss Perry."

* * *

"Who's dis?" Aschat held a little slip of film, a wallet-sized school portrait, it seemed.

"I thought it was clear you're not allowed to touch any of my things." Archie set his mug of coffee down and snatched the photo back, opening a random cabinet and dropping it inside, slamming it shut.

"Wasn't that a school picture?" She asked, "I always wanted to go to school…"

"That explains enough." He muttered under his breath, letting the scalding coffee go down his throat. Something about the burn reminded him of a strong alcohol, and something about the bitter flavor did to. If only he could get away with that this early in the evening.

Aschat looked up at Archie with her curious blue eyes, "If it was a school picture, why wasn't he smiling? Isn't school fun?"

"Sure." He set the mug down, reaching down to grab his pocket watch and flip it open.

Aschat snorted, "A pocket watch? How old are you?"

"Silence." He snapped, shutting it and putting it away, "I need you to do a favor for me."

"A favor? Which type?"

He wasn't really too thrilled that _that_ was her answer, but he didn't have time to dismiss it, "I'm going to make a drink. I need you to drink it."

"…what de hell for?" She asked, "Are you trying to drug me? I'll fuck you for free, I thought that wasn't a problem."

"I'm not drugging you." He opened the fridge, using his broad shoulders to block her view from seeing exactly what he was doing, "Think of it as an…energy drink."

"Energy drink?" She cocked her head to the side, "I have enough of that as it is."

"It will make you a lot stronger." He handed her a wine glass of red liquid, "Just drink. It's not going to kill you."

She stared up at him before she drank some of it, then finished off the whole thing, "Ooh, dat was tasty…"

"Now, in order for it to really make you stronger, you're going to need to drink it two more times."

"Okay. I wouldn't mind, it was good." She smiled, "So long as I don' wake up dead tomorrow."

He stood up, "If you'll excuse me, I have to go make a call."

"Okay." She said, watching him get up and walk off. She peered over her shoulder, making sure he was gone, before she stood up and opened the cabinet again, reaching inside. "He's got a whole history book in here…" She grabbed a stack of photos and flipped through them.

A good portion of them were that scrawny little blonde boy. School photos that started when he was young, never smiling. She flicked through the years, making a note of the year stamped on the back of the photo. Each photo, he seemed to grow up a little bit. When the shade of the backdrop changed, so too did his personality. He started smiling, but it was a smug smile, something that looked very reminiscent to Archie's. His build got stronger and stronger throughout the last four photos, until she reached the last one.

At the bottom of the photo, in tiny text, it said, "KILLIAN FITZROY: CLASS OF 1983". He wore a sharp suit now, a grin on his face, those gray eyes cynically staring into the camera.

"He has a son…?" Aschat asked herself in a whisper, dropping the kid's photos back in the cabinet before she looked at the others.

It was an older man, a receding hairline, white hair. He was grinning like an idiot, standing in some black and white garden. His hand was extended out to hold onto someone else's, but Aschat couldn't see who. They were torn out of the photo. Aschat snorted and put the photo away. That was the only picture of that older man. The others were signed photos of various women Aschat declared were entirely unimportant.

What else did he have? She reached into another cabinet. Just drugs. That was no fun. She peered over his shoulder as she kept digging around in his counters. One of them she opened had straight up cash. "Ooh…" She reached her hands in and stuffed the cash into her boots, checking over her should again. "Heh, heh…" She giggled to herself, careful not to take _all_ the money, so he wouldn't notice.

She wondered if that boy was alive. She wasn't the best with math, so she didn't know how old he would be now, but she figured he'd definitely be alive if nothing had happened to him. His father wasn't _that_ old.

She heard his footsteps come in, then shut the drawers, sitting back where she was. She grabbed his mug of coffee and took a sip, making a face and gagging.

Archie snickered as he stepped in, "What's the matter girl, not fond of the flavor?"

"What flavor?" She choked out, "It tastes like acid…"

He snorted, "For such an alcoholic, it's strange you're not fond if it."

"Coffee is supposed to be a…a pleasant morning drink! A welcome into da world, in a mug!" She threw a hand in the air, "What de hell is this?"

"Coffee." He sat across from her, "I booked you a few appointments."

"When?" She slid the coffee back over to him.

"In a couple hours from now. I'll take us there."

"Okay." She nodded, tapping her fingers on the table and bouncing in her seat before she looked back over at him, "Is he dead?"

"…your client?"

"Your son."

He slowly sat back, "I told you to keep your hands away from my belongings…"

"I was just curious. You never tell me anything about yourself."

He crossed his arms, "Yes."

"He's dead?" Her eyes widened, "Oh…oh, I'm sorry…what…what happened?" She leaned in.

"Life." He scoffed, "He chose to live a foolish life, out in the world by himself, hanging his mortality out in the air for the wolves."

"How old was he?"

"I'm not sure." He mused, "It hardly matters. He's nothing but a waste of my time."

Aschat's eyes narrowed, "Blood is blood, whether it is wanted or not."

"Don't lecture me." He snorted, "I've been around long enough to have a firm grip on this world. It'll be a miracle if you survive another week. You're in no room to offer me any sort of advice." He stood up, "If my countenance and ideology was broken, I wouldn't be here. I wouldn't have lived as long as I have. Understood?" He glared down at her.

"Maybe you're here, but his death is on your hands. If you can't protect anyone but yourself with your perfect life recipe, den it isn't so perfect, is it? Is that why I'm here? To fill de gap in your heart from loneliness? You're right, you know." She pounded a fist on the table, "I am going to die, living with you. You take care of no one else but yourself."

"Is that so?" He asked, that snide smile on his face, "If that was the case, you wouldn't be living here for free."

"Oh please. Is dat the only thing you have to say to defend yourself? You're offering me food, shelter. I'm so touched." She stood up, "I can function on my own, you know. I have, for years."

"If you wanted me to cut you free, this is not the way to go about it."

"Then what is?" She asked, irritation growing on her face.

"Five-hundred grand."

Her eyes narrowed. "Fine. I'll be back with it in a week."

He snickered, "If you fail, you'll be back here."

She nodded, "Fair enough." She turned and left, slamming the door behind herself. She felt compelled to prove herself for many personal reasons, to prove she could function for herself, to prove she could make money and live by herself, but there was another reason.

If Archie let his son die, she was sure he wouldn't keep her safe at all. If he didn't even care that his son was dead, he had to be completely psychopathic. She was better off by herself.

Besides, she had to have grabbed at least a few thousand from his place. Money could be scraped up anywhere, she'd have no problem.

She headed to the streets first. Her body was worth at least a few hundred. This would be a piece of cake.

* * *

 **A/N:** Who knew Archie would be willing to unhook such a source of income? Thanks for reading!


	96. Chapter 96

**A/N:** Here's chapter ninety-six! Where did all the lemons go, you ask? Here's a whole chapter of 'em! Enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs. And yeah, it's pretty lemon-heavy.

* * *

It was maddening really, being in the large black Sabbat castle all by her lonesome. Delilah couldn't find Raphael anywhere, and anytime she thought she saw someone, it was merely those eyeless blood dolls the Sabbat _loved_ to use so much. The smells made her sick to her stomach, and the emptiness nearly drove her insane.

Maybe she should just go home. She had more than enough information, didn't she? Was it sad that he was the only reason she was still here?

She bumped into someone, "Whoa…there…" Sirius said, as his tongue flickered out, "What are you going a-million miles per hour for?"

"I…I'm looking for Raphael."

"I think he's out at the moment." He said, "Though maybe you and I could handle a little business together."

"Uh…" She swallowed hard, "I was told to stick with Raphael for now…"

"Come on, you really think you're fooling anyone with that?"

"…what?"

"I know who you really are…" His eye narrowed.

She took a few steps back, about to run.

"Ah, ah…" His eye turned green, and she froze in place, "Can't have any of that." He started pacing around her.

As soon as she broke free, she hugged herself, shivering, "Please don't eat me…" She squeaked.

"Jeez…come on…I ain't gonna eat ya…" He said, "Although, your Disciplines would be nice…"

"Please…"

He leaned into her face, "Why did Strauss send you…is what I wonder…"

"I don't know…" She whimpered, "I really don't know…"

"Look…I'm trying to get Gideon off your back, I really am…" He shrugged, "So you owe me. Big time."

Her jaw dropped briefly before she nodded, "Yes?"

"We'll decide it when you get outta here with your skin intact, 'kay?" He said, "Until then, keep digging for information." He said, "The more the better. Eventually Gideon is going to rat you out, along with anyone else who doesn't like you. I say you got a couple more nights left here. They give you an escape plan?"

She was more than confused, "Um…sort of…"

"Alright, good. I'll see ya on the other side then, alright?" He pat her head, starting to walk off, "Goodnight, Delilah." He called.

She winced as he said her name, more than confused with his whole conversation. She searched for another five minutes, unable to find Raphael anywhere. She soon saw Antoinette once she rounded a corner. She looked at Delilah with her paranoid eyes, "You look lost…Miss Buchanan…"

"I…I-I'm looking for Raphael…have you seen him?"

She shook her head, evidently looking very conflicted about something. She pulled on her hood, perhaps another one of her many nervous tics. Then she started running off.

Delilah was very confused, nonetheless, she chased after her, "Where are you going?"

She almost lost her, but she eventually found her at a broken-down desk scribbling down some information. Antoinette handed her the tiny slip of paper, "Here."

Delilah looked at the paper, still scattered a bit, "Hmm…?"

"It's Raphael's personal address." She said, "Right here, in Nevada. It's not too far away from the castle. Unlike other members, he chooses to have a personal abode in addition to a room in the castle…"

"Oh, I see…" Delilah said, "Thank you very much."

"You're welcome." She gave a small bow, "Good luck." She walked off.

Delilah looked down at the address again, then decided to head out. She showed the address to the taxi and he took her there. When she got out, she wondered if the taxi had actually driven her to the wrong place. Nervously, she knocked on the door, hoping she wouldn't upset some strange farmer or his burly wife.

There was no response. She did however hear voices. Two of them, and one of them sounded as if it belonged to Raphael.

She pressed her ear to the door, listening in closely.

"Does it taste alright, Vivi?" Raphael asked.

"Mmm-hmm." A feminine voice answered, "Thank you, Raphael." Both their voices sounded classy and British, making the fact that Raphael was a Gangrel all the harder to believe. "How was work?"

"Oh…that…" He floundered, "It…it was fine…no one…got fired…or anything…we have a couple new people, coming in…"

Delilah was floored. Was he married? Was this a girlfriend? Relative? She closed her eyes and contemplated leaving before she knocked again, harder.

"Is someone at the door?" Vivi asked.

"No…that's impossible…we're safe out here…remember?" He asked, "I'm sure it's just an animal or something…"

She knocked again, following with, "It's me. I'm…I'm friendly!"

"Raphael…who is that—" Vivi started.

"I'll get it." Raphael answered the door, looking murderous, "What are you doing here?" He whispered.

"I…" She cowered a bit, "I was lonely."

"How did you even find out where I live?"

"That…Malkavian girl…"

"Antoinette…" His expression went even sourer, "She should not have told you that…this place is supposed to be a secret…"

"Who's there?" Vivi peeked her head through. She had green eyes the same color as Raphael, long flowing blonde hair down to her back, a white dress, and white heels. She was thin, _very_ thin, almost as if she was starved a good portion of her life.

"This is…Daisy…" Raphael said, "A…coworker…"

"Would you like to come in, dear?" Vivi smiled, "We're having a late dinner."

Raphael backed away, leaving Delilah space so she could enter the house, "Daisy and I already had dinner after work, but…I suppose a visit couldn't hurt…"

"It's nice to meet you." Delilah smiled and held a hand out.

"It's nice to meet you too." Vivi shook her hand. The three of them went to the small, almost cramped kitchen, with Vivi sitting at her seat, a meal for at least two in front of her. Raphael and Delilah meanwhile sat in chairs with no meals in front of them. "So are you new?" Vivi asked, "Raphael hasn't mentioned you before…"

"Yes…she's…rather new to the…" Raphael cleared his throat, "Office…"

"I didn't mean to disrupt anything…" Delilah said nervously.

"Oh, no, it's alright…it's rare for Raphael to have visitors from work come in, I think it's exciting." She smiled.

Delilah giggled a bit, "Well, maybe I'll show up more often."

Raphael flickered a glance to her, like that would _never_ happen anytime soon.

"Raphael…I don't know if I can eat all of this…" Vivi said.

"Eat what you can." He said.

"Maybe I could wrap it up and save it for tomorrow." She said, "I might head to bed, in all honesty." She said, getting up and taking her food to the counter, "Goodnight, it was very nice to meet you." She gave one last smile to Delilah before she headed upstairs.

"Sister?" Delilah asked, "She's cute."

He crossed his arms, burying his face into them, "Not a word of this to anyone in the Sabbat…"

"Of course not. I understand. I knew someone in a very similar situation, but she had two sisters."

He looked up, "I shudder to think what would happen if any of those monsters found out about her…"

"I'll do what I can to help you keep her safe."

"It's alright, just staying quiet will be enough." He said, rising from the table, "Sorry about my temper before…"

"It's not a problem. I understand." She reached forward and very gently rubbed his back. He turned to her quickly and gave her a hug, squeezing her close. She held him back, resting her head on his shoulder.

He moved a hand to the back of her head, pulling at her bun, until it completely came undone, he then backed away from the hug, crossing his arms, "I knew it." He said after looking her face over.

She swallowed hard, getting out of her seat and slowly backing away.

"You're that Tremere girl."

"Uh…u-uh…"

He walked up closer to her, "What are you doing in our domain?"

She swallowed hard and trembled as he got closer, "…v-v-visiting…"

"They all know…the other members…they're going to get rid of you soon…"

"I'm going to escape soon…"

He reached out and gave her a hug, "Please…stay…you're…you're the only one who…ever talks to me…like a normal person…"

Her eyes widened as she held onto him, "I…I have to go…I'll die if I stay…"

"…I'm going to miss you…"

"Me too…" She said softly, "I want to…to stay near you. Or visit. I like you."

"Why…I don't understand…I tried to diablerize you at least three times…"

She swallowed hard, before she got on her tippy toes and whispered, "I…I have a bit of a kink for that…"

"…so that's why you like me so much…"

"That's where…the liking started…at least…"

"How…how would this work even…we're…we're on different sides of a war…"

"I don't know…I can't afford to leave the Camarilla…I love it there…"

"And I cannot leave the Sabbat…" He said, "I suppose…we'll sort that out later…" He picked her up, both his arms around her bum as he kissed her lips, immediately sucking on the bottom lip. Better yet, the way he was holding her, their crotches were pressed up against each other. Clearly intentionally.

She moaned into his mouth loudly, pressing herself up against him before she tore her mouth away from his, "Up against the wall…p-please…"

"As you wish." He moved towards the wall, more or less mounting her up against it as he kept kissing her. She kept her legs around his body tightly as she grinded against him, sinking her fingers into his hair as she kept moaning into his mouth. He kept one hand ironed onto her butt, giving it an occasional squeeze to encourage her grind. The other hand was on her shoulder, as he kept sucking her lip.

"Raphael…" She blissfully moaned his name, "L-Let me…take off…the dress…"

"Right." He put her down, taking off his sweatshirt and pants, "Did you want to go to my bedroom?"

"Will your sister hear us…?"

"I doubt it." He said, "There's…also the table…"

"Ooh…"

"It's up to you."

"Table."

He smiled, "I know I said this already, but you look very nice."

"Thank you." She kicked her dress and shoes aside, pulling her tights down and brushing them out of the way as well.

He swallowed hard, "Wow…"

"What?" She smiled playfully.

"Nothing…you just look…very…uh…"

"What? Look very what?" She leaned in, "Hot? Sinful? Sexy? Dirty?"

"Yes…all of those…" He nodded quickly, "But I like it."

"Good. Then what are you waiting for?"

He walked over to her and started kissing her again, as before, he prioritized sucking over kissing. He felt up her butt in the process, squeezing it endearingly. She sighed as she kept kissing him, before she finally pulled her lips away and kissed his neck, gently biting him there as she backed herself towards the table.

"So…this fetish of yours…do you like _biting_ …or do you like _being bitten?_ Or does it work both ways?"

"Both ways." She pecked his cheek.

"Right…so do you want me to bite you a lot?"

"I would love that…"

"I'll see if I can work that in." He smiled, "So…I assume Daisy is not your real name…"

"Delilah."

His smile grew and he held her cheek, "I like it. It's pretty."

"Thank you." She kissed him again as he pressed his clothed length against her waistline. She groaned with anticipation, hoisting herself up onto the table and grinding against him, latching her lips on his shoulder.

"Let me know when you want me to come on with you."

"Wait a bit, in case the table can't handle it…"

"Right." He started to kiss her neck, then it turned into a passionate bite.

She sighed his name, holding the back of his head and pressing him even closer as her grinding became more heated. He held her butt with both hands, letting her grind as she pleased as he kept biting her neck. Her voice started to grow a little hoarse, "Bite me…bite in…"

"With the fangs?" He asked, "That's a little dangerous…"

"It'll be fine…" She rubbed her hands over his chest, "Please…"

He couldn't resist her begging, not to mention the sound of her when she was aroused. Her voice was low-pitched, almost as deep as Raphael's, to hear her make such noises sounded downright seductive to him. He bit much harder, this time using his fangs. As he did so, he took his underwear off and pressed his length against her belly.

She let out an orgasmic scream and clutched onto him tightly, digging her nails into his shoulders as she rattled on the table, trying to contain her climax. As soon as he drew his fangs away, she shuffled a bit, taking her panties off and letting them hit the ground. He could swear they legitimately sounded wet when they hit the ground.

"…maybe I should get on the table now…"

She nodded weakly, taking her bra off and tossing it aside, "It's alright if I bite you?"

He nodded back, getting on the table. He was staring at her breasts, "You…you offered something last time though…maybe…maybe it's silly…"

"Oh yeah?" She asked with a smile.

"I wanted to…never mind…"

"What?" She grinned.

He repositioned himself a bit, sliding his shaft in between her breasts. She grinned, then rolled them over. The table squealed in protest, but since she was on top, it was much easier for her to lay her breasts over his length.

"Is…is this okay?" He asked.

"Of course it is." She tried to create a bit of friction.

"Alright…I'm…I'm going to go now…is…is that okay…?"

She nodded, situating herself comfortably over top of him. He closed his eyes and did his best to create some friction alongside of her. But then he opened them, unable to keep his eyes off of her dazzling beauty. When he least expected he, his load was released, as his eyes widened.

He felt a surge of strength overcome him as he gripped onto her in fright, doing what he could to start a rhythm simple enough for her to follow. She closed her eyes and moved her face away in case any of it came up that far, but watching him rock through his first orgasm was more than mesmerizing for her.

He let out a few sighs and groans, the feeling of her breasts against his length felt too great for words. He continued on until he ran out of energy. She slowly pulled herself away, smiling at the mess he'd made, "Towels?" She asked.

"I'll…I'll get some…" He scrambled up and went into another room, returning with some, "Sorry…that was…messier…than I expected…"

"It's alright." She smiled, taking one of them and cleaning herself off, before she wiped down his chest, smiling as she even went lower.

"Was…was it alright…I…hope it wasn't too sloppy…"

"I loved it." She kissed his cheek, "I'll get out of your hair now, if you want."

"I'll be back at the castle tomorrow night." He said, "We'll discuss how to get you out of there."

"Thank you, Raphael." She quickly dressed herself, then kissed his cheek again, "I look forward to seeing you again."

* * *

It made sense that she was putting on her makeup when he came upstairs, because just minutes ago, she was Therese. "Hey pudding, nice to see you again." She turned around, "It's nice to be back."

"Good to see you." Gottfried smiled, "Nice to finally see you two getting along."

"She apologized to me last night. I guess having those love-goggles on really makes her a little nuts."

"It makes you both a little nuts, if you ask me…"

She giggled, standing up, "I hate to sound selfish, but it is one of the only things I'm capable of. What does this mean for me?"

"I'm not quite sure." He said, "According to Therese, I wasn't supposed to tell you anything at all…"

"You didn't tell me though, so if she asks, you can say you didn't. I figured it out on my own." She smirked.

"I figured you'd say something like that…"

She giggled, "Well, is it just Therese, or is it both of us you're after?"

"…I was barely after Therese…"

"Well, you can't tell her that. You'll make her cry like a baby." She said, "She'll go nice and slow for you, don't worry. If you're really uninterested with her, just tell her something that would bug her. Something that would…activate one of her hundreds of pet-peeves."

"It's nice that she has you to cope."

She raised a brow and smirked, "Cope with what? All her problems? Most of them _are_ me."

"Perhaps…"

She sat on the edge of the bed, reaching for a pillow and hugging it, "What did they do? The girls?"

"Hmm…what girls…?" He asked, then his face went completely serious, "Oh…"

"You don't have to tell me if you're not comfortable."

"…I mean…Poe had it worse…"

"I'm sure he had it bad, too."

"He did…everything his wife told him was a lie…it was all a ruse…"

"You never had a wife. Or a girlfriend. Is that why you're so cautious of us? Do you not trust us?"

"No…" He sighed, "Or…maybe, at first." He sat down next to her, "But…I don't know…once I learned of your situation, I just felt bad…really bad. When my life was spared, I thought Therese was just going to kill me on her own. This _is_ the Jyhad after all, and she's perfectly capable of doing that. So I didn't want any part of either of you, I just wanted to protect Poe. But…things have changed."

"Therese was only upset with you because she was scared. That's really the only reason anyone lashes out in anger. The only reason anyone acts violent."

"Not the only reason…but it makes sense."

"Well…it's a big reason. Some people are just crazy. I don't know much about them." She said with a smile.

"Mmm-hmm…"

She leaned on him a bit, resting her head against his shoulder, "How is he? Poe?"

"He…he's fine…great, happy. He's very pleased with Phaedra right now." He said, "I owe the woman a lot, had it not been for her, and I wouldn't be here right now…"

"I've never met her. I think Therese has, but…it's Therese, and she doesn't really do first impressions…I'm all about them."

"No…Therese and Phaedra don't get along, unfortunately…"

"That is unfortunate." She reached for his hand and started playing with it, really feeling tiny as she looked at the size of it, "And how are you?"

"I'm fine." He said, "Happy that…things seem to be calming down, at least a little…"

"Between us?" He nodded. "I didn't know we stressed you out so much…"

"Again, it was before I really had a chance to trust either of you."

"Maybe I can help…do the opposite." She rubbed his arm.

He sighed, "You're just…not going to give this up, are you?" He asked.

"Sorry." She put her hands back in her lap, "It's instinct."

"It's alright."

"You should head home then before I devour you, sugarplum." She stood up and reached into the vanity to hand him a check, "Here."

"This from Therese?" He asked.

"Mmm hmm. Your pay for the night." She smirked, "Thanks, pumpkin-pie." She leaned in and got up on her tippy-toes to kiss his cheek.

He left the check on the vanity, "Thank you…" He said, "For everything…"

"Why are you thanking me?" She looked up at him, confused.

"I don't know…you've…been very nice and straightforward with me, whenever I had a problem, you would listen. You're easier to talk to than your sister."

"You think so? I throw a lot more fits than she does. I wear a lot less, too."

"I know, but…I appreciate what we have."

She looked him over briefly, "Me too."

He caught her eye, smiling slightly, "Maybe Therese wouldn't catch us…"

She met his gaze, a devilish look in her eye, "She wouldn't."

"So perhaps there would be no risk to it at all."

"None that I see."

"But you probably wouldn't want that…"

She held his shoulders and got up on her toes again to kiss him as he held her close. She rested her forearms against his chest, giving a gentle sigh as she kissed him back, "Gottfried…" She whispered, "My legs are really going to hurt if I'm on my toes much longer…"

"Then go lay down."

She grinned before she kicked off her boots, then peeled her socks away, "There. I'm all yours." She flopped back on the bed.

He took his shirt off, "I'd say we should go slowly because I'm new at this…but you're probably all ready to go…"

"Oh, no. We're going to take it nice and slow. I want to revel in every second…and besides." She sat up, "I'm sure you're quite large…I'm going to need a little more than girlish excitement to fit you in without an issue."

He took his pants off, "True." He said.

"I still want you on top. I still want to be pounded."

"Good…" He said, "Good that your priorities are straight." He slowly got on top of her, holding her close and kissing her passionately. She kissed him back, humming blissfully into his mouth as she untied her top and threw it aside, then did the same with her skirt.

He pinched the strap of her red bra, "Keep this on."

"You want it on?" She asked, gathering her wits, "Okay, cupcake. Can…I…take this off, later?" She slid one of the strings of her thong down one of her hips.

"Of course."

She held the back of his head with both hands and resumed their make-out session, rubbing her hands over the muscles of his arms and shoulders, sighing to herself. He gave her a slight squeeze as he began to gently rub her curves, so closed her eyes and sighed, "Your hands are so big…makes me feel like a pretty little dolly…"

"That's why I'm trying to be careful…I don't want hurt you."

"You won't." She held one of his cheeks with one hand while the other rubbed across his back.

He sighed and relaxed a bit, occasionally reaching out to grab one of her breasts and give it a light squeeze. Her voice sounded perfect as she moaned, putting her hands over his to encourage him to squeeze harder. He gave a loud groan, squeezing them a bit harder as he started shuddering.

She smiled at the sound of his voice, "Sound like you're getting excited…" She whispered.

"I…I am…" He said, "It's…it's nice to do with…willingly, with someone I like…"

"I have to agree with you…it's been a very long time someone attractive has been in here…"

He rolled his eyes, "Hopefully I'm more than just 'someone attractive'…" He said, "Oh well, I guess I'll have to prove that real soon, won't I?"

"Oh, you're much more than that." She kissed his lips, "You're someone who makes my heart feel like beating again."

"Is that right?" He asked, sliding back a little, "Maybe I could help with that." He kissed her stomach for a while.

She closed her eyes and moaned, wrapping her legs around him the best she could as she sighed his name. He kissed a bit harder, grabbing her butt and squeezing it with an iron grip. She groaned his name even louder, squeezing him tighter, "You must…really like it down there…"

"Maybe I do." He smiled, "Do you like it?"

"I love it…"

"Good." He sucked on her stomach a bit more, squeezing her butt and massaging it, almost as if he were coaxing it into a rhythm.

Sure enough, her hips started rolling to match the rhythm he had set as she fisted handfuls of the bedsheets. "You…" She panted out, "Need to let me know when you're almost ready…I need to do something…"

"What's that?"

She smiled, "Just let me know when…"

"I mean, I'm getting pretty close right now." He said, taking his underwear off.

She looked down, unintentionally gulping when she saw his size, before she looked up at him and grinned, "This is going to be a lot of fun…"

"What was that thing you needed to do?"

"I need you to sit on the edge of the bed…"

"Alright." He moved and sat up while she got off the bed and pulled her thong off.

She then sat on his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck as she started grinding on one of his thighs, "I just need to…warm myself up…"

"You do? Was I doing a bad job?"

"No, not at all…I just need to be very…very ready…" As she started getting into it, her bra started rubbing against his chest, and she started kissing one of his shoulders.

He sighed, "That feels nice…" He said. She didn't know how, but somehow his erection was getting even _bigger_. She couldn't help herself, so one of her hands came down and gently stroked him.

He grabbed onto her harder, gently, but impatiently sighing, "You better be careful…"

She smiled and grinded a little bit faster. He could really feel a good amount of moisture accumulating on his leg as she kept going, her hand going up and down very slowly.

He gasped, biting his lip, "Jeanette…"

She nodded, moving away from him and laying back on the bed, spreading her legs, "Fire at will…" He took a deep breath, grinding himself against her inner thigh for a little bit. Then he took one good long look at her, letting out a huge groan and barreling in for a penetration that she wouldn't soon forget. Her piercing cry filled the air as reassurance, and her nails dug into his shoulders. She had never felt more filled, let alone so loved before. It was nearly overwhelming, even for Jeanette.

He sunk into her quickly, due to all the lubrication they had both been working on, and his thrusts were powerful, they shook the framework of the bed each time. She didn't let her cries die out, each one was only more encouraging than the last, more orgasmic and stimulating. Feeling him reach deeper than anyone had possibly gone before shook her to the core, literally, with a splitting climax.

He did what he could to hold onto her, continuing his love-making for quite a while, keeping his eyes on her heaving breasts hidden behind the bright red bra. She certainly still had the energy for it, despite how exhausted she looked. Her hips never once slowed the pulse between them, her drive never died until his did.

She even let out a groan when he pulled out, exhaling deeply. She laid there, completely wasted, more or less, letting her eyes slowly drift closed.

"I…I had a feeling something like that might happen…" He said, wrapping his arms around her, "You okay?"

"I think that was the best sex I've ever had…"

He gave a small chuckle, "Well, I'm flattered…"

She rested her head in his chest, "Are you going to sleep here with me tonight…?"

"Why not?"

She gave a warm smile before she kissed him, "Thank you so much…"

"Hey, no problem." She met his eyes as they cuddled, seeming lost just in his gaze. "Have a good sleep, Jeanette."

"You too, Gottfried."

* * *

The next few nights came quickly for them. They were both lying in bed together, in the Sabbat castle, naked. Undoubtedly they had many more intimate trials with one another for a small gathering of nights, but sadly, it was time for Delilah's little stint to end. "So what's your plan to escape here?" Raphael asked.

"I have to fake my death. I'm not sure how, honestly." Delilah said softly, playing with some of his hair.

"I could come up with a story. I could take you back home and return and say that you died."

"That might work." Her eyes lit up.

"…so…what should I tell them?"

She thought for a moment, "You could tell them it was hunters. They have flamethrowers now."

"I'm not sure…even at their best, hunters are bumbling fools…"

"I know…" She sighed, rolling over and facing the ceiling, "Camarilla."

He chuckled, "If we were really uncreative, we could say we attacked the Tremere and they boiled you alive…"

"We could. The Camarilla is quite strong, not to brag." She smirked.

He smiled back, "Then that's what I will tell Lafayette and the other generals."

"Okay, perfect." She leaned in and kissed his lips.

"I suppose all that's left is the taxi ride back to California." He said, "I'll go with you, of course."

"Okay." She smiled, "I…I think I'm ready. But we'll keep in touch…"

"Delilah…" He said, rubbing a hand up her stomach gently, and giving one of her breasts a small squeeze once he got there, "One more time…please…"

She grinned before she rolled over on top of him, kissing him a little deeper. He sucked on her bottom lip and groped her rear as she moaned into his mouth, rubbing her hands up and down his chest before she moved her lips in to kiss his neck. He sighed back, rubbing her back and patting her bum occasionally.

She rolled over so he was on top, rubbing her hands over his chest, up his neck and landing at his cheeks so she could kiss him. He kissed her back, adjusting slightly so that he could lightly bite her neck. She moaned his name, shuddering in his arms as she held her breathing and just let him continue his ministrations.

"Uh…I have a request…" He asked.

"Uh huh…?"

"Do you mind if…I do some…foreplay…here…" He motioned a hand over her breasts, "Then I can give you a big bite…and then I can finish down here?" He gave her lower abdomen a light massage.

"I would love that…"

He smiled, moving downward a little. He started kissing her breasts, licking the nipples occasionally. He gave a rather loud groan, the more he felt them up. She repositioned so she was on top again, then she rested her breasts over his length.

He sighed, pushing the blood through his system to get an erection, then he held her close so that he could feel the friction, biting back a huge groan. She did her best to create heated friction between them, moving her chest around in a circular pattern to get him going.

He surrendered and finally let out an ecstatic sigh, "Do…do you want me to bite you now?"

"I would love that…"

He rolled over so he was on top, baring his fangs and biting into her neck. She let out another scream, a wonder to him why and how she was able to make them sound so raw and emotional. The sound itself was enough for him to be able to dip in and understand exactly how she was feeling, if her frantic grasping and squirming wasn't enough.

"Did you want another?" He asked deeply.

"I…" She rasped, "I don't know if I could handle another…"

"I see." He kissed her for a while, rubbing his shaft near her inner thighs, "So you're saying that you're ready?"

"Very ready…"

He sighed as he entered inside her once again, biting the other side of her neck to change it up, and holding nothing back. She gasped and moaned his name as he bit into her again, her body responding even more vibrantly than it usually did.

Her contractions around his length were much tighter, much more constant and rhythmic than any of their previous romps. His thrusts seemed to become more and more powerful as he got the hang of things, and his bite was utterly ruthless.

He closed his eyes and willed himself to continue on even though it was probably the third or fourth time they went at it in the past couple of nights. Her moans slowly came down as a decrescendo as they went on, until she completely wore herself out.

He swallowed hard, getting up and getting his clothes back on as quickly as he could, "We're going to have to look professional when we leave the castle." He said, "If we…look like a couple…than they won't believe in my farce."

"Of course." She nodded wearily, getting to her feet eventually and searching for her clothes.

"It's…also going to be hard to keep doing this…I'm Sabbat…and you're Camarilla…"

"We'll find a way…" She said, trying to wake herself up as she pulled her panties and tights on. "Blech…they're all…wet…"

"Apologies."

She smirked, then pulled her bra back on, tugging at her dress until that was on as well. She took a deep sigh, then combed her fingers through her hair and pulled it up, "Alright."

"It…was much easier for me to spend time with Daisy than it is going to be with Delilah…" He said, "I'm going to miss this…"

"We'll make it work." She said firmly, taking his shoulders. He gave her a hug, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.

They left the castle together, getting in the nearest taxi. They both knew it would be at least an hour long ride, yet they were both silent for a while of the trip. Until Raphael said, "So I imagine you're going to tell your elders what you've learned about our little gatherings, hmm?"

"I'm sorry." She said timidly, "I really think they'd punish me if I came back and told them nothing."

"You know where we are now…too…Lafayette always prided himself on the fact that we were at least partially hidden from the Camarilla…"

"I'm sorry…" She looked down at her hands.

"You do what you have to do." He said, "I suppose sooner or later there will be an outcome to this mess…"

She nodded, "That's right…I guess I shouldn't feel so bad…thank you for being so sweet to me." She reached over and held his hand.

He smiled, "And thank you for…actually treating me like another person…with emotions…"

She leaned in and pecked his cheek, "Are…are we an item?" She asked softly.

"A highly long distance one, yes."

"…wow…" She whispered with excitement, "This is my first…actual relationship…"

He chuckled, "Mine, too."

She smiled blissfully and held his hand, resting her head on his shoulder and dozing off lightly here and there on their trip. The cab stopped right in front of the Chantry, "Well, I suppose this is your stop." Raphael said.

Delilah got out of the cab, "I'll see you again. Please, stay safe. Please." She gave a warm smile, trying not to cry.

He nodded, "You take care of yourself."

She was about to say more when the door shut and the taxi drove off, spraying mud in her face.

At least she could put her hat back on.

* * *

 **A/N:** Delilah's safe, and chock-full of Sabbat information…this doesn't look good for them…Thanks for reading!


	97. Chapter 97

**A/N:** Here's chapter ninety-seven! Ahh the end of the fic! Well, anyway, enjoy a chapter of relative calmness before the madness…

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs. Also, a heavy amount of love in this chapter…and a lemon.

* * *

"These are…steep inclines…" Poe said, reaching a hand out to help Phaedra up one of them, "I don't understand why the Sabbat are so fond of these areas…"

"They're difficult for people with nice shoes to access, that's why." Phaedra muttered, trying not to break one of her heels on the rugged mountainous terrain.

"I'm sorry…maybe I should have just came alone…"

"No, I'll help you dear, I wouldn't like you coming out alone." She balanced herself, then took her axe out and started using it as more of a cane than anything else, "I just wish I had worn different shoes…"

"You can use me for balance if you want."

She nodded and held onto one of his hands as they ventured onward, occasionally she would lean on him or her axe.

A blur sped by them, causing Poe to let go of Phaedra so he could draw his sword.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Poe the traitor, and the Nagaraja!" Vernon laughed as he darted around, Celerity and Potence both up.

Poe sped at Vernon, as before, Poe's Celerity was top notch, able to keep up with the old Brujah. It was another lucky thing that they were on a flat surface for this battle, at least for the time being.

Phaedra held out her free hand to summon a specter, then clutched onto her axe tightly.

Vernon's eyes widened as the ghost got close to him, he sped away, only to have Poe chase after him. The latter activated Fortitude as well, to defend from Vernon's Potence. Aside from that it was difficult for Phaedra, and by extension her ghost, to keep up with the two blurs.

In attempt to slow the battle even more, Phaedra summoned a horde of zombies, hoping they would get in the way or maybe trip their Brujah opponent.

The orange glow of Presence surrounded Vernon, and he did what he could to mow down the nearby zombies with his fists, heading straight for Poe. Poe let out his own Presence, but it was no match for Vernon's, and Vernon punched him in the face. Poe skidded on the ground, back to where Phaedra was. He rubbed the blood away from his jaw.

Phaedra grit her teeth with frustration, lunging forward to hack into Vernon. Vernon chuckled, avoiding her attack with ease, he then focused his next barrage of punches on Poe, "This is what happens to those who betray the Sabbat!" He yelled, pummeling him, "Say goodbye, dirty Ishtarri!"

Poe held his arms crossed in defense. With Fortitude up, he was doing a fairly good job balancing the Potence damage. But since Vernon's Presence was leagues better than his, it tipped the balance in the Antitribu's favor. Poe flinched as more blood spilled from his mouth before he growled and finally charged Vernon, slashing him through the torso.

Vernon screamed and stumbled back. He snarled and dashed towards Poe. With both of them having all three Disciplines up, this battle was going to end in a bloody demise for both of them if they weren't careful.

Phaedra was growing more and more antsy. She tried dashing in to hack at Vernon, but he continued to dodge. At least she was distracting him.

When she least expected it, Vernon turned to her, dashing at her with his fists out. The blue crackling of Potence and the overwhelming orange glow of Presence getting nearer and nearer to her as Vernon prepared his attack. She held up her axe in hopes it would defend the blow, or at least cover some of the pain she would feel. She was floored quickly, hitting the ground with a deep thud.

"Phaedra!" Poe screamed, he frowned and stabbed Vernon in the back. Vernon coughed up a lot of blood, unable to finish off Phaedra given his current position.

Something unfortunate was dawning on him. As old and skilled as he was, he couldn't defeat these two, outnumbered as he was. (It didn't help that one of them had Celerity as good as his). So he went back to attacking Poe, but this was met with mixed success as Poe continued to dodge his strikes.

Phaedra weakly sat up, trying to get back to her feet. She snapped her nose back into place, somewhat, grasping onto the handle of her axe and trying to gather her wits.

Poe was punched in the face again, tumbling on the ground, "Dirty Camarilla fools!" Vernon laughed, "You'll never defeat me!" Of course, his monologue was cut short, due to the leftover zombies and specter lying around. If he stayed still for two long, he would be attacked.

Phaedra got up and helped Poe to his feet, squeezing his hand tightly, "Any plans?" She asked.

"…hope that he runs out of blood…?" Poe asked.

She smirked, letting go of his hand to grab her axe and charge towards him again.

"Phaedra…wait…can you summon anything else…?" Poe asked.

She held a hand up to summon a new surge of zombies.

"Summon another ghost." He said, "It might make him run off."

"Ah." She summoned up some of the last of her energy to summon another specter.

Poe narrowed his eyes and charged at Vernon, flanked by the two specters. Poe must have been so sure about Vernon's plans because he figured they both had the same amount of blood, that being not much, since they had been using all three of their Disciplines the entire fight.

Vernon used what little left of his energy to retreat with Celerity, while Poe walked back to Phaedra, "Are you alright?" He asked.

"Yes, I'm fine." She smiled, "How about you?" She held his hand.

"I'm okay." He gave her a hug, "I should carry you most of the way down…"

"Oh, no, that won't be necessary. You'll hurt yourself." She turned and started using her axe as they headed back down.

"Are you sure?"

"Very sure. You could help me, but I don't want you to carry me."

He smiled and leaned in towards her ear, "I'll make you feel a lot better when we get back to the red tower…"

She gave a sly smile back, "You will, hmm? I'll have to repay the favor. In the bath?"

"…I'm still not sure I'm ready for that…"

She chuckled softly, "It's no problem, dear. I'd still like to…wash the blood from my face, first."

"Yes…I'll need a shower too…"

"I'll try not to hog all the hot water." She smirked.

"Take your time." He smiled, "You deserve every bit of comfort."

"As do you." She bopped his nose. His smile grew, he reached out to hug her, kissing her lips. She put an arm around his shoulders as they headed down, "Let's be careful now we don't lose our balance…"

"It's alright, I've got you." He squeezed her, "I won't ever let you go."

* * *

The door swung open and Damsel jumped, "Christ. You could knock." She glared up at Nines as he shut the door.

"Figured you knew I was coming." He muttered, walking behind the couch and putting his hands on the back of the couch, on either side of her shoulders, "What's on?"

"News." She said, "But, like, nothing new. Nothing important." Her bright gaze landed on his hands on either side of her, for some reason, it gave her chills.

He finally came around the couch and sat next to her, "Is that mine?" He looked at the shirt she was in.

"Is it?" She looked at it, "Oh, maybe…I thought it was Pat's…"

"You still have his shit?" Nines smirked.

"Of course I do." She muttered, "He's not using it. Why not take it all?"

"Sounds like something that…Ravnos girl would say."

"Well, I'm not a thief. If anything, it was fair. He took my life, so I took his shit."

"Yeah, that's considered fair to you?"

"Well, I killed him too." She said, "Silly."

"I guess." He snorted.

"How's Chinatown?" She looked up and smiled at him.

He stood up and started pacing, "Mind if I light?"

"Go ahead."

He reached in his back pocket for a cigarette, then a lighter. Once it was lit, he took off his jacket and threw it over the back of her couch, "Something's off."

"Shit…I figured as much…" She said nervously.

"It's too damn quiet out there. I don't like it. Too suspicious."

"Maybe it's…just cause everyone's dead?"

"I think it's a huge risk."

"I think we have to give it a shot." She said firmly, "If we get attacked, then we'll fight back." She stood up, "Think about what an entire city will do for us!" She smiled, "We'll…we'll have a city, Nines! Think about that!"

"I know, it'd be great. We'd…really build something for ourselves. But it is a huge risk."

"So let's….let's just send you, and Skelter, and Anastasia, Sirius, Catalina, Killian, all the big guns, send them down for a few nights. Anyone show up, we fucking clear the shit out of them. We got those guns now, so if any other Kindred steps foot there, they'll be fucked. And we can call Isaac. He can get us more troops."

"Just…just let me think about it."

"You don't have a lot of time." She walked around the couch, then reached out for his cigarette to take a puff on it, "You keep wasting so much of your time thinking, we'll have no time to act."

"I know." He crossed his arms, "But I'd rather have a last minute plan than act without any sort of thought."

She nodded, smashing the cigarette up against the wall and letting it fall on the floor. "Anastasia's been upset recently."

"Yeah, I can imagine." He said, "I have no fucking clue what to do with that kid. It's like trying to put a leash on a bull."

"Just get a red cape." She smirked, "That'll distract him."

"Thanks for the advice." He snickered, shaking his head.

"I think we might have to kick him out." She said softly, before meeting his gaze.

He looked down into her eyes, then stepped closer, closing the gap between them and kissing her.

Just like that, any of the calm feelings Damsel had forced up had disintegrated. Anger boiled to the surface as she grabbed his shoulders and pulled him closer for a more heated kiss.

His hands suddenly grasped the backs of her thighs, slamming her back against the wall. She broke the kiss, grimacing at their closeness. She was a trapped animal, stuck between him and chipped drywall. Frustration led her to slam a fist against the wall, but the vibration of the frail wall shook and hurt her head.

She hated this. She hated when she was his, when she couldn't secure herself somewhere. Her feet were left hanging, her back pressed to the wall, which was no more reliable than he was. She wanted the floor, the bed, the couch, something beneath her. Something she could grasp onto to ground herself.

He started kissing her neck and jawline, his cold breath flowing down her skin, even down through her shirt. She slowly brought her arms up and used the flames burning in her chest to push him away.

"What's wrong?" He asked, his eyes narrowed in a daze.

She felt like her mouth had run dry. Her brain had suddenly dumped all reasons for her to tell him to stop. Why could she rant and rave to Anastasia, pinpoint everything about him that bothered her, and yet, when he was standing right in front of her, trapping her, she couldn't say anything?

"Damsel…?" He looked worried, minimally.

She just shook her head. She didn't even know what it meant, but to him, it meant continue. So he kissed her neck, the column of her throat, down to her collarbone.

She hated that it felt good. She hated that she liked it, she liked how he was a little gentler now, but she could still see his arms and shoulders working to keep her up against the wall.

But she still couldn't trust him.

He moved his head away and dropped his eyes down to her chest, flicked back up to her eyes, back to her chest, then her eyes, "Mind taking it off?"

That wicked conscious of her shook her head again, then she painstakingly pulled herself away from the wall, towards him. Just the proximity of his face near hers, near her chest, near her heart, it sent another rush of fire through her blood.

The shirt landed in a heap of other dirty clothes. She already missed it. He hoisted her up a little higher, bringing one of her breasts into his mouth, the same nipple between his teeth. She hissed and beat both fists against the wall. It hurt as much as it felt good, and that sly smile on his face was nothing more than kindling for her anger.

He licked over it a few times, as if to make it feel better, dropping her down to kiss her lips. She let out a gentle sigh through her nose, leaning into the kiss. It didn't have as much as the fire as it usually did, it was a calmer, smoother kiss. Just as she thought her nerves were almost calmed, he moved himself away, holding her up with just one arm, rather than both.

That meant he needed a hand for something. She writhed with anxiety, "Nines…" She hissed, "Nines, I…" She trailed off, feeling her breath hitch as he reached under the waistband of her boxers.

He gave another smirk as he found and pinched her clit, which tipped her over the edge. She pounded the walls with her fists as she screamed, then reached her arms out to hold his shoulders. She could choke him from here, if she wanted to, but knew that wouldn't stop him. Nothing would at this point.

He dipped a finger inside, stretching her out before he inserted another. His thumb hovered over the sensitive bundle, teasing it to his liking. She hit her head against the wall and begged his name, her frantic hip-rolling made her writhe uncomfortably against the wall.

He spread her fingers inside her, then closed them and reached in deeper, doing the same. Her mind clouded as the burning consumed her, her vision fogged until she shut her eyes and just yelled at the ceiling, because Nines would never listen.

As her chest heaved from her release, he removed his hand from her womanhood, grabbing onto her legs and kissing her again, like what just happened was something beautiful, something worth celebrating.

She watched as he gently let her land on the floor, her feet wobbly as she stood up. He wiped whatever bits of her essence were left on his fingers on his pants, throwing his jacket back on.

"That's it…?" She finally found her voice.

He turned over his shoulder, "I figured you'd chew me out if I stuck around."

She grit her teeth, "I didn't ask you to come over." She grabbed her shirt and yanked it back on.

"You didn't tell me to leave, either."

She faced away, crossing her arms, "Is this what we are now?

A slight pause as he looked at the floor, then looked back up at her, "What do you mean?"

"Is this love to you? Do you like this?"

"I thought…" He was actually pretty puzzled, "I thought you were done with me."

"I was." She turned around, "That means over. Done. No more of this."

"You never told me to stop."

"No…I didn't…" She said softly, crossing her arms and collapsing on the couch, "Because…I didn't want it to end…"

"Then why did you break things off?"

"Because…I…" She sighed, "I'm not ready for this…"

"Who said that?"

"I did." She looked up at him, "I don't know what I'm doing! Besides…" She looked away, "I was looking for love, not sex."

"You think I just…sleep with anyone?"

"I mean…sure seems like it…" She muttered.

He walked around the couch and squatted in front of her so they could make eye contact, "I wouldn't do any of this if I didn't."

"If you didn't love me?" She seemed surprised.

"I'd have better things to do."

She looked away, "Why didn't you say anything?" She asked softly.

"It was stupid of me. I just thought you didn't feel the same. But…"

"I do." She looked up at him again. "I do….I do love you."

He sat next to her and held her, then he said softly, into her shoulder, "I'm sorry."

She melted in his embrace, a weak smile on her face, "It's okay. I'm sorry too…"

He gave her one last firm squeeze before he stood up, "I gotta get back home before the sun rises. Doesn't look like there's enough room on your bed for two."

"You could sleep on the couch…"

"That's alright. I'll see you tomorrow, Courtenay."

She flinched a little at that, "Uh-huh. Love you." She watched the door close as he left, then turned back to the news, blankly staring at the screen as she reflected over the night's events.

Did he mean it? Was he done playing with her now? She let her eyes close as she laid back on the couch. She hoped this was it. She hoped things were normal now. She'd love to be just as happy as Anastasia was with Skelter. She'd love to have something that made her feel meaningful.

She drifted off, hoping tomorrow she'd wake up to find that this night wasn't a dream.

* * *

In a way, he hated it, but in another way, he knew why it was being done. He was lugging around an impressionable fledgling, that was why. So Derek already knew that Strauss sent them to a small, minor warehouse with nothing in it aside from Sabbat thugs, to work on Ella's endurance and experience in the Camarilla.

Not to mention that Ella herself had been ten times quieter since the little stint with the Society of Leopold.

"I wish there was something I could say to help you." He said eventually.

"…is there a way to go back…?" She asked quietly.

"There is no way to go back."

She stared at the ground, her bright red eyes lifeless.

"What exactly about the…incident…hurt you the most?"

"That I can't go back to my old life…" She sniffed, "I don't want to be this…I want to be with my friends…my family probably thinks I'm dead too…"

"You can easily make new friends."

"Pfft…what happened when you were Embraced, huh? Was it so easy?"

"I chose to be Embraced."

She raised a brow, "How? You couldn't have _known_ about vampires willingly…"

"I ran into a rather…foolish ghoul. She broke the Masquerade in telling me about them. But, it guided me in the right direction."

She faced ahead, storming into the warehouse rather than entertain that conversation. She made a face and fanned a hand in front of her nose, "So answer me this, Derek. Camarilla and Sabbat, why do you two hate each other? What is this war about?"

"Two reasons, mainly. The Sabbat doesn't care about the Masquerade, they act recklessly and more or less foil our cover when they come in, marauding in our cities. The other reason is their belief in Antediluvians. They support the idea that they will rise and consume us all, while the Camarilla does not."

"…and Antediluvians are…?"

"Elder Kindred, essentially. Very…very much elder…they have obscene power and could easily destroy the planet, if they wished."

"Then why haven't they?"

"They're all in torpor. That is, if they exist."

"So…like, asleep?"

"Yes, in a way. More like unconscious."

"Hmm…" She said, hearing a small group of Sabbat vampires hiss at them. She aimed her grenade launcher and fired, killing them all immediately, "And what are Anarchs?" She asked, stepping over the dust of their bodies, "Because I actually have a good few of their numbers from a cell phone I stole from a dead Kindred in my hunting days."

"What?" His eyes widened, "Really?"

She nodded, "The most notable one is this girl named Damsel or something…"

"Those numbers are very valuable. When we finish with this errand, I would like you to give them to me, I'll give them out."

She gave a small nod, "Okay." She said, shooting another grenade at a pack of Sabbat and killing them all.

He adjusted his tie, "You're quite good with that."

"Thank you." She smiled, "You're pretty cool with that death ray power yourself…"

"Mass Suicide?" He asked, chuckling to himself, "It's part of the Dominate discipline. I put most of my practice into its efforts, seeing how effective it is."

"Dominate?"

"A Ventrue discipline. Well, it is found in other clans, too. It allows manipulation of the human mind, or Kindred younger than the user."

She gave a short nod, "Alright, let's just check this room, and—"

Astrolite exploded, making short work of the warehouse. The entire building crumbled and Derek and Ella went flying, lucky to not have lost their lives. Derek fell on the grassy ground, onto his back, with Ella falling on top of him.

He blinked a few times at the view he was given, slowly resting his hands on her lower back, "Are you alright?"

"Uh-huh…" She said quietly, they both looked into each other's eyes for a while, "What…what was that…?"

"Astrolite?" He asked, feeling his back start to hurt from the landing.

"Astro…what?"

"It's an explosive…" He wearily sat up and rubbed his back, "Highly…explosive…explosive…the Sabbat uses it all the time…"

"Right…good thing we're still in one piece…" She said, still looking into his eyes.

"You're sure you're alright?" He asked again, not quite sure about the look on her face. She gave a slight nod, leaning in to kiss him on the lips. He slowly raised a hand to hold the back of her head, gently kissing her back before he pulled away, "…you're positive you're alright…?"

"Mmm-hmm."

He pulled her in to kiss her again, with much more passion than before. He moved his hands down and held her waist as he kept kissing her. She kissed him back, doing what she could to keep up with him, until she said softly, in between kisses, "We should head back…"

"Yes that's…a very good idea…"

* * *

 **A/N:** Derek finally got his wish…let's see if Ella can slap some sense into him…Thanks for reading!


	98. Chapter 98

**A/N:** Here's chapter ninety-eighty! The final batch of lemons before the fire consumes all… *wink* *wink* Enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs. Also the history regarding the Antediluvians and the Anarch Revolt belong to White Wolf. Also Phaedra. Also Sirius.

* * *

"I might have to take these to…to a smith of sorts. Or a repairman. I don't know what you would call it." Phaedra set her boots down.

Poe smiled, "I'm sure there's someone in the city who could help you." He said, "Come lay down." He pat the spot next to him on the couch. She sat next to him, then laid her head in his lap. He gently held her head, "I still feel sorry for dragging you out into the mountain range…"

"It was good, we frightened away that Brujah." She looked up and met his eye.

"I'm not sure frightened is the proper word…"

"Then what is?"

"I'm not sure…momentarily bested. Outlasted…but that one sounds much too brave…"

"We had to have stabbed at his ego."

"Maybe…out teamwork was the only reason we had an advantage…"

"I think so. Though I didn't help much."

"What are you talking about? You're the reason he even left…I would've been killed…"

She giggled and took his hand, "I think we should both accept that without each other, we would have been killed."

"Perhaps…you could have taken him by yourself, I think."

"He'd be far too fast for me. Too strong, as well."

"Hmm…maybe it was good that I was there…"

"Yes, I think it was _very_ good you were there."

He smiled and leaned down to kiss her lips, "We make a good team."

"I think we make the perfect team." She sat up to keep kissing him.

"Sometimes I'm worried…about Gottfried…"

"Gottfried? Why? Those sisters?"

He nodded, "Sometimes…it really makes me think…"

"Think what?"

"Of…of where I would be right now…if I didn't meet you. Would I be in their clutches?"

"I don't think so…" She sat next to him, kicking her feet up on the table, "I think Gottfried would take wonderful care of you."

"Yes…" He said, "I suppose that is true…" He said, "Sometimes I'm really worried for him. I don't think I'd last in his situation…"

"He's got quite the iron-will, for sure."

He nodded, giving her a squeeze, "So…does anything that Follower of Set say…bother you?"

"I've learned to let most of it slide by."

"Okay…that's good that he doesn't bother you…"

"He didn't bother you, did he?"

"No…" He shook his head, "I just…remember him…from the war…"

"Did he ever talk to you?"

"Not much…he lost his eye to the Nazis…"

"Really? Hmm…interesting…"

He smiled, "Are you still a worn out from the trip?" He kissed her, "Need a rub?"

"Oh, I would love that…" She cuddled up against him.

He kissed her a bit harder, running his hands up and down her sides, eventually getting to her rear and giving it a big squeeze. She sighed into his mouth, laying back so he was on top of her. She ran her hands across his chest and started removing his shirt. He helped her take it off, "What's the sorest?" He asked quietly.

"My feet…"

He wasn't sure if she was just saying that to appease his newfound addiction or whether she really meant it. He smiled nevertheless, "I'll be down there in a second…" He said, kissing her on the lips.

She relaxed as soon as he headed down, "Did you want to go to the bedroom? There's more room."

"Very well."

She stood up and took his hand as they went into the bedroom. Then, she slipped out of her robe, completely nude.

He smiled, "You look so nice…" He said, taking his pants off.

"Thank you, dear." She smiled back, laying herself on the bed, "It's a real compliment, coming from you."

His smile grew, he got on the bed with her, rubbing one of her lower legs, and kissing the other. She sighed, her hands lightly gripping the blankets around herself. He started shaking once he got near her ankles, his tongue sliding across them. Eventually he got to the arch of her foot, where heavy amounts of licking and biting were involved.

She moaned, shuddering here or there if he reached a slightly ticklish part. Most of the sounds she made were of his name, but none of which were the shortened version.

It was hard to tell which was more entertaining, the sucking on her foot, or his bulge slowly growing in size as he did so. He closed his eyes and bit her ankle. There were only a small handful of cracks this time, as Phaedra had a bath to relax prior.

She smiled at the size of the bulge, nudging it again with her other foot. "Phaedra…no…" He tensed up.

She grinned, moving her foot away, "Apologies, dear."

"I just…don't want to make a mess, I'm sorry…"

"It's alright, sweetie, I understand." She giggled a bit.

He moved back a bit, massaging her ankles, "Do they feel better?"

"Much better…"

"Good." He slid up closer, "Now let me get here." He kissed her stomach, his hands squeezing her bum. She closed her eyes and moaned again, wrapping her legs around him as she threaded her fingers through his hair. "I hope one day I can make this place feel safe for you." He gently suckled on her stomach.

"You already have…it's nearly forgotten, those wounds…"

He caressed her butt, gently biting her stomach and sucking on it. She moaned blissfully, sliding her hands up and down his arms. He took his underwear off, pressing his length against her leg as he kept kissing her stomach. Her voice rose to a scream as her hands flew back and feverishly griped at the bedsheets.

"Phaedra…" He sighed, lightly palming her breasts as kept licking.

"Polonius-s…" She moaned weakly, "P-Poe—ahh…"

"Yes…?" He grinned, getting up to her level.

"Pl-lease…." She spread her legs. He nodded, letting his shaft in her entrance and humping her for a good while until he finally felt the pressure and the ecstasy he was looking for. She could tell because he gave a delighted sigh, followed by a passionate groan, as he bored into her.

It was a deep penetration, marked even greater by the fact that she felt his member grow a bit _inside_ her, much larger than it ever had been before. After a good handful of thrusts, he heard her cry out his name and felt a relentless clamping around his member. Her body quivered under his as she rode out her orgasm.

He closed his eyes in pure bliss, shaking her and the bed with his humps, even after his load was done, he went on for a few minutes. She stammered out fractions of his name, sliding her hand down his spine to clench onto his rear. Her hips grinded against him with a perfect rhythm that she had locked down to a T.

When he reluctantly removed himself, she nearly melted into the sheets, reaching out to hold his face and kiss him.

"The…the sex with you…is…is just…"

"What? Are you disappointed?" She smirked.

"No…the opposite…"

She giggled, "Me too. I didn't think it could be this good…"

He gave her a soft squeeze, "You don't mind if I sleep on you like this, do you?"

"Not at all…"

"Okay, thank you." He smiled, "You're soft."

She smiled, nuzzling her face beside his, "So are you."

He squeezed her, "I love you, Phaedra."

"I love you too, Polonius."

* * *

As per usual, when Sirius made it home, Juliet was sitting on the couch, scooping out some ice cream from a carton, "Hey babe."

"Hey." He smiled, closing the door behind him and sitting next to her, "Heh, heh, I'm excited."

"Why?" She asked with a smile. She was a little dressed up, like she went out and did something today.

"Because some serious shit is gonna go down soon. On all sides." He chuckled.

"Oh yeah? You better be careful…"

"Heh, heh, heh…"

"What'd you do?"

"Nothing _yet_."

"Uh huh."

"You'll see, it'll be great fun." He said, "It's…also why I leave you here alone…in a secret house…where no one can get to you…"

"Yeah, I'm starting to get that now."

He laughed, "If people knew you were here, they would have killed me by now, for leverage. Or…at least once my plan's done."

"…uh huh."

"Hey, at least I'm keeping you safe…"

"Yeah, yeah…" She smiled, "Let's hope so."

"Need me to get anything for ya?"

"Yeah, did you wanna put this away for me?" She handed him the ice cream.

"Sure." He took the carton and left, returning and sitting next to her.

She leaned her head on his shoulder, "Papa Sirius."

"Eh?"

"You're a daddy. Papa Sirius. Not sure about that one…I dunno, no matter how you put it, you're name is going to sound really strict…"

"You're pregnant?"

"Yup."

He grinned, his snake-like tongue flickering out. He reached out and palmed both of her breasts, giving them a squeeze. "What's this about?" She asked as she moved in so she was straddling him.

"I don't know. It's a reward…or…something. Point is, I'm turned on now…"

"There's four of 'em."

"Four…huh?" His eye grew with interest, "How many of 'em am I allowed to Embrace?"

"Uh…" She blinked a few times, pushing herself away from him a bit, "I…I don't know…"

"Joke."

"Thank god…"

He laughed, "Come on, you gotta lighten up about these sorts of things!"

"I don't know, I feel like that's something you could do…"

"I didn't mean to scare you."

"It's alright." She smiled, leaning in and kissing him.

He kissed her back, holding her butt, "So now I'll have to keep you _extra_ safe."

"Uh huh. Sorry."

"It's fine." He laid back on the couch, getting his coat and his shirt off, "No one knows where the hell we live anyway…"

"We should be fine." She told herself, eyeing over his chest.

"Heh, heh…"

"Wanna head up?"

"Sure." He said, leading the way upstairs. She followed him upstairs, then started taking her top off.

He took his pants off, with usual the confident, some would say arrogant smile on his face, "This is gonna feel nice…"

"What's gonna feel nice?" She pulled her shorts off.

"I don't know…banging you…"

She snickered, then sat on the bed, "Good, glad you feel this way."

"God…you look so hot…"

"Do I?" She asked, "I don't feel like it…"

"Don't worry, I'll make you feel like it."

She gave a relaxed smile before she laid back, "Alright then, get to it."

He got on top of her quickly, kissing her lips and squeezing at her butt once again, letting out a sigh. "That's nice…" She roamed her hands down his back. He reached out and took her bra off, squeezing both of her breasts mercilessly with a large grin on his face. She closed her eyes and sighed, "Ah…that's…that's nice…"

He sighed back, squeezing a little harder as he grinded against her inner thigh. "Fuck…" She hissed, rubbing her hands over his abs, keeping her legs around him tightly.

"Did you want me to clean you out down there?"

"Uh…sure…if you're up for it…"

"You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm kinda in the mood…I dunno…I think I just might want it…vanilla, tonight."

"Vanilla?" He asked, "We don't have to do it at all, if you don't want to…I don't…I don't want to force anything, despite how I act."

"Nah, you got me all hot and bothered…"

"Now I feel kinda bad…"

"Don't." She kissed him again, massaging his shoulders. He relaxed a bit in her arms, kissing her back and rubbing her sides. She sighed, slowly sliding her panties down one of her hips. He helped her take them off, rubbing her hips and her butt. She let out a little moan, nibbling on his jawline. He tore his underwear off, again, pressing his length around her leg and inner thigh.

"Sirius…" She moaned, holding his hips, "F-Fuck…"

"What's up?"

"Fuck me…"

He held her butt in an effort to coerce her into spreading her legs wider, then he dove in, penetrating her. She felt a lot of the tension inside fizzle away as he pushed through, and the flames in the pit of her belly only grew with intensity.

He sighed with a smile as he easily began to build up his rhythm, humping her over and over again. She held onto his shoulders for support, rubbing her fingertips over the muscles and keeping her hips lose as he pushed into her.

He eventually groaned and bit her neck, shuddering in ecstasy as he continued his orgasm inside her. She cried out as he drank, her climax burning throughout her entire body as they both reached their peak together.

She panted a good deal, cuddling in his arms after they'd finished.

"You alright?" He gave her a squeeze.

"Yeah…just…worried about the kids…"

"Worried, how?"

"I don't know…I hope nothing will happen to me or to them…"

"Nothing will, alright? Anyone comes near this place…I got like, twelve ways to kill 'em. You'll be fine. No one fucks with me. Pretty soon a lot of people are gonna learn that the hard way…"

"I know…or…I could just, have a miscarriage…"

"Oh…yeah…that I can't control…"

"I know. I'll just try and…stay healthy." She said, kissing his cheek, "I hope I didn't make you worried now…"

"Look, if you need anything during this, anything at all. Let me know, give me a call." He squeezed her, "I'm gonna get stronger and stronger for you. For us. For all six of us."

"Uh huh." She gave a little smile, nuzzling her head under his, "Thanks Sirius."

"No problem." He smiled, "Goodnight, Juliet."

"Night Sirius…"

* * *

She seemed in a better mood at least. That was the one thing that made Skelter feel better. Why she dragged him all the way to Santa Monica was a question that still needed to be answered.

"This ain't about Jeanette, right?" Skelter asked, eyeing the streets suspiciously.

"Nope." Anastasia said, a blissfully ignorant smile on her face.

"Alright…then what is it about?"

"This." She opened the door to the nearby tattoo parlor, walking in with Skelter. "Hello!" She called, "Hmm…why is no one in here?"

"No one's in here because this place has been abandoned for almost a year." Cadmus said, coming upstairs from the basement. "What are you doing here?"

"Cadmus…" She looked surprised, "I was going to get a new tat…why?"

"You're better off drawing it on yourself."

"…huh…?"

He crossed his arms, "If you get a tattoo…now…as a Kindred, it'll heal up by itself. But we don't sweat, so it just makes more sense to draw one on…"

"Oh…I…I knew that." She frowned, "Why are you here?"

"Because every time someone comes in here, something horrible happens, and I wanted to figure out why." He shrugged, "I was visiting some of our ghouls here anyway, so it's not like I wasted a trip."

"What do you mean by something terrible?"

"There was some serial killer nonsense that the Toreador kids were telling me about…but that was when LaCroix was in power, long time ago." He said, "And Lafayette lived here for a while, too…"

"He did?"

"I was curious, so I've been sniffing around."

"The hell are you getting a tattoo of?" Skelter asked.

"I don't know…something cute or sexy…" Anastasia shrugged.

Cadmus held a hand up, beckoning them down the stairs.

Anastasia and Skelter exchanged a glance. Before the two of them went downstairs with him.

The basement level looked pretty typical for a tattoo parlor. Heating equipment, storage, old stacks of papers. It wasn't until Cadmus shoved a 'secret wall' that it raised the Anarchs' eyebrows. He pushed it back, revealing _another_ dark staircase, leading into some underground catacombs.

"What the hell is that?" Anastasia asked, approaching the top step with Cadmus and Skelter.

"Don't know. I just found it, then I heard you two come in." Cadmus said, "I'm willing to bet its stuff Lafayette hid away, but forgot about when he had to leave."

The distant sound of a monster's growl could be heard from the catacombs. Anastasia screamed and hugged Skelter, "Well, have fun down there!"

Cadmus pulled his axe out, slamming the handle on the ground as he held it firm, "We already know a ton of the Sabbat's secrets. But…it won't hurt to know more." He started down the stairs, "Have fun up here."

Anastasia shuddered as he left, "Wait!" She ran down with him, "I'm not going to let you die down here alone!"

"Probably not going to die."

"We all got Fortitude anyway, we should be fine." Skelter muttered as he followed after the two of them.

Anastasia shuddered when she heard the squelching of flesh underneath her moccasins, "Oh…oh no…" She gulped, "This…this reminds me of when we had to save Damsel in sewers…"

"Reminds me of the warrens…" Cadmus muttered, "Those were fun…" He then stood firm as they reached a lower floor, "Heads up!" He said, as at least a dozen monsters came out to greet them. Cadmus instantly swung at them with his axe, while Anastasia powered up Fortitude and Protean to get the job done for herself. Skelter used the same disciplines, clawing at them or body-slamming them into the wall.

Anastasia hugged herself in terror as she turned back to normal, "I hate those things!" She said, seriously grossed out.

"Yup…Lafayette's little minions…he's definitely hiding something down here…" Cadmus said.

"Swear to god…if it's nothing…I'm gonna kill you…" She said quietly.

Skelter put his Protean down, "At least we got rid a' some of these things, even if there isn't anything down there."

"Yeah, we wouldn't want them to find their way on the surface and torture humans." Cadmus said.

Anastasia crossed your arms, "So…Cadmus…"

"Yeah?"

"We have a favor…to ask…"

"Uh-oh…Camarilla doing work for the Anarchs…Strauss will have my head."

She rolled her eyes, "We need you to kill Killian."

"First you want him dead…then you didn't…and now you do…" He said, "What the hell happened now?"

"Nothing worth going into." Skelter said, "Point is, we're in a situation where we can't kill him. If someone in the Cam kills him, we'd be off the hook."

He chuckled for a while, "I probably wasn't going to listen to the order not to kill him anyway. Not after what he did to you." He looked at Anastasia, then he looked ahead, "There's just one problem…"

"What's that?" Anastasia asked.

"A Malkavian Antitribu is out to get me." He said, "I can't kill Killian with him on my back. I can't even leave the freaking tower." He said, "I have to literally travel by helicopter…"

"Aw…seriously?"

He shrugged, "I bet that stupid LaSombra put him up to it. Remus or whatever the hell his name was. The one we all fought on the pier together. The one Strauss killed." He said, "Shit, just because a really old Ventrue and LaSombra fought over an old piece of bread or something…god damn it…I thought I was done with stupid LaSombra after Caesar…why are they _still_ a pain in the ass?" He growled, "No less, why does everyone hate the Ventrue so much?"

"Could be worse…" She said, "You could be Tremere…"

"Pfft…oh no, I can blow people up with a hand motion." He said, "Regardless of age, race, or anything. Yeah, I'd take that, in about five seconds. I feel like it would be worth the three or four entire _clans_ hating me."

"I guess…"

"I mean, they're hated so much because everyone's jealous of their powers, right?"

"Uh-huh…sure…not sure where you're getting your vampire mythology from…"

"Whatever, I mean, Ventrue are okay…but say if I fight someone older than me? Then one of my Disciplines is completely useless. And say if they're really good with Potence." He said, "Then I may as well not even bother with Fortitude or Presence…"

She smiled, "Should've been Gangrel."

"Eh, I don't think I'd be able to take being a Gangrel." He said, "Brujah I wouldn't mind. They have nice powers."

"So do we."

"Touché."

As the siblings discussed, Skelter started peeking his nose in deeper in the tunnels, "Ah, shit."

"What?" Cadmus and Anastasia stiffened, "More creations?" The former asked.

"Yeah, a bunch more." He used Protean to start shredding through them.

Cadmus took a defensive stance, fighting off them monsters nearby him. Anastasia turned back into her bird form and started attacking them as well. The monsters bore a semblance to Lafayette's design, thin, shark-like faces, and spiderlike bodies.

When Anastasia turned back to normal, she looked at Cadmus, "You should really start to use your Disciplines…" She said, seeing how bloodied he was starting to look.

He shook his head, "Saving it for an emergency. I doubt there are any humans down here, and I can't feed on rats…"

"Oh, right…maybe the Ventrue do suck…"

"A few of them don't." Cadmus said, then he corrected himself, " _I_ don't."

Skelter snickered as he put his Protean down and kept leading the way, more and more interested on what they might find.

Anastasia clenched her fists when once they fought off another group, "I still can't believe that stupid Assamite almost killed you…"

"Why?" Cadmus asked, following Skelter's lead, "She was just doing her job."

"But I don't want you to die…"

"I know that, but things will happen, given the fact that we're on opposite sides."

"But…" She stopped walking, "What about the promise we made?"

"I know the promise. I'm not allowed to kill you or Skelter. And you're not allowed to kill Angelique or I." He said, "But if another Anarch were to kill me, then they're just doing their job, and you have to accept that. And if someone in the Camarilla kills you, then I have to accept it."

She looked away, "Why do I feel like you wouldn't follow your own rules…?"

"Oh, I wouldn't. Anyone kills you, and I'm murdering them, no matter whose side they're on. Even if it's Strauss himself."

"Then why make rules or promises if you're not going to follow them?!"

"Look, I don't know what you want from me. I'm letting you be free with all your Anarch friends. But you shouldn't bully any of them if they want to kill me, they're just doing what they're supposed to be doing."

"You're such a hypocrite…" She grumbled, "Just like that show we did in New York…when you wore all white, you totally stole the show…"

"Please, your outfit was so flashy, people couldn't even see _you_." He said, then they both looked away, then they started laughing.

"It wasn't a red dress with a feathery boa, was it?" Skelter finally chimed in, "Or does she save that for real work?"

"Those were just the basics." Cadmus snickered, "The giant-ass sunhat, the freaking gloves…heels at least six-inches tall…"

"They were not six!" Anastasia snapped, but the two of them were too busy laughing anyway.

"And she refuses to wear my shit." Skelter added, "Guess it ain't good enough."

"It's not…it's not because it isn't good enough…" Anastasia said quietly.

"Wait." Cadmus said, as they accessed a new floor. A large lumbering fleshy monstrosity greeted them. It was large and fat and armed with two sickles instead of hands. It roared and ran at the trio. "See, _this_ is why I was saving my Disciplines for now…" Cadmus said, arming himself with Fortitude and Presence.

"If you lecture me _one_ more time…" Anastasia muttered, using Protean and Fortitude.

Skelter activated Fortitude and Animalism, summoning a pair of wolves to attack. After a few minutes, the beast died in a large pile of ash, they then progressed to the lowest level of the catacombs. Down here, there was no flesh or monsters to be seen. The entire room was black, with paintings of Tzimisce all over the walls. The room was huge, easily the size of the library, and having enough sheets of paper and documents to quality for one, "Holy shit…" Cadmus said.

"Talk about secrets…" Skelter nervously checked around for traps or doorways.

Cadmus immediately started reading through whatever he could find, "Shit…" He said, "Check the dates on some of these…" He said.

Anastasia blinked a few times, taking a look at the document Cadmus was holding, "Fourteen…oh…five?" She shuddered.

"The Anarch Revolt…" Cadmus read aloud.

Skelter was still nervously looking around for traps or danger, entirely on edge, "If you find something worthwhile, take it. Stash it. We gotta get the hell out of here."

"Why the hell does Lafayette have all this Anarch shit lying around?" Cadmus asked, "He can't be _that_ old, it's impossible…"

Anastasia also looked nervous, she started looking for traps too with Skelter, but was relieved when she couldn't find any.

"Holy shit…" Cadmus said, "This must be a journal or something…" He said, starting to read, "Hoorah…one of our brothers, Gratiano De Veronese…has finally feasted upon LaSombra. The tyrannical elder will now burn in hell for his treacherous sins." He paused, "LaSombra…LaSombra who?"

Anastasia froze, "I…I think they mean the _Antediluvian_ …"

His eyes shrunk, "Fuck…"

"Take it." Skelter said, "Put it in your coat. Take all of this." He looked around, "We gotta get it before someone else does."

Cadmus flipped through the pages, "Holy shit…later on it says some guy named Lugoj diablerized Tzimisce." Cadmus said, "Huh…in fourteen-thirteen…I guess the fourteen-hundreds was a good century for the Anarchs…"

Skelter peered over his shoulder, "I didn't even know the movement was around that long…"

"Neither did I." He put the journal down, looking over at Anastasia, reading a document, "What do you have?"

Anastasia shuddered, she looked positively terrified.

"Hey, what the hell does that paper say?" He barked.

"That's a lie."

"What?"

"That journal…"

"How can an _entire journal_ be a lie?"

"The part about Tzimisce, I mean." Anastasia looked up, "He faked it. Staged the whole thing to get the Anarchs off his back. He killed Lugoj and faked it to make it look like he got diablerized with Vicissitude."

Cadmus's head spun, "They can do that?"

"That's not what I'm nervous about though." Anastasia pointed to paper with a black-nailed finger as she showed it to them, "It says Tzimisce is really in New York. He flesh-crafted himself into a fungal infection that takes up the entire sewer system of the state."

He swallowed hard, "No way…"

"And that's not all. Lafayette knows that. He knows where his Antediluvian is." She said, pointing to the bottom, "Look, the top three members of Lafayette's Sabbat signed the bottom…"

Cadmus walked up to the sheet and squinted, seeing Lafayette, Cedric, and Remus's names signed on the bottom, "Oh yeah, look at that…so…what does it mean?"

"If you were a power-hungry maniac, and you knew where an Antediluvian was, what would you do?"

Cadmus blinked, then it all hit him like a train, "No way…is he going to wake up Tzimisce and end the world…?" He asked, "Or…no…not this shit again, he's going to try to diablerize him for himself?!"

"Then the Sabbat should be our main priority." Skelter said, looking at Anastasia, "But the Prince is never going to let that happen."

"I need to tell Strauss all this." Cadmus said, "Fuck, we can't Lafayette do that. He's annoying to fight against _now_."

Anastasia nodded, recalling on their rescue mission for Damsel that Lafayette was able to take out all of the top Anarch fighters singlehandedly.

"We'll tell Nines, I'm sure as hell he'll be willing to agree to some sorta temporary alliance to get rid a' him." Skelter said.

Cadmus nodded, stuffing as many documents and journals into his jacket as he physically could, "You still have my number?" He looked at Anastasia. When she gave a timid nod, he went on, "Good…we need to stay in contact with one another…"

"We should go tell Nines." Skelter said to Anastasia.

She nodded, and the three of them left. It was a rather silent trip back to the surface level of the tattoo parlor. "I should warn you guys about one last thing." Cadmus said, when Anastasia and Skelter turned to face him, he said, "Strauss and the others are pissed about Chinatown."

"What?" Anastasia said, "But Sirius got that for us."

"Yeah, well maybe Sirius left out a few details, because there were Camarilla agents set up to take the city." He said, "I think some shit's going to go down about it. I'll try to delay them. I'll try to tell them about Lafayette as quickly as possible…but…I thought I should bring it up."

Skelter nodded, "Yeah, thanks for the warning. We'll be real careful."

He nodded back, "Hopefully I'll see you both later…"

Skelter nodded, "Take care." He turned back with Anastasia and headed for a cab home.

* * *

 **A/N:** Hmm…that sure would be convenient to put this war to an end…Thanks for reading!


	99. Chapter 99

**A/N:** Here's chapter ninety-nine! Let the fire rain down, let the smoke consume the sky, let the stars hide from the sins of the night…Enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs.

* * *

"Going somewhere, Victa?" Victor heard Donatello say from behind him in the halls of the Tremere Chantry.

Victor whirled around, "Yes, I'm very busy, what do you want?"

"Whatcha doing?"

"Working on experiments." He said, "They're nearly complete…I cannot wait to test them…on the Anarchs…"

"The Anarchs, huh?"

He nodded, "Strauss and most of the upper Camarilla is already _livid_ over Chinatown." He said, "The Kuei-Jin finally leave, and who gets the city, the putrid Anarchs? I think not. This is our city, they don't get to cherry pick what they want while we're occupied with other matters. I think it's high time for them to pay…"

Donatello smiled, "Ay, me too."

He smiled back, "Good, now…if you'll excuse me…"

Donatello's smile grew as Victor left him alone, he went back into his private quarters, heading down a long stairwell, until he reached a satanic ritual room. His followers were all there, standing at different ends of the pentagram. "Greetings." Donatello said, "I think it's time for us to make our move."

"Our move, sir?" One of the Baali asked.

He nodded, "Dat's right, the Camarilla and the Anarchs are reaching a breaking point, or, so I've heard. I got myself an idea to get rid of _both_ sects in this state, once and for all." He snickered menacingly.

"Do tell." One of the Baali said, his other followers chuckling quietly.

"Well, da way I see it, is dat dey's all fighting ova some land in Chinatown or whatnot. Something stupid like that. What say you we… _accelerate_ , their little conflict, ya know? Press fast forward?"

"I'm…afraid I'm not following, sir…" A Baali said, after a few minutes of pause.

"We go in there, and we attack their stupid little bar or whatever!" He laughed.

"But sir…" A member protested, "We'll be exposed!"

"We'll be hunted relentlessly if they figure out that we're Baali! Or did you already forget that?" Another member asked.

"We'll be perfectly fine." Donatello said, "Because they'll think we're _Tremere_." He cackled for a bit, "We're fine, as long as dey think that. We'll destroy their base, kill as many people there as possible, and who will dey be mad at?" He paused, "Not us. Da Camarilla!" He laughed, "Den they'll go to war, and hopefully both sides will come close to killing each other! Ha!" He said, "And den all that will be left is da Sabbat!"

"It…certainly is a reckless plan…" A Baali said.

"But I agree…we've waited around long enough…let's speed this war up…" Another Baali said.

"Dat's de idea." Donatello chuckled, "Alright, we leave tonight."

* * *

Donatello was flanked by his five followers in suits, all heading through the streets of downtown towards the Last Round.

Once they entered the building, they got straight to work. They all lit themselves on fire. What little kine in the building screamed and started running for their lives. But since the Baali were blocking the doorway, they practically ran into their deaths. Three of the Baali started killing and draining all the kine, leaving two of them to start spraying fire all over the bar, setting it aflame. This left Donatello to head towards the staircase.

"Fuck, shit!" Damsel screamed, flying up the stairs, "The place is on fire! Out the windows, now!" She ordered, grabbing a 'decorative' baseball bat from the wall and bashing the windows open.

Needless to say, her outburst stirred the other Anarchs. Nines pulled himself away from the wall, "Who set it on fire?"

His question was answered with the man's presence.

Donatello came to the top of the stairs, seeing that everything on the first floor was either dead or burnt. His followers quickly followed, the Baali summoned flaming demons, effectively doubling their numbers in seconds flat. The demons gave uncivilized shrieks and hollers, as the scrambled over to the Anarchs.

"Who the fuck is this guy?!" Sirius asked.

Donatello answered him by spraying fire at him.

Sirius's eye widened, he jumped out of chair and rolled on the ground. Sirius's table and chair he sat at caught fire.

"We gotta get out of here!" Damsel demanded, "It's a fucking oven!" She jumped out the window.

"Dammit…" Nines turned and looked back at the Last Round. She was right. Staying for another few moments would not only reduce the entire Last Round to ash, but them with it. He jumped from the windows too, followed by most the other Anarchs.

Donatello laughed, following them. Some of his followers stayed behind to make sure the bar was completely burned down to nothing. But this still left four Baali chasing after them, as well as a horde of demons.

"Uh…they're tailing us…" Sirius said. This was most likely the first time the man's ever looked properly nervous about something in his entire life.

"Now we beat the shit out of them!" Damsel said.

"How?" Killian snapped back, "They're fire!"

Skelter took out his pistols and started firing, Nines took a similar approach.

The demons began mauling them down left and right. Sirius watched helplessly as Anastasia and Catalina were tackled by the flaming monstrosities. He held out a hand and tried Serpentis, but nothing happened, "Fuck…how old are these Tremere?"

Skelter flared up Fortitude and tried to pry them away from Anastasia, doing his best to keep her safe.

Meanwhile, Cissy held her hands out, a horde of her own fiery demons appeared. They roared and ran laps around the others.

Most of their foe's looked surprised at Cissy's ability. They all backed away momentarily, freeing Catalina from the attack.

Donatello laughed and watched Nines, the Anarchs were being pushed so far back, he could afford to lean on his cane and watch.

Nines shook his head, "Fuck…" He looked at their sheer numbers, then motioned his arm back, "Retreat!"

The Anarchs looked at Nines with shock, but they had to agree. Those who had Celerity used it, and those that didn't held the hand of someone who did to help pull them along.

"Kill them!" Donatello pointed, "Kill them all!" He roared.

Sirius turned back, taking a deep breath, before he blew a big sandstorm at the enemy, drowning them in a practical natural disaster, and giving the Anarchs plenty of time to escape.

"Thanks Sirius!" Sirius heard a female voice cry, either Cissy or Damsel, he decided.

Sirius took a minute to get an unnecessary breather, than he ran to catch up with the rest of the Anarchs, "Holy fuck…"

They were still scrambling off, "So…where are we going?" Damsel looked up at Nines.

Nines looked over his shoulder nervously a few times, "We got two options. Griffith Park, or Hollywood."

"What? Those are terrible ideas." Sirius said, "Werewolf country, or Sabbat country…we should just go to Chinatown…"

"We need to get _somewhere_ safe…" Anastasia winced. She, like most of the other Anarchs, were covered in burn marks.

"Chinatown isn't safe." Skelter clarified, putting an arm around Anastasia, "Cadmus told us."

"Damn…" Nines hissed.

"Isaac's gotta have something down there." Killian said, "I can pay for two cabs, unless we need three."

"Yeah, I don't feel like fucking with werewolves…shit, we lost our guns, too." Damsel complained.

"The stockroom's steel. Something might be salvageable, we'll just have to wait." Nines said, "We'll risk Hollywood. They know about Griffith Park already. I bet that's where they think we're headed."

"Not enough places to stake out there for all of us, anyway." Skelter said.

Anastasia shuddered, thinking of the charred remains of the Last Round. The place that was basically her home for almost twenty years. And for the veterans, it was their home for much longer. How could someone burn down their home? Who would even benefit from such a thing? She teared up, and tried to brush them away. Where would they live now?

Killian called for a taxi as soon as one drove by. The taxi driver rolled the window down, "You guys see the fire?"

They all exchanged a glance, "Yeah, we did. We need a ride to Hollywood." Killian said.

"Alright."

Killian looked back at the crowd, "Anyone who's really burned should go first. Go right to Isaac's, don't loiter."

"We should go, then." Skelter brought Anastasia in.

"I'll come too." Nines got in, "Explain this shit to him."

The door shut and they drove off. Killian kept his eye on the street for another taxi.

"That was terrible…" Catalina clenched her fists, "I hate the Tremere!"

"Sure as shit didn't see _that_ coming…" Sirius said, surprised he even survived.

Cissy gave a shaky breath, then hugged Catalina, "You okay, Cat?"

She nodded, hugging her back, "What about you?"

"Yeah, I know you got nuked…" She looked over her.

"I'm fine…I'll just get some blood later."

Killian called another taxi, "You guys can get in. Or, girls."

"Thanks." Damsel gave him a tiny smile before she got in with Cissy and Catalina and the cab drove off.

Killian sighed as he looked over at Sirius, "Shit, man."

"I know man…I must be shit at my job…because I should've called that shit." Sirius said.

"It's alright. That's…really unlike the Tremere…" He muttered, "To just come barging in. And I didn't even see Madison."

"Maybe they figure Madison is too good for us…"

"Not all Tremere can use fire, right?"

"Hell if I know…I didn't think so…Natalia made it sound like that took effort…"

"Maybe that's just…the new Prince…" He said bitterly, waving down the next taxi.

"Hmm." Sirius said, getting inside, "Who knew he had that many fucking Tremere hidden inside his garage…?"

"Must've called them out of state." He hopped in, "Hollywood." He then looked over at Sirius, "Serpentis?"

"Hmm?" He asked, "Oh, yeah, right." He held a hand out, a green glow of serpents came out of it, "Drive us to Hollywood for free." He said.

"No problem." The driver pressed on the gas.

"Jeez…" Sirius said, "If I was eighth gen…I'd be like, out of blood by now…"

"How much does that sandstorm take up?" Killian asked.

"A crap ton…" He muttered, "But, the two times I've used it recently, it does its job."

"Hell yeah, it's perfect. What else can you do?" He smiled.

"Anything that has to do with snakes or deserts…basically." He said, "Create snakes out of blood, turn into one…control people's minds. It's good fun."

"I wish I had a mind discipline. Guess the Brujah disciplines are still nothing to sneeze at."

"Presence is good for scaring people…but then again, you gotta get up there in the years for it to start working on Kindred."

"Exactly. I'm working on Celerity now. Maybe I'll be as fast as him…"

"Him?"

"This Toreador kid…VV's childe. He wants me dead. Can't say I remember an exact reason why…there are too many. We got in so many pissing contests, it's not even funny. Escalated into this massive rivalry. I'm stronger than he is, but he's faster. I can never catch him."

"Oh, yeah…Slade the Toreador." He nodded, "I heard of him. Yeah, kid's pretty good, for a fledgling."

"Definitely. I'd love to let bygones be bygones…but…god, who knows. He seems stubborn."

"Yeah, but a lot of 'em are like that."

The inside of Isaac's jewelry store was cramped with Anarchs, some sitting on the floor, a lot of them with last minute blood bags that tasted of plastic. Needless to say, the store was closed.

"Christ this place is small…" Sirius said, pacing around, in what little space provided, "I need to make a call." He took his cell phone out, hanging around by the back.

"So, correct me if I'm mistaken…" Isaac said at his desk, "A large group of Tremere came in and…ransacked the place?"

"Yeah, and they could all use fire." Killian shut the door behind himself, "Which is complete bullshit."

"It was a little weird…" Damsel said.

"They did more than just ransack, they burned the entire building down." Catalina said, "And then they chased us. They just…wanted to _erase_ us…from history…"

"It sounds like something the Prince would do to wipe us out, just like that." Nines said, "He's likely still after us. I think we should keep moving as soon as we can."

"Where?" Damsel looked up at him.

There was a silence as he shook his head, "Let me think about it."

"I've done the absolute best job I could to maintain this area from the Sabbat." Isaac said, "Though…if the Camarilla come barreling in this city too…it could mean trouble…"

"You're doing a good job. We'll try and get out of your hair as soon as possible." Damsel reassured.

"Dammit…" Nines hissed, "Can't believe that…"

"Neither can I. What the hell are we supposed to do?" Killian asked.

"Do we even have the capabilities to fight back?" Catalina asked.

Isaac nodded, "I always make sure to have reserves in check. We're as strong as ever."

"And it's not like the Camarilla have infinite manpower either." Sirius said, his arms crossed and his phone against his chest. Evidently, he was having trouble reaching whoever he was trying to call, "They've lost men fighting the Sabbat, and the Kuei-Jin, least until yours truly kicked them out…"

"Then we'll fight back." Nines decided.

"Seriously?" Damsel looked excited.

"They can't take the Last Round from us and expect nothing."

"Alright, that's what I like to hear." Sirius smiled, his snake tongue flickering out.

"So what are we going to do?" Anastasia asked.

"We regroup. Make some calls, gather forces quietly. As soon as a good amount of people get here, we'll start our attack." Nines said.

"Where?" Skelter asked.

"I don't know yet…" Nines muttered, "Any ideas?"

"Way I see it, we got two choices." Sirius said, "The red tower, or the Tremere Chantry…"

"There isn't another place where the Camarilla gather?" Catalina asked.

"Nope."

"Well…the entire Camarilla isn't at the Tremere Chantry." Damsel said. "Might be easier on us."

"Then we'll start there." Nines decided.

"We're attacking the Chantry?" Sirius asked.

"But it's where Victor lives…" Anastasia gulped.

"I know. Let me handle Madison." Nines said.

"Young Tremere shouldn't be an issue…the next problem is whether or not the Prince's got all those flaming bastards in there or somewhere else." Skelter said.

"We'll have enough forces to handle it."

"This all sounds good, we'll take the Chantry right out from under his nose." Sirius said, "Then we'll have that."

"Or at least, we'll be able to head to the tower next." Nines said.

"This…is… _really_ ambitious…" Catalina said, "Like…so many things could go wrong…"

"I know." Nines said, "We'll have to keep on our toes, and make sure we keep an eye on each other."

She nodded, a nervous excitement building up inside of her.

"I'll get as many of our forces out towards downtown as possible." Isaac said, "This may be more difficult than our bout with LaCroix. Hell, the old dotard is probably ten times his age, but if he thinks he can mock the Anarch Free State, he's got another thing coming…"

* * *

"I'm sure you can't wait for this." Nines was standing behind the jewelry store, in the parking lot, where Cissy and Catalina were sitting and chatting. Seemed he needed to get out for a bit of a smoke.

"It's…unlike anything I've ever done…sir…" Catalina said.

He snickered, "You don't have to call me sir. Freaks me out."

She crossed her arms and looked away, "I'm sorry."

"It's alright." He laughed, "It's fine, really. Don't worry about it."

"Are you worried?" Cissy asked, "Like, in your experience, what kinda chances are we looking at?"

"It's dangerous. This is probably the most dangerous heist I've ever been part of. Maybe." He thought back, "Getting the Last Round wasn't easy either…anyway…" He sighed, taking a puff of his cigarette, "I think there's a good chance for a lot of casualties on both sides."

Catalina swallowed hard, "I'm used to…quiet…assassinations…" She said, "And I didn't exactly do well in the Phantom's Mask…it stands to reason that this is going to be a hell of a lot bigger than that…"

"Big time. Hey, but no one said you can't go about it like an assassination. Maybe we could send you a little earlier." Nines said, "You try and off someone, then we come in as a sort of reinforcement."

"Maybe…" She said, "I don't know what to expect inside that building…"

Nines paused, "It's likely trapped. And locked. I'd go for the windows."

She nodded, "Right…" She shuddered.

"Hey, don't worry. We have a night or so before we actually go and do it. We have to make sure enough reinforcements get here."

"It'll be alright, Cat." Cissy reached a hand out to hold Catalina's.

She briefly squeezed Cissy's hand, "I really hope we win…" Catalina said.

"Me too." Cissy sighed nervously, "It's gonna suck if we don't. Then what? We have a backup plan?" She asked Nines.

He shook his head, "Book it. Get out of the state. I'd go east, in the mountains. Hard to get to."

"All of us?" She asked, "We can't give up…"

"I didn't say that. We won't give up until their dead. But if the Prince uses Mass Suicide on us…" He shrugged a shoulder, "Any survivors should probably run."

"God…I didn't even think of that…" Catalina said, " _Strauss_ showing up…"

"He's going to show up eventually. That's when I'm calling a retreat." Nines said, "If Madison hasn't hogtied me and locked me in his basement…"

She felt a chill, "We really need to take care of him before he does some serious damage…"

"Agreed." He took one last drawl of his cigarette before smothering it into the wall, "I just don't have a damn clue how."

"I'm so sorry…I wish I were stronger…or my generation was lower…"

"Don't apologize. Age isn't something you can really complain about. You'll get up there eventually. Especially you. You have a lot of talent."

She smiled, "Thank you."

"Am I chopped liver?" Cissy asked.

"I think…I think you have a long way to go." Nines crossed his arms.

"Fuck you too, man."

Nines snickered, "Especially with that attitude."

"Wait…Nines…" Catalina said, "There might be one other person who can help us…"

"Yeah?" He asked.

"Akeem." She said.

"Don't know 'em."

"He's my mentor…" She said, "It…would most likely take him a few days to get here…and he's Independent…so…I don't know if he would stick his neck out on the line for us. But…if he knew I was in danger…he would help. I didn't know if he was worth a shot…"

"If you have a means of contacting him, go ahead. We'll welcome any help we can get."

She nodded, "Okay, I'll do it."

"Hopefully he'll be able to make a difference." He eyed the moon, "You girls should head in before it gets too late." He said as he went inside the jewelry store again.

"You think heading to your place is a stretch?" Cissy asked.

She shook her head, "We can go back there if you'd like."

"Yeah, I'd like that." Cissy said, then she paused, "Did you want to kiss?"

She swallowed hard, "Um…sure…"

"I just…I don't know. This battle sounds intense and if…something happens…" She looked up at Catalina, "I want to make sure I kissed you."

She walked up to her and hugged her, hesitating when their lips drew near, "Uh…uh…"

"Relax." Cissy gently held her face with a hand and pecked her on the lips, "There."

She held Cissy's face with both her hands, leaning in to do a bit of a bigger kiss.

Cissy tried not to push too many buttons as she kissed her back, gently holding Catalina's hands. Once they finished, Catalina rested her head on Cissy's shoulder, holding her close for what felt like forever.

Cissy gently pet her hair, "I love you, Cat…" She whispered, hardly audible.

She smiled, her eyes slightly glossy, "I love you too."

"Are you crying…?" Cissy cracked a smile.

"…maybe…"

"Don't cry, Cat…" She held her close and rubbed her back, "Why are you upset?"

"I'm just worried…"

"About us? The fight?" She nodded, giving her a tight squeeze. "We'll be okay. We'll stick together."

"Mmm-hmm." She sniffed.

"Hey, it's alright." Cissy pet her hair, "Let's get back to your place. You'll feel better."

"Okay." She said weakly.

* * *

 **A/N:** You know it's a mighty scary battle when _Catalina's_ scared…thanks for reading!


	100. Chapter 100

**A/N:** Here she is. The final chapter of New Prince, New Problems: Chapter 100! Not as long as our last chapter 100 showdown, but overall, this fic was longer, so we cut ourselves some slack. But don't put your guard down! Just because it's shorter doesn't mean there's less action! Tons of cheese, tons of drama, tons of all the good stuff! We wouldn't have been able to get half-way through our planned VTMB kick without all the favorites, follows and reviews, so we thank all you readers! :) As with the first fic, we will maybe one day go through and fix the typos, copious spacing errors…etcetera…one day. Thank you so much for sticking through this web of character diarrhea, and now, we will finally present you with the chapter one-hundred finale.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs. Also again, if you cry, ain't our problem.

* * *

"We'll start with the windows." Nines said, "Shoot them out. If you can find a way to get in, then do. We need a shock squad going in the front door."

"On it." Killian held a shotgun close.

"Thanks, kid." Nines gave him one last look, then held a hand out, "In case." Killian felt his heart get caught in his throat, but only for a second. He gave Nines a firm handshake.

"Alright. All you." He patted Killian's shoulder, "When I say go, bust through that door. Anyone with firearms, aim for the windows."

"Aye-aye." Damsel adjusted her shotgun.

"Go!" Nines ordered. Killian barreled forward, smashing the door to the Chantry down with a shoulder. He held his gun out, ready to spray down the first person to approach.

The first Tremere was Delilah. She seemed absolutely horrified at the literal army that stood outside the door. She held her hands out to use Purge, then ran off into a corridor.

Killian was immediately lit on fire after only being in the Chantry a few seconds. He let loose a slew of curses, shedding his coat and throwing it at the ground in a weak attempt to kill the flames. He then started beating the other flames, somehow managing to keep himself alive after the ordeal by pulling himself outside. He turned over his shoulder and gave a bombastic grin to those who were armed to the teeth behind him, watching his every move like hawks.

"Shit…" Damsel lowered her gun as glass from the windows fell, "Does that mean we can't get in?"

"Nah, we should totally try…" Sirius began to charge forward.

"No!" Anastasia pulled on his arm, "Then we'll get burned…we'll…we'll have to fight out here…"

Akeem watched carefully, not surprised by the Tremere's wondrous defenses. Part of him still didn't look like he wanted to be there. Despite this, he and Catalina were poised for whatever Tremere would pour out of the Chantry.

To their surprise, three of them stepped out, led by Iphigenia. "Isn't this interesting." She noted, "You've brought your whole army. Why?"

Nines looked highly offended. He dashed forward himself to clock her in the side of the face, knocking her to the ground. Her body skidded off a very reasonable distance, the asphalt leaving scrapes all across her skin.

Leo look disgusted, he held a hand up, "Is it impossible to reason with you animals? We're giving you one last chance to answer peacefully before we engage in war!"

"You destroyed our base!" Damsel raged.

"We did no such thing!"

Skelter romped forward and clawed him, knocking him aside. However, even grounded, Leo managed to use Purge on the Anarch forces.

That again, left Delilah there. She nervously tumbled back, adjusting her hat, staying within the safety of the Chantry.

All the Anarchs cried out in pain as they all vomited. It seemed three Tremere fledglings was all it took to undo the entire Anarch movement of California.

At least until the Assamites attacked. Akeem and Catalina glowed red as they accessed their Leech powers, draining the Tremere of their blood and gaining it back.

Iphigenia wearily got to her feet, grasping her sledgehammer, "Leo, Delilah, stay in the Chantry."

Delilah nodded and Leo wearily got to his feet, stepping behind the door.

Iphigenia narrowed her eyes at Killian, Anastasia and Skelter, "We worked together once, didn't we? Aren't the Anarchs tied to the Camarilla? You can't chop us off like some…infected limb. This battle is pointless."

"Then why the hell did you attack us?" Damsel demanded.

"We never attacked you." Iphigenia insisted.

"This is bullshit…" Killian growled, "They're shitting with us!" He ran forward without a single discipline, rearing back to punch Iphigenia in the gut. She blocked his fist with her hammer and reared it back to crack his skull.

Damsel fired her gun just in time, knocking Iphigenia back into the safety of the Chantry. "They're just going to keep using Purge on us 'til we're down, open fire!" She called, firing at them. Anyone with firearms followed her lead.

The Tremere scattered, not before Leo used another Purge. All the Anarchs threw up again "Fucking Christ…" Sirius said, "How are we gonna get a good enough aim if the Tremere are hiding away in their Chantry?"

"We have to blow the place up." Damsel decided lowly, looking at Nines, "I think it's a good shot to use it."

Nines gave a little nod, "Everyone, clear out!" He ordered, wafting them away. The Anarchs moved away from the Chantry, and Nines as well. Nines removed his grenade from his belt, pulling the pin between his teeth and lobbing the bomb into the window. The building shattered to pieces, nothing but smoke and debris flying through the air as the building was completely destroyed. Most of the Anarchs were speechless that the Chantry that once stood before them was no more.

Nines held an arm up over his eyes as Damsel flew forward and squeezed him, bouncing and chattering with all sorts of excitement.

"Damn…" Skelter looked at what was left of the place, "Talk about vengeance."

"So what do we do now?" Sirius asked, "You think those three Tremere are dead?"

"Maybe Victor is too…if we're lucky…" Catalina said.

"They have to be." Damsel said, "I think we just did it…" She stepped away from Nines and screamed at the remains of the Chantry, "That's what you get for fucking with the Anarchs! You take our home, we'll take yours right back!"

A pile of rubble was thrown out of the way as Iphigenia unearthed herself, "Oh, you've made the biggest mistake of your lives…" She was laughing.

"What the hell are you laughing about?" Catalina snapped, "That you're going to die?"

Akeem didn't feel like wasting his time with words. He sped at Iphigenia, going to finish her off with his katana. No one had ever seen a faster Celerity, save for possibly Jack's.

Iphigenia cried out as she was sent back again, her body smacking into the remains of one of the stone walls, which caused that to come crumbling down as well.

There was more movement in the stone, as Delilah uncovered herself. She was covered in ash, an absolutely mortified look on her face. Tears streamed down her cheeks before she grit her teeth and used Purge on all of them.

Akeem threw up first, as did the rest of the Anarchs. But that didn't seem to stop his stride at the slightest, he held a hand out, as a red glow surrounded him. Playing the blood game again, he sucked the blood right back from all the Tremere.

All two of them, at least.

"This isn't worth it." Nines wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, "We won here."

"So what now?" Sirius asked.

Iphigenia just kept laughing, as battered and bloodied as she was, "You don't win, you ungrateful piece of dead meat." She spat out, "You've crossed the finish line, but you haven't won…" Her amber eyes narrowed with burning rage, "You've walked into your own graveyard…"

Damsel grit her teeth and stomped over to Iphigenia, punching her right in the face, since Iphigenia could hardly move, "Who the hell are you trying to fool? This is over, you can't even move!"

Iphigenia grinned, even with her split lip and missing tooth, her black eye and the copious gashes in her abdomen, "You've angered the Tremere, sweetheart, I'm not sure what else you want me to say…"

Delilah let out a stray sob as she lifted the bent and broken golden glasses from the ground, from the pile of ash in front of and covering herself. She used Purge, yet again.

Killian threw up the blood bag he just downed, "Motherfucker…" He hissed.

They all heard a deafening noise. Twelve helicopters were flying above their heads. And most, if not all, landed in a circle, trapping the Anarchs within their bizarre, yet highly effective parking pattern. Cadmus was the first one to dismount. His eyes were wide with pure shock, "What the…what the fuck have you done?!"

The Anarchs looked beyond frazzled at the immediate reinforcements, "That damn spy…" Damsel hissed.

"Monkey, see, monkey do." Nines took out his desert eagle, "An eye for an eye?"

"The Tremere burned the Last Round to the ground." Skelter translated, "We figured it was high time to strike back."

"Not to mention the shit their little Primogen has put us through." Damsel said.

Cadmus was speechless, his eye twitched, "I want them all dead. Now."

Two of the helicopters remained in the air, to shoot down the Anarch reinforcements. While Cadmus could do the only thing he knew how to do when he was this angry, head straight for Killian.

Amongst the Camarilla reinforcements were Prospero and Goddard, getting out of one of the helicopters and starting a fight with anyone nearby.

On chopper had the two members of the Laibon come out, Poe and Gottfried. They both sped into the battle.

And occasionally a live grenade would fall under some of the Anarch soldier's feet, exploding them and immediately killing them. Ella reloaded her grenade launcher and looked around for new targets.

And there was also an 'invisible' sniper taking out Kindred left and right from the back.

Killian caught Cadmus's axe, gritting his teeth, "I'm not going to hurt you…" He growled.

"Good." Cadmus said, "That'll make killing you a lot easier…"

His eyes narrowed as he thought in their standstill. The whole scene looked entirely one sided, with Killian's clothes all half-burned off, his messy blond hair slicked back with blood and grime, his expression marred with blood stains and burns, and a certain look of determination. It was that look that stirred any sort of emotion, the look that they still had this fight in the bag. "She put you up to this."

He didn't answer, as if Killian was just another monster or deranged animal that he had to butcher. When his axe wasn't doing the trick, he held a hand up, most likely Dominate at the ready.

Killian reared his bead back to smash into Cadmus's. Cadmus flinched. While it would have done wonders on a typical Ventrue, it was clear that Cadmus was a bit hardier than most when it came to head bangs, "You will roll in the mud for the rest of this battle." He said, as a blue glow came out of his hand.

Wary of his blood pool, Skelter kept Fortitude on, but no Protean. He'd start the battle just with guns, when things looked rough, he'd go into war-form, then he'd end the fight with guns.

Idealistically, at least.

"Hey there, fart blaster nine-thousand." He heard a voice, _knowing_ it was Prospero. He smiled, the first time he's done it in a while, "Cause you use fake names, right? I'm hip enough to keep up with the times?" He asked, "I just wanted to make sure you guys remember that my little game is in play. Hmm…I might have to play the game with different Anarchs…cause it looks like there won't be any of you _left_ after tonight!" He laughed.

"Yeah, I'd watch your mouth before I put some duct-tape over it." Skelter aimed a gun to his head and fired, knowing it would likely miss with Celerity. However, knowing this, he prepared his other gun to be fired a second after that slightly to his left, in case Prospero happened to go that way.

Prospero flinched, though he quickly flared up all three of his Brujah Disciplines. He tackled Skelter over, "Ouch…hell of a southward plan, huh?" He smirked, "Looks like we got you again…"

Skelter grunted as he hit the ground, "How the hell do you do it?" He bared his teeth like a mad dog.

He reared back a Potence laced fist, punching Skelter in the face, over and over again, "What can I say? Strauss is a genius!" He laughed.

Skelter put his guns away and activated Protean, opening his jaws wide to bite and clamp down on Prospero's fist.

Meanwhile Damsel held her shotgun firmly, backed by a strong army of the many ghouls she had faithfully served and cared for in the Last Round. She didn't seem on edge, or weary because she was defended by ghouls. She seemed just as confident as she might if a horde of Antediluvians was standing on her side. Anyone who drew near her was fired back by a rainstorm of bullets.

A large blue glow went all over Damsel's group, and her entire army fell like rag dolls behind her. Miranda retracted her hand, drawing her sword.

Damsel grit her teeth and aimed the barrel of her shotgun right at her face, firing without hesitation.

She took a few steps back, Fortitude was up, but, hers wasn't as flawless as Cadmus's or her lover's. She dashed at Damsel with her cursed blade out. Damsel kept Celerity up to swiftly hop out of the way, firing again.

Miranda missed badly, putting up Presence to better defend herself against Damsel's attacks. She kept swiping at her, but nothing was connecting. Damsel started using her gun as a club, using Potence to swing it down and crack it across Miranda's head. Miranda spit up blood, finding it gradually harder to move as she was more or less pummeled by the Brujah. Damsel smirked, firing again right for Miranda's chest.

Miranda fell to one knee. But Damsel had little time to celebrate, as she was stabbed in the back by something so fast, something so full of hatred that it made her black out, only for a handful of seconds.

Slade ripped his bloody sword out of her, "Go." He looked at Miranda, "Someone as talented as you shouldn't be wasting your time with boy scouts."

Miranda gave a slight nod, running off to another portion of the battlefield.

Damsel wiped blood from her mouth as she wearily tried to stand again, "…the fuck do you want from me?"

"Because I just figured everything out. It's all your fault. All of this."

"What? This war?" She seemed completely dumbfounded, "How the hell is this _my_ fault?"

"Not that." He said, "Killian's sister."

"Lark?" Her eyes burned, "I didn't kill her, it was your stupid friend!"

"Who you treated like a bitch." He said, "He told me everything, you dumb cunt. If you treated him like a person, none of this would have happen." He shrugged, "I might've even been an Anarch."

She grit her teeth, "He picked a fight with us, it's not my fault!"

"Dragomir wouldn't lie to me…" He growled like a savage beast, dashing in and slashing through her again, "There's no point in even listening to you! You're just going to keep lying to me!" She grunted as she hit the ground, then fired right at him. "Don't waste your time, you're too damn slow." He said as he blocked it with a sword, "I hope your pointless little movement had it's fun…cause…you guys living is a joke at this point…"

"In your dreams, asshole." She got to her feet to clobber him with the butt of her gun. He crossed his swords in front of himself, frowning at her as their faces were inches apart.

"Damsel." Nines's voice made her jump a bit, "Go help Anastasia. Let me handle the kid." Damsel gave a stubborn roar before she pulled herself away and ran.

Nines cocked his gun back and aimed it at Slade, "Killian told me about your sire. Shame. Sorry to hear it."

"Save it." Slade frowned, "Killian had every chance to save her, but he blew it. Just like everything he's most likely ever done."

"He's made a few mistakes. But I've always heard you learn from your mistakes. That kid'll be a genius."

"Yeah, I guess by Anarch standards, he would be."

Nines snickered, "Anarch standard, huh? What exactly do you take us for? Bargain-brand Sabbat?"

"Or wannabe Camarilla."

"We'll never be like the Camarilla. Our movement focuses on comradery, on loyalty. There is no divine leader to bow to, no rules to work into ploys to work into schemes. None of that. It's all open honesty, kid. It's a home for anyone, including shitheads like Killian, or good minded people like yourself."

"Wasn't home for Dragomir, was it?"

"Mistakes were made on both sides. Lark's death doesn't fall on his hands alone. We're all to blame."

"I think it's a little too late to go back now."

"It's never too late, kid. Don't put labels on your own life like that. You're restricting yourself."

"You just want the kid you and Isaac worked so hard to save back."

"I could care less, as long as you're free."

"That's the funny thing, I am." He said, "I never got the difference between your two sects, even when it was spelled out in front of my fifty times by VV. Sure, LaCroix was terrible, but there's nothing wrong with bowing to Strauss. He treats us fairly, gives us work to do, and we go about our lives…or…deaths. I suspect you run in a similar fashion." He shrugged, "I mean, you could kill Strauss, but another wave of Camarilla would come in, I'm sure." He said, "And I bet even if we beat you, it wouldn't be the end of the Anarchs in California, either."

"Everyone's got skeletons in their closet, kid. Older Kindred especially."

"So you're saying Strauss isn't to be trusted?" He said, "I bet if I asked him about you, he'd say the same." He snickered, "That's what makes the Jyhad so fun…"

Nines grinned, "Nothing I could have done can equate to some of the stuff they used to get away with back then. Cracking two-hundred years isn't something to smile about. This world was terrifying back then, way beyond our morals. Mark my word, he'll fall from that throne one day. Nothing is dumber than a society of undead, pissed-off, over-powered mutants with a single ruler. The stains of blood on his hands will drive him mad one day, and if it doesn't, it'll be someone else."

"We'll manage."

He chuckled, "Good luck then, kid."

The next warrior who entered inspired a sense of dread, and this was without the use of Presence. Sam's walking stick stabbed into the ground as he looked around. Younger, more inexperienced Anarchs laughed at how disgusting he looked, but they were rotted away immediately, "Go occupy yourself with someone else, son." He waved a hand. Slade nodded, using Celerity to dash off. Sam looked at Nines, "I can't say I expected a show of this caliber."

"I'd have to agree with you." Nines lowered his gun.

He looked amused, "Why falter? I am an enemy."

Nines couldn't exactly pinpoint why he was faltering. Why he felt the need to back down, at least a bit, in the presence of this man. An overwhelming pressure consumed him, a feeling of dread and apathy. He put his gun back in its holster, knowing it would do him no good.

He chuckled, a purple glow of skulls went around his hand, as his zombies and skeletons rose from the ground. Though none of them directly attacked Nines at all, they were more concerned with taking out the last of the Anarch reinforcements. "Hmm, a shame. I expected more from the great Nines Rodriguez." He laughed.

"You were there, at the battle of Phantom's Mask." Nines watched from his peripherals as Anarchs fell, "Who exactly are you?"

He chuckled for a while, crossing both his arms and resting them on his walking stick. "I am a purveyor of death and darkness. Where I go, the living die, and the dead are reborn. And the Kindred rot, oh, do they rot…" He started a low snicker, "I'm in the basement of the Camarilla…I'm the mad dog you don't want to see let out of said basement. I end battles with the utterance of a mere sentence, and if that fails, then by the defiant wave of a hand. I am Strauss's assassin."

"You have our blood on your hands." Nines said, "You have to."

"Well, I wouldn't be a very good assassin if I didn't, would I?" He laughed.

That horrifying sounding laugh prompted Nines to look away, to turn his back on Sam and look over his shoulder, at the battlefield.

It was all bodies and ash. There were a few standing figures, covered in blood, grime and ash, firing guns and slinging various weapons, but the Camarilla far outnumbered them. He turned back over his shoulder at Sam. He knew he had odd powers, seeing him rot some of their members. He couldn't risk any sort of attack if he wanted to take his allies and run.

"Let's see what's faster…" Sam said, raising a hand up, "Your Celerity or my Thanatosis…"

"This isn't the end of us. This battle. This 'victory'. We'll be back. Your broken society will never defeat the Anarchs." He gave one last icy glare at Sam before he turned and bolted, running towards Skelter, Damsel, Killian, Anastasia, Sirius, Cissy and Catalina.

Nines began to float upward as he tried to make a retreat path. Red steam began to pour out of his body as his temperate went higher and higher. Nines gave a horrid scream as his blood boiled up to the extreme, until he exploded. Pieces of flesh and bones rained onto the ground before turning to ash.

A tight frown, the eyes of an angered demon, and the shrillest grunt they've ever heard, "What…is the meaning of this?" Victor snarled, folding away his outstretched hand.

Horrendously loud thumps were heard as several new creatures entered the battlefield. The stone monsters all looked at the Anarchs. The pathetic number of them left, that is. Some of them were large and bulkier, others were smaller, but could fly. There had to be at least twelve of them. Six rallied behind Victor, while the other six began to rampage against the Anarchs that remained.

The Anarchs were torn in two. Half of them were entirely lost over the death of Nines, while the other half was absolutely petrified of the gargoyles.

Skelter frenzied immediately, getting in a very one-sided fight with some of the gargoyles. Damsel started crying hysterically, falling to her knees and screaming as if _she_ was the one who had been boiled. Killian's pupils were the size of pencil-points, but his attention drifted to the gargoyles, where he protected those who were in an emotional state, just with his bare fists. Cissy hugged Catalina tightly, absolutely mortified. Catalina teared up, shakily hugging Cissy back. Sirius had a slight smile on his face, as he looked at Sam, perhaps it was doubtful if the Setite could feel trauma, given all that he's been through.

" _Nines!_ " Anastasia reached a hand out.

Victor took a few steps forward, reaching out and grabbing Anastasia by the neck. He lit her on fire and she screamed. She writhed in pain as Victor growled deeply, "Apologize…for your actions!"

Killian reeled back to hit Victor right in the side of the head, as Skelter was too lost in his daze.

Victor held his free hand out and Killian and Anastasia vomited, "Do it!" He raged, throwing Anastasia's flaming body on the ground, "Or the girl dies!" He sprayed an obscene amount of fire on her already burnt body. Anastasia started sobbing as she felt nothing but the fire burning her flesh away slowly.

Even some of the members of the Camarilla were stunned at best, and appalled at worst at Victor's display. Cadmus turned around and looked down, endless tears running down his face as he sobbed. Though it couldn't be heard throughout all the roaring, the battling, and the small raging fire that was beginning to start on the grass from Victor's body.

"We're sorry, alright!?" Killian roared, "We're sorry!"

Victor chuckled insanely, flinging more fire at Killian, "Now…say that you will leave and you surrender to the glorious Camarilla. Leave and never come back!" He said, when there was a slightest bit of pause, he burned Anastasia again, "Say it!"

He coughed a bit, "We'll leave and never come back!" He raged, falling to his hands and knees, "We surrender to the…" He bit his tongue, beyond furious with his orders, "We surrender to the glorious Camarilla!" He spat out like the plague.

"Wonderful. Now go. Leave this state and tell all your other Anarch contacts around the country, nay...around the _world_ , that they are not welcome in California. It's ours. It belongs to the Camarilla. Understand?" Victor asked, then he looked back to all his Gargoyles, "Escort them out of the perimeter of this city." He said, "If they are unruly, slaughter them like the animals they are…"

The Gargoyles all nodded in agreement, they all more or less chased the Anarchs out of the city.

The silence that fell over the city was almost peaceful. And then Delilah fell to her knees and started sobbing hysterically, clutching Leo's glasses close to her chest.

Iphigenia looked down at Delilah from where she stood, then closed her eyes and looked away. A shaky sigh left her chest before she looked up, looking at the dead bodies of ghouls, the unearthly amount of ash that covered the roads and building, "It was a noble sacrifice for someone as young as he was, but…" She looked at the small pile of dust that was once Nines. "California is no longer an Anarch-free state."

* * *

 **A/N:** Alright, that's it, forever. Bye, it was fun. Just kidding! There's more to come! We can't thank you enough for reading through New Prince, New Problems. Look forward to even _more_ characters, more bloodlines, more clans, more Jyhad! If you enjoyed the fic, hated it, have any questions or general comments, please feel free to leave a review! And keep an eye out for the next installment…catch you later ;)


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